Best Dispersed Camping near Yelm, WA

Several dispersed camping options exist in the forested areas surrounding Yelm, Washington, primarily on U.S. Forest Service land in the Mount Rainier region. Free primitive camping is available at locations like Carbon River, NF-52, and NF-2419, all within reasonable driving distance from Yelm. These sites typically feature established fire rings and space for tents and some vehicles, though amenities are minimal to nonexistent. Small Site but Million $ View, Rock Candy Mountain Trailhead, and various pull-offs along forest service roads offer boondocking opportunities with varying levels of seclusion and scenic value.

Forest service roads accessing these dispersed sites often require careful navigation due to potholes, steep sections, and rough terrain. Many campers report that high-clearance vehicles are recommended, especially for areas like NF-2419 and the Small Site but Million $ View location. Most sites lack basic amenities such as potable water, restrooms, or trash collection, requiring visitors to pack in all supplies and pack out all waste. Fire restrictions are common during summer months, with some areas posting notices in established fire rings. Permits may be required at certain locations, particularly those near Mount Rainier National Park.

The dispersed camping experience near Yelm offers remarkable views and natural settings despite primitive conditions. Several sites provide scenic vistas of Mount Rainier and access to rivers or lakes. At higher elevation spots, campers report exceptional stargazing opportunities due to minimal light pollution. Wildlife sightings are common, with visitors mentioning encounters with deer, chipmunks, and various bird species. Privacy levels vary significantly between sites, with some offering substantial seclusion while others experience occasional traffic. "Views are amazing... Overall a really nice dispersed free camp spot with very unique views for being outside of the park." Winter camping is challenging at most sites, with one visitor noting that Rock Candy Mountain Trailhead is "not suitable for Winter camping."

Best Dispersed Sites Near Yelm, Washington (24)

    1. Joemma Beach State Park Campground

    10 Reviews
    Lakebay, WA
    21 miles
    Website
    +1 (253) 884-1944

    $12 / night

    "Simple, small, peaceful campground with pit toilets and potable water.

    Mid week after Labor Day, I had my choice of sites arriving in late afternoon."

    "We arrived little later around 6 p.m. And being such a nice day there were only few sites left."

    3. Carbon River

    4 Reviews
    Carbonado, WA
    34 miles
    Website
    +1 (800) 270-7504

    "My fiance' and I are sleeping in a tent and it has rained a lot but if you go into the woods, you can still find dry branches for starting a fire."

    "I go every year, but unfortunately the only bridge to gain access to camping is closed until further notice"

    4. NF-52 Dispersed Camping

    8 Reviews
    Puyallup, WA
    39 miles
    Website
    +1 (360) 497-1103

    "Forest Service has installed 6 temporary toilets for the third year in a row to assist with human waste issues. "

    "We found an awesome walk in spot a little bit earlier on on the forest road before these actual coordinates."

    5. Ipsut Creek Camp — Mount Rainier National Park

    2 Reviews
    Mount Rainier National Park, WA
    34 miles
    Website

    "Located at the trailhead are two bathrooms, a covered picnic area and a handful of parking stalls with additional parking located along the road. "

    6. Cora Lake Back Country

    3 Reviews
    Longmire, WA
    39 miles
    Website
    +1 (360) 497-1100

    "Campground Review:

    There are a ton of amazing places to camp around Mt. Rainier and Cora Lake did not disappoint."

    "secluded lakeside camping underneath high rock. 3 mile hike to the lake, 6 round trip. Tons and tons of frogs and tadpoles which meant no bugs! beautiful area"

    7. Small Site but Million $ View!

    3 Reviews
    Longmire, WA
    39 miles

    "It’s basically a pull off from the forest service road with a fire ring, but remote enough that you never see anyone. Going on day 3 and I’ve yet to see another car go by."

    "Views are amazing

    Forest road for around 8 miles is a bit rough with potholes so I wouldn't recommend bringing a low car into here."

    8. National Forest 84

    2 Reviews
    Longmire, WA
    38 miles

    "the road itself if full of potholes, maybe wouldn’t recommend if you have a old/ low to the ground/ 2 wheel drive car"

    9. Dispersed Camping FS-025

    1 Review
    Ashford, WA
    36 miles

    "This spot is opposite in a small strip of USFS land in between two pieces of private property."

    10. NF-2419 Dispersed Site

    5 Reviews
    Lilliwaup, WA
    48 miles
    Website
    +1 (360) 956-2402

    "Great avenue to get out into nature with various streams crossing the path of the service road. Truly magical place."

    "Not many other campers' sites are well dispersed . Got to feed 3 Bluejays by hand with my oldest one of our new favorite memories."

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Dispersed Camping Reviews near Yelm, WA

44 Reviews of 24 Yelm Campgrounds


  • Mar Z.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 7, 2024

    Rock Candy Mountain Trailhead

    Perfect woodsy rest stop off highway

    Right off the highway. Pit toilet and wooded areas. Can still hear highway from this exact GPS location, so I went further on up the road for a quieter spot. A few trucks did speed by in the middle of the night, but it was a Saturday and July 4th weekend. 5 bars of cell service.

  • Megan C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 14, 2017

    Ipsut Creek Camp — Mount Rainier National Park

    Crowded yet Cozy

    Ipsut Creek Campground is a relatively easy 5 mile trek or bike ride with a 700’ elevation gain, down a closed road (due to the road wash out about 3 miles in) to a wooded campground nestled along the Carbon River.

    Located at the trailhead are two bathrooms, a covered picnic area and a handful of parking stalls with additional parking located along the road. 

    The trail begins behind the closed gates into the shade of the old growth forest. The trail then alternates between the shade of the forest and sunny skys with river views and wildflowers along the way.

    There are a few side trips off the main Carbon River Trail even before reaching the Ipsut Creek Camp;

    1. Mini Rainforest Loop, 0.25 miles

    2. Old Mine Trail, 0.6 miles round trip

    3. Green Lake & Ranger Falls trail, 3.6 miles round trip

    Note: Sadly, the trail to Chenuis Falls has washed out, so now there is just a log bridge into the water to nowhere.

    Once you reach the campground, it has about 20 campsites with about half the sites located on the river. We were lucky enough to swoop up site number 15 though, strangely, another family decided to share it with us for our easy river front access.  Thankfully the river is pretty loud and drowned out the noise of our close campers. We did choose to camp on the high-profile weekend of the 4th of July, so all the cool campsites along the river were obviously full, which is why we think we had “friends” join us. There was a large fallen tree sort of splitting the camp site in half, so we took the left half, with the smaller 1 picnic table option, while the strangers took the right half with 2 picnic tables. 

    The trees in camp are great for setting up hammocks. We set up a hammock triangle upon arrival in camp near the river for lazy afternoon naps. My siblings both slept in their hammocks fulltime, while my husband and I set up a tent in a small clearing on the opposite side of the picnic table, closer to the bear lockers (bear lockers are a huge plus, meaning a bear canister isn’t necessary if you’re not heading deeper into the backcountry). 

    The campground had a decent amount of wildlife running around.  We had a number of chipmunks running around our camp cleaning up any scraps left daily; we found a live mouse chilling in a water bottle one morning upon setting up for breakfast, and deer came through the camp just about anytime it was quiet.  

    The campground does have two restrooms but they smell like the bog of eternal stench, so bring strong essential oils, a scented hanky, or a shovel to dig cat tracks in the woods far from camp and water sources. 

    The campground is a good base camp to explore the surrounding Carbon Glacier/ Mowich Lake area. We visited Ipsut Falls, which was less than a half mile round trip out of camp, making for a sweet little trip to break up the day in camp. 

    We also chose to make the adventure up to the Suspension Bridge and to the Carbon Glacier view point. Our morning started off cool in heavy fog, which burned off throughout the day, giving way to magnificent views of the mountain and glacier. The trail was covered in wildflowers, cairns, creeks and mini waterfalls. It made for a beautiful day trip out of camp with plenty of opportunities to go further into the backcountry closer to Winthrop Glacier, out to Tolmie peak area or back out along the Wonderland Trail. Backcountry options seemed endless. 

    Though the trail and camp (and site) were crowded, the hike to the glacier made the entire trip worth our cozy campsite. The Carbon Glacier is a bit dirty looking but to be standing in front of something so ancient and magnificent is truly amazing.  My husband, sister and I have now added a new item to our bucket lists and that is to see as many glaciers as we can before they melt, here’s to our first. =) 

    Note: The campground is located within Mount Rainier National Park (no pets are allowed) so you’ll need to stop by the Carbonado Ranger Station for a Wilderness Permit and National Park Day Pass or Annual Permit to display for parking. No campfires within the campground.

  • Sam S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 6, 2024

    Olympic National Forest Dispersed Camping

    Olympic National Forest - Dispersed Camping

    We camped near Vance Creek trailhead to do the Olympic Bridges bike ride the next morning. Since this is a national forest, dispersed camping is allowed. We picked the first spot we got to since it was getting kind of late. It wasn't the most ideal spot and I think further down the road has prettier and more remote options, but it made do. There were really huge flies but they did not bite. The only complaint was that there was more car traffic than I wanted very late at night into the early morning. One car even slowed down and yelled at our tent around 2am. We never felt unsafe but it was annoying. A lot of trash was left behind from previous camper. I would suggest finding alternative spots if you're looking for a more enjoyable night but if you are just there for an overnight, it is fine.

  • LThe Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 21, 2023

    Tatoosh Wilderness WA FS52 - Dispersed Camping

    Littered roadside pull-off

    This was a large pull-off right off of NF-52, so there was no privacy from the hwy but at least the area was big enough to be a little distanced from traffic. The spots on the river were already occupied when I was looking late on a Sat afternoon, this is a popular dispersed area. The entire area was littered with toilet paper and discarded furniture. There was also a memorial hidden in some trees just out of sight of 52. Wouldn't have been a bad spot if people had picked up after themselves, but the trash situation was over the top. Thankful to have in a pinch but def wouldn't camp there again. (The pull off is right off the highway from what the coordinates show).

  • Amber R.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 17, 2024

    Forest Road 7300 Pull-Off

    Great beautiful spots

    This place was so pretty and quiet we went back the next night! There were many spots right next to the stream. There was a fire ban during our stay but there are many fire pits at each site.

  • Suzie K.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 20, 2025

    Olympic National Forest Dispersed Camping

    Safe and quiet

    This is a gravel road through the National Forest with a bunch of pull-offs where you can camp. It was nothing special but very quiet and peaceful other than one or two cars that passed by. Felt safe as a single tent camper

  • Dawnielle C.
    Oct. 3, 2017

    Cora Lake Back Country

    Ranger Review: COLDPRUF Women's premium performance crew and Women's premium performance pant at Cora Lake.

    Campground Review:

    There are a ton of amazing places to camp around Mt. Rainier and Cora Lake did not disappoint. Though it was raining on the day that we headed up we were mostly covered by a shelter of trees on the short hike in. Once you get to the lake you can walk around until you find a spot, though there are some fire pits throughout, it was a pretty fire-filled summer so there were no fires on our trip. We stayed at one of the first spots we came to because after taking a look at the other nearby spots this had the best trees for hanging our hammocks. We didn't have a ton of daylight left by the time we got there, but we also never saw another person during our trip (except a couple of forest fire fighters). Waking up the next morning directly in front of the lake in a hammock is amazing and breathtaking, I highly recommend it! If you have good hiking weather there's also a fire lookout nearby with great views.

    Product Review:

    As a Ranger for The Dyrt I get to review some great and often very practical products. This trip I was lucky enough to review two products from COLDPRUF.

    Women's premium performance crew and Women's premium performance pant in cranberry. Camping in the late summer months is always an adventure with the threat of cold weather and rain. These base layers from Coldpruf definitely did their job of keeping me warm. I wore the top and bottoms to bed under my sweats snuggled into my sleeping bag and they were perfect. They are super breathable and soft so you never feel itchy or too warm. I left the top on the next morning for my hike back to the car, paired with my puffy vest it was just enough to keep me warm, and breathable enough that I wasn't covered in sweat when I got back to my car. The base layer is also a snug fit, so it's easy to add more layers on top in colder nights. I'd definitely recommend Coldpruf if you're looking for new, very affordable layering. They look great too and the color is perfect!

  • Eric H.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 7, 2019

    Dome Camp

    Breathless 360° Views

    Mt. Saint Helens has become a 4th of July tradition. In 2019, we hiked the Boundary Trail #1 to the Mount Margaret Wilderness overlooking the Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument. We set out to camp at Dome Camp in between Coldwater Peak and Mount Margaret. Permits are required and limited to 4 per night. At the time, they cost $6ea.

    Upon our arrival after a ginger 6 hour hike in, we were greeted with expansive views in all directions. There are 2 campsites, one low in the saddle and one up top, with a latrine in between the two. We chose the higher ground one to have an incredible view of Mount St. Helens to the South, The Dome to the East, and Mount Whittier to the NE. The site is nearly perfectly flat with soft sand gravel mix. There wasn't any debris to clear and plenty of room for 2 two person tents. We staked down the tents as it tends to get a bit windy, but guests never got above 10mph. No camp fires, ever!

    We arrived around 2pm, just enough time to settle in, set up, eat and then enjoy the landscape's shifting shadows as Sun lowered toward the horizon behind us. The mountains glowed in the summer evening sun as the clouds sunk lower and lower, down into the valleys below us.

    Low cloud fronts built strength at the Whittier Ridge and slowly crept over and down into the valley. The fog rolled up over us and The Dome, creating rivers of clouds flowing down into Spirit Lake and the valley. The clouds came in waves drastically changing the environment every 30mins, giving us something new to see everytime.

    In the morning, there was a herd of mountain goats along the ridge to the south west looking down over us, playfully dancing along the steep walls. Woodpeckers and coyotes could be heard in the distance truly expanding the environment.

  • Sheryl H.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 10, 2023

    NF-52 Dispersed Camping

    This Dispersed Camping area is next to the Skate Creek Rd. It is beautiful!

    The area is beautiful with about 38 sites. Forest Service has installed 6 temporary toilets for the third year in a row to assist with human waste issues.  Many of the campers do not understand the rules and they depart with trash and litter everywhere. 

    Volunteers continue to cleanup after these abusers as well as the Forest Service.


Guide to Yelm

Discover the beauty of dispersed camping near Yelm, Washington, where nature enthusiasts can enjoy serene landscapes and a variety of outdoor activities. With several options available, campers can find the perfect spot to unwind and connect with nature.

Tips for free and dispersed camping near Yelm, Washington

Dispersed campers should check out Joemma Beach State Park

  • The Joemma Beach State Park Campground is a well-reviewed spot where you can enjoy beach access and fishing opportunities right from your campsite.
  • This area allows pets, making it a great choice for families who want to bring their furry friends along for the adventure.
  • With amenities like drinking water and picnic tables, it strikes a balance between rustic camping and comfort.

Scenic views and tranquility at Cora Lake Back Country

  • For those seeking a peaceful retreat, Cora Lake Back Country offers stunning lakeside views and a secluded atmosphere, perfect for a quiet getaway.
  • The hike to the lake is manageable, making it accessible for families and casual hikers alike, as noted by visitors who enjoyed the short trek.
  • Campers can enjoy the natural beauty without the distractions of modern life, providing an ideal setting for relaxation and reflection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Yelm, WA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Yelm, WA is Joemma Beach State Park Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 10 reviews.

What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Yelm, WA?

TheDyrt.com has all 24 dispersed camping locations near Yelm, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.