Salt Creek Recreation Area County Park has national park aesthetics, with County Park amenities. The 196-acre Park includes upland forests, rocky bluffs, rocky tide pools, sand beach, Salt Creek access, campsites, and panoramic views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Crescent Bay, and Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Salt Creek is a regional park that draws visitors from all areas of the northwest and is another one of Clallam County's premier parks. Many colleges and schools from all over the United States visit the Park to study and observe the marine life.

 The campground is open year round. There are 92 premium campsites, which include two camp host sites, located on a bluff above the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Approximately 73 of the 92 campsites have a view of the water.



Salt Creek Recreation Area

We discovered this park by accident almost 30 years ago and I was happy to find that it is still a great place to camp. Close to Port Angeles and the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, it is located on the banks of the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. The sites that have water views are reservable; when we arrived on a Thursday in June, these had all been reserved(although not all were occupied). Many of the non-reservable sites were available. We were not able to get two consecutive nights in a prime spot so we returned a second time! No hookups in the loop but there are three tiers of 39 RV sites that have decent water views. Each of these has an electrical and water hookup and a paved pad but you are stacked up as you would be in a typical RV park. Restrooms are reasonably clean(but no garbage receptacle) and there are showers but there is a fee. If you have a water view site and the weather cooperates, you will enjoy a glorious sunset. There is a playground for children, but the best feature is the tidepools that are accessible at low tide; our girls had a blast exploring these when they were young.

Very nice campground

We love Salt Creek Rec area. It is run by the county so the reservation system is a little dated but is better then it used to be. But, the reservations fill quickly so you have to be on it if you want certain dates. There are a few spots that are first-com first-served. Located on the Olympic Penninsula, there are two parts to the campground. The first is full hook up sites that have a great view of the sound but absolutely, no privacy. The other half is in trees with more privacy but not as many sites have the good views. Also, these sites can be shut down due to high winds. Campground has flush toilets, showers, playground, hikes, and access to tide pools. Last time we were there we saw whales, otters, eagles, starfish, anemones, and other tide pool creatures. There are two hikes. One takes you to an old fort which is pretty cool. The other takes you to a look out area. WARNING: Stay on the main trail. There was a spur trail that took you to see the water and we stumbled across a hornets nest in the ground. It was awful. My husband and I each had over 8 stings. My youngest had 3. My dog had a handful. But somehow my other son manages to escape sting free.  There is a town close by that has a laundry and small store. But generally, everything you need it right at camp.

Large Campground with lots to do!

Open-air and under-cover campsites. Clean toilets, beautifully kept, children's play with swings, slide etc. Tide pools and scenic environment. A view of the Canadian boarder. 

FAVORITE CAR-CAMPING & GREATEST FOR CHILDREN

I was extremely impressed with this campground in particular my site! I stayed one night here in October and it was perfect- not crowded and I got the perfect site! My campsite was surrounded by ocean views and was within walking distance of the beach! Back when I was there (2012) it was $18/night for a tent and is TOTALLY worth it! I've talked with some of my other Washingtonian friends and they all agree that this is one of their favorite campgrounds as well. This beach is fun for all ages! There is a passage way through a rocky outcropping that you can crawl through to the other beach and plenty of tide pools to keep you busy exploring throughout the day. 

Best camp site EVER!

So hard to pack up and leave camp this morning. The sunshine, blue skies, view to Vancouver Island, rocky coastline, sandy beach, tidepools, rush of the waves, sightings of whales, dolphins, otters, bald eagles, raccoons, cruise ships and freighters are hard to leave behind! I take more pictures of this place than any other, as its beauty is diverse and peaceful. Woodsy private campsites, with some overlooking the rocky cliffs, and terraced grassy campsites with hookups, this campground attracts locals as well as international campers. Many campers roll in with kayaks and bikes. Sit and read your book with a view of take an adventure. This place has it all!

Breathtaking beauty on Washington's north coast! 

Wow, what a campsite we got. The place was filled and we were lucky to get the best site in the whole place. The views were amazing, the sound of the sea all around you and the possibility of whale viewing always looming. 

The bathrooms were clean but the shower is one dark and dingy locked room where I'm sorry to admit this but I imagine young people stealing away to for secret meetings involving you know what private activity. 

The camp host was an old dude who sold firewood and no other staff were present, so even through this place gets five stars, the truth is that there was loads of trash and even old burnt batteries in our camp fire pit. Someone had had a huge party and there was foil confetti everywhere....so sad.

Also, beware of absolutely crazy daytime raccoon bandits what will take anything at any time of the day and are not afraid of you. I saw a group of boys corner one and almost get attached themselves...doh!

The walks around the area are short but fun and the tide pooling is great--watch out through, as there were loads of people who took stair cases down to the pools and then lost access to their original entry points because of the tidal changes. There is also a beach you can get to if you want to do something other than rocky beach activities.




Sea salt scented and gloriously perched on the cliffside

This place is super under cover and rad!  Right outside of port angeles.  Great stop before or after Vancouver Island or Olympic National park or in our case...both.  Hot showers, very on the picnic table raccoons and incredible views of the sound.  

Whoa!

I can completely forgive the apartment style camping here. The sites are big with privacy and many of them have views of the ocean. Our site did!! So pretty. Lots of beach exploring during the day. And awesome campfires are night. Watch out there are lots of hungry raccoons!

It's so beautiful here!

This campsite is cute, fun, and easy to access. Great tidepoooling available for all ages, with incredible views of the sunset and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Kkinda buggy, and lots of raccoons. Good parking though, and big, secluded sites available. Restrooms and coin-operated showers were clean and pleasant.

Fun, easy campground!

Showers and flush toilets. Lots of campsites. Also, an area for RVs. Deer wander around the camp like pets. Sunsets are spectacular and the water views to the north you can see Canada. The area is a high bank from the beach. Very clean grounds. Keep your coolers in your car as there are racoons that wander the sites at night!

Located on a small peninsula with great water views of 300 plus degrees. 

Depending on your campsite this place has incredible view but also offers plenty of trails and access to viewpoints and tidal areas. I stayed 2 nights and the first was pretty windy out by Tongue Point and the next on was calm. So be ready for a little wind if you’re out next the the water and it just happens to be windy...

Great Views!

Salt Creek Campground is beautiful! Every camp site is well maintained, the bathrooms are very clean and you have beautiful views all around you. Near the entrance there is a park, horse shoe pits, basketball court and a huge grass field. Make sure to check out the trails, bunkers and tide pools!

Beautiful Scenic Views 

I have been camping here since I was a kid and it is still my favorite! Although now days it’s a lot more popular. It’s has 3 different types of beaches, nice facilities, and lots of wildlife.
Pics are from last summer!

My #1 favorite place to camp! 

There are 2 areas an RV section and a tent camping area, I drove through the RV area and it seems nice enough but there is no separation. 

The tent section is really nice and while it does lack as much separation between sites the sites are very spacious, lots of room for bigger tents and most sites have enough trees that hammock camping shouldn’t be a problem. Several of the tent sites are on a bluff and you can hear the ocean all night, great white noise. 

DOWN SIDE: it rained pretty hard my second day here and half my camp site was flooded!  If I’d have put up a tent it would have been right where the water was pooling. Not all the sites had this problem, but the ones along the bluff seemed pretty wet. 

ALSO - RACCOONS!!!! Lots of them and they will come right into your site and climb up on the table looking for stuff. 

There are several ways to access a beach and tide pools during low tide!  

To top it off there are flush toilets and showers!!!

Great campground, good for hammocks!

The camera cannot capture the beauty 

Have stayed in 2 different sites so far that overlook the water.  Very clean and well kept up with showers (warm, not hot) trails, tide pool and beach access.  Would come again.

Really nice place

We stayed at site #13 overlooking the straight of Juan de Fuca while the view was great the sites are VERY close together. Sites 50+ are wooden but without shore power or water hook-ups.

Wooded sites # 50+ are the best!!

We live on the nearby Kitsap Peninsula and this campground is our favorite Washington campground. The views are amazing and the crashing waves are the perfect soundtrack. The lower numbered sites tend to have full hookups and are arranged in a terraced field overlooking the Strait. The higher numbered sites have no hookups but are nestled among the trees on Tongue Point, some true gems in there. On top of that there are interesting artillery bunkers to explore and even drive through. We’ll be back again, and again..

Our favorite WA campground

This campground is truly amazing!  The park sits on the Strait of Juan de Fuca with expansive views of the water, a rocky headlands, beautiful little coves, a long beach (near Salt Creek) and hiking trails as well.

We stayed in the more forested section by the water, a loop with several water-front sites with various degrees of tree coverage. Our site #53 had nice opening through the trees and great water views and was right above a lovely little cove. The three sites after 54-55-56 also had very nice views especially at sunrise. 

The shower house was closed for winter but there was one pit toilet on our loop and more bathrooms and showers on the larger open area where the big RVs stay.  Most sites at this campground have some water view. Just check the map to pick one when you reserve. I would say that even being the end of February the place was pretty busy with perhaps 70% occupancy. I hear is almost impossible to find a site in summer and people reserve many months ahead. Lots more information at http://www.clallam.net/Parks/SaltCreek.html

Incredible scenery on the Strait of Juan the Fuca

Back for our first of several visits in 2021. It was chilly and windy but we still had a blast. 

Still amazing

The spots are great, and the restrooms are OK, although half of them are closed outside of summer months. Bring your own firewood, as the camp hosts are like Sasquatches; purported to exist, but no one has ever seen them. Gates lock at night, so be prepared. 

Great location, but you’re on your own

This county campground has lots to offer, but it’s main attraction is the incredible location on the Straits of Juan de Fuca, looking toward Vancouver Island. We had a forested spot in the older section which was private with a small water view. The cliff sites are less private but the view—amazing! Clean bathrooms with a coin-operated shower. Nice trail to the sandy beach. We went to sleep each night listening to the waves hitting the rocky shore.

Scenic spot

It’s so great to find a new campground on the map and then have it far surpass your expectations. And then to arrive on a sunny Friday afternoon and find a great first-come/first serve (FCFS) campsite about 100 yards from a breathtakingly beautiful shoreline. Amazing! This county-run campground sets aside about half of its sites for reservations, and the other half, including dry RV sites, for FCFS. It probably gets harder to find a last-minute site in the peak summer months, but the friendly camp host (Pete) and a few others we talked to made it sound like it’s still possible. We almost missed this opportunity by not looking quite hard enough for the loop with the FCFS sites. In fact, we had gone on to another campground a few miles away and met someone who urged us to come back. We’re so glad we did. To get to the upper loop you have to pass some RV sites that are overlooking the water, but have zero privacy. Then you get to a more woodsy loop where the sites are farther apart. Our site (76) was perfect for our skoolie and support vehicle, but it didn’t really have a tent pad, and neither did the one next to us (77). Some of the sites in this loop back right up to the path that runs along the top of the bluff, which would mean people were walking right next to your site. Not very private. There’s easy access to the rocky beach which is super scenic, although often windy. There are several vault toilets and also full bathrooms with showers (bring quarters - 2 minutes per quarter). The campground is generally quite clean and well maintained. This is one of those campgrounds that you want to keep secret, but also tell everyone you know. So glad to discover it.

Absolutely beautiful 

This is one of my favorite places to go camping I absolutely love it here your right on the ocean and the views are spectacular. The campsites are very nice and clean and you can walk right down to the beach and enjoy the water it’s such a relaxing place to be I love this campground 

Beautiful place and campground!!

Super family friendly, grounds are very well kept, facilities are clean. Lots of walking paths and beautiful scenery. Dog friendly as well. Great place for rv’s and tents. Does get chilly since you’re right on the bluff. 

Family friendly, quiet and clean 

RV area is pretty crammed together but amazing views, you can see Canada! 

Tent spots are more wooded and also have some great views. 

Only issue is there are lots of cars coming in and out and fast! Kiddo couldn’t ride her bike around because of so many speeding vehicles. 

Amazing views

Very close and mostly via reservation.  Nice beach views.  Canadian cell service.

Pricey but nice

Beautiful spot. Spots for RVs, car campers, tents you name it. We were able to grab a ff lot on a Friday afternoon in March. Pretty cold out there but beautiful. Water by the park next to the lots were off when we went. I imagine they’ll turn it back on as it gets warmer but there are showers near the entrance.

Would camp again

Loved my stay here! I did first come, first serve on a Saturday and there were plenty of spots at 1pm on 6/18. It was pretty chilly and windy, but the views were amazing and the sunsets incredible. I stayed alone and felt comfortable the whole time. Close proximity to neighbors but everyone was lovely. Highly recommend. 

Coolest Campsite!

Campsite 67 at Salt Creek Campground was perfect for our weekend trip. Great views, ample space, and clean facilities. We enjoyed the nearby hikes and tide pools. The site has a fire ring and picnic table. It’s popular, so book ahead. The campground and location were beautiful. The playground in the main campground are is also great for kids. Ideal for our family! We can’t wait to go back. Highly recommended!

Amazing campground on the water

We love this campground so much, I almost hesitate to write this review. Like a number of Washington State Parks, the plug-in sites are in a large field, with very few trees around and kind of look like a lot of other standard RV parks with three or so levels of close parking with lovely views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca between the US and Canada.

While the view is lovely, this is not where this park shines. Go further, into the primitive camping loops, there you’ll find paradise. The sites are small, and situated under a diverse coastal Washington beach forest. A few of the sites have some good solar opportunities, while others are completely under canopy. Most could only accommodate smaller rigs, but a few could get a mid-sized Class B, vans and smaller trailers aren’t a problem. 

  

Aside from reminding us of the kind of campsites we went to as kids, this place just feels like a great place to hang out and let the kids run feral. This park offers one of the most stunning tide pool experiences that these two naturalists have ever seen without getting in a boat. It’s so richly filled with creatures in the intertidal zone, that it has to be seen in order to be believed. Just a short walk from the campground, go armed with good footwear and the curiosity of a child. Trust us, just put it on the list. 

  

There’s lots of hiking within the park as well, from the short coastal path, to exploring the WWII ruins, and down to the sandy beach below the bluff on which the campground sits. Nearby Olympic National Park offers many recreational opportunities for the outdoor enthusiast, the hiking is particularly stunning there. 

  

Port Angeles is less than 20 minutes away where you can get resupplied, or treat yourself to dinner, or get more information about the National Park. The nearby communities have gas stations, general stores and convenience stores but only a few Mom and Pop diners/ cafes along state route 112.