This place is the best free camping in Washington. Coming from the Skykomish direction I believe it’s the turnoff to the right, right before the bridge. The old Cascades Highway road is barely travelled at all and there is rushing river right along the campsite. There is service and other pull offs along the highway if this spot is taken. There’s some large rocks that you have to maneuver around but my Subaru Forester got around it just fine.
We found a nice spot along the river to camp here, but the etiquette of other campers left something to be desired. Barely got any sleep due to loud music and singing that carried on until 4:30am. It was also very crowded and most of the spots along the river will require a small trek from the parking area. Not fun if you have a lot of gear to unload. We camped in 3 different places over a long weekend trip and this was our least favorite of them all.
This was a great place for us to spend a few days. Total tree coverage, so if you are using a starlink you probably get any visibility. We didn't have our starlink when we went to test it out.
On our way in, there is a big rock right in the turn down to the site. We were in a Sprinter rental (extended) and we made it around it, so it's do able. I would suggest to get out of the van and look before attempting.
Great spot, will stay again!
If he doesn't, then he's missing out on the most Idyllic campsite ever! There are no fewer than 9 campsites within less than a mile either side of the bridge. The one directly on the south side of the bridge is 4wd access only because of the big rocks protruding into the road bed. But if you go about 3/4 mile up from the bridge, you'll find the most superb spot ever. There is nothing here for TT or large RV's, for small van-lifers and such, it's a pot of gold. There are two absolutely beautific sites at the 3/4mile area. Both sites can access the river for water (it's a small, steep hill). There are no toilets, cell service was spotty, Starlink worked fine.
You could put 2 rigs down here if you’re friends, but plenty of turn offs for smaller vehicles
Just a couple miles East of Skykomish, up a paved road, the campsite is just before you go over the bridge on your right and had enough room for high clearance vehicles to pull into it and smaller cars have roadside space the road wasn’t too active when we camped overnight even so the sound of the waterfalls drowns it all out. It has Solid fire pit and very lush green forest surroundings.
It's a lovely area right by a beautiful river. However, it was hard to find a large enough spot that was also level to park our van. There was some traffic on the road, and a great bonus is that the road is paved, so no worries about destroying a tire. We did have phone service, and it's close to a small deli and other conveniences.
Some of you never learned proper etiquette and it shows! Beautiful spot. Toilet paper everywhere. Peaceful… except for the trucks air braking on Highway 2; and the train… which made me question if I was being visited by some alien beings for half a second. Beautiful spot, great access to the river, whose noise washes out the majority of the ambiance killers. Secluded, sadly too dry for a fire.
We were planning to stay in Leavenworth, but that got sketchy, so we came up here to this dispersed spot, and it's beautiful, quiet, and easy. Enjoyed the sounds of the waterfall/river all night, never heard a single car.
Cute spot next to the creek not busy at all
We really enjoyed our spot off of Old Cascades Highway. There are a few good tent spots that are pretty tucked away. We took a spot with a good pull out for our car but didn’t really have a great tent spot. We have a sleeping platform in our car so it worked really well for us. We could walk to the river and sit by it for the evening before heading back to the car to sleep. We’ll probably be back here!
