Established Camping
Thunder Campground — Ross Lake National Recreation Area
About
National Park Service
North Cascades National Park
The main trail winds through some exceptionally large old cedar and fir trees, with periodic views of the creek. Woodland flowers abound in season. This is the home of many birds, including owls, woodpeckers, and osprey near the creek. Look for deer and other animal tracks in the sandy soil and mud. At around 1.5 miles (2.4 km) the trail crosses Thunder Creek on a large wooden bridge. Thunder Camp lies just on the other side, and is a wonderful destination for families or for a first backpack. Many day hikers also enjoy bird watching from the bridge or exploring the nearby gravel bars. A quarter mile past the bridge and camp, the Fourth of July Trail junction is on the left. Following this trail up 3.2 miles (5.1 km) of switchbacks to Fourth of July Pass provides beautiful mountain views, particularly from the backcountry camp. Neve Camp is a quarter mile beyond this junction, and is another lovely forested camp set well off the trail alongside the thunderous waters of the creek--which looks and sounds more like a small river at this point.
Access
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
- Hike-InBackcountry sites.
Stay Connected
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Site Types
- Tent Sites
- Group
Features
Great for beginners
Thunder Creek is a good place to start if you are looking for an easy backcountry hike or you are introducing someone or several people to back country camping. It’s a little over a mile down thunder creek trail and the hike is very moderate with no aggressive inclines. You are along Diablo lake for the first part of the hike (keep in mind you are in a recreational area so there are more people around and in the lake). The hike is gorgeous however and you are along water sources the entire way there. Once you cross over a long wooden bridge then the campgrounds are just over to your right hand side. They are pretty with lots of tree coverage and the sound of the river rumbling near you but there is a group site there as well. Unfortunately if you are someone looking for peace and quiet I’d keep hiking to Neve or Tricouni. Personally I feel this camp is better for introduction because it is easily accessible to all day hikers passing through.
Location
Thunder Campground — Ross Lake National Recreation Area is located in Washington
Coordinates
48.673485 N
121.0778891 W