Deception Pass State Park Campground

Really enjoyed our camping here. Careful if you have a longer trailer 24+ as some of the roads through the grounds have very tight corners with trees on each side.

Incredible campground with great amenities, but it is loud and busy due to all the guests.

Three main camping areas separated along Route 20. Each has hiking trails through the trees... many have views of the water. Clean rest rooms in our area. Showers require tokens... inquiry upon entry. Asphalt roads with compacted dirt pads. See website for length of level pad. We stayed in RV in site without hook-ups. Fighter jet noise on a Monday morning during our stay. Be prepared for rain.

Definitely worth a stay with it's proximity to the beach, stargazing, hiking. The whole area feels magical. Plus Anacortes is a fun town just a few minutes away. The only downside is the noise from the naval base nearby. You'll hear jets overhead on a regular basis.

The only campground open in the winter at Deception Pass State Park is the Quarry Pond area. And even though the weather was wet and cold the campground was far from empty during our stay. This campground is great, the reservation system is super easy to use, facilities are clean, theres a convenient store within walking distance for any forgotten camp essentials, and trails to the bridge and beaches leave from right next to the sites. 

Definitely going to want to visit again in the summer.

Park is remarkably pretty with older trees. Most of RV sites looked great & we loved ours. Read reviews that complain about low flying jets causing a racket. Happy to say we only encountered a couple jet making racket so our stay was relatively quiet. Sure October (we stayed during week) is quieter. Navy reservists as rule not practicing.

This is a beautiful campground with plenty of hiking opportunities and gorgeous views. It’s close to a highway so you can hear the road but not a ton of traffic through the campground. We stayed on the Quarry Pond side which seems a bit smaller and more private. Nice wide open campsites with a power hookup and clean water. Plenty of amenities nearby as well, the 76 gas station on the edge of the campground is full of supplies; food wise and gear wise. Doesn’t feel so isolated and in the middle of nowhere but still plenty out of the city.

Beautiful, excellently maintained campground with clean bathrooms and free showers. Setting is really beautiful and there are many things to see and do that are close by. Campsite was immaculate and large with a fire pit and picnic table.

My husband and I visited the Bowman Bay campground to celebrate our second wedding anniversary and it was one of the best camping trips we've had! This campground was lovely, a smaller campground right on the beach with great hiking trails to Lottie Point and Lighthouse Point. If you are going to camp at this campground, get campsite 279! It is by far the best one in this campground! It is not RV accessible however.

It's a large site that is a bit more elevated than the rest, with a wall of foliage behind it and no immediate neighbor campsites (the nearest on is on the other side of your parking spot, but your parking spot is beside your campsite and not near it.) It's a really lovely campsite.

Deception Pass State Park is huge and beautiful, perfect for families and photographers. The campsites are open and surrounded by forests, with clean facilities, fire pits, and picnic tables. The staff is super friendly, and our son loved sitting in their golf cart. The hike to see Deception Pass Bridge is awesome. We visited in the fall, and the weather was cool but nice. It’s a great place to explore and take pictures. We had a lot of fun and recommend it to everyone!

Beautiful park, we stayed on Forest Loop area of campsites and the sites there had lots of big trees and shrubbery that helped privatize them. Wonderfully varied terrain between the beaches with beautiful island views (saw an otter on the beach once), Hoypus Point hiking trails through traditional northwest forest/swordfern landscape, and Cranberry Lake with its roped-off swimming area. There were planes from the Air Force base that circled overhead practicing, so not the quietest park, but surprisingly they didn’t bother us - in an rv - though normally I’m noise sensitive. If you plan to visit other WA parks, just get the yearly Discovery Pass state park pass as all the WA parks seem to require it or a $10 parking/entry fee.

The ranger was very friendly and helpful. The campsite was a good size and most seemed to have a sense of privacy. Hot showers and great scenery.

Well maintained. Only real complain was the worker with the leaf blower. But the noise was fairly brief. And beside it wouldn’t be well maintained without the maintenance.

We have a car camping setup. This parking pad worked great for us, and offered lots of space behind the truck for our tarp shelter and dog run. The privacy is very good on 3of4 sides. The trail system starts right at the back of camp, but the access is a little vertical, so not easy if mobility limited! A short walk from the restrooms. This is a busy campground, so there is a little noise, especially on weekends, from people and dogs doing their thing. The bathrooms were very clean. The showers are token operated and the vending machines were out of service.

There were SO MANY available campsites when we got there. About mid afternoon. The ranger was super friendly and welcoming! The bathrooms were nice and had showers that require tokens that you can buy with your site at check in. The sites vary in size and shape but most of them are decently private/ spaced apart. The site next to us never got booked, probably because it was small, but it was nice for us because it was only a few bushes away. Sites include a picnic table and fire ring with grill grate . There was a trail to the beach not far from us and it was super nice. Although there are plenty of signs that require dogs to be on leashes most people did not adhere to those rules, so keep an eye out if you're bringing the doggos. Very family friendly, very cozy, very nice stay!

Bottom line: I’ve only camped at 4 state parks in WA, however, this is the best one I’ve stayed at.

Pros: Secluded Campsites. If you look at the map, you can pick some spots with privacy (tent and rv spots) Great trails in the area. For training, hiking, or just casual walking; you can do all of the above. Pet friendly area. Great views. Coastal views are gorgeous and close by. Bathrooms are extremely clean. Actually probably the cleanest public bathroom I’ve ever witnessed.

Cons: Tight fits for a camper 24ft and larger. Doable, but you’ve gotta be diligent maneuvering in there. Firewood stand was closed during open hours, don’t know what that was all about. Not that big of a deal, just bring your own don’t rely on them.

Incredible park with a little bit of everything. Large spots. We stayed in a spot with electric and water hook-ups during Spring Break this year. Will be returning for more adventuring :)

We visited deception pass in early June. It was amazing! You can find everything you need here. Gas station right before entering Deception Pass, clean toilet and shower, amazing view on the bridge, also we have water and electric hook-up in our site(#56). We use electric hook-up for our EV and it's faster than expected! Definitely come back in near future and remember reserve the site as early as possible!

Camping on an active aircraft carrier is great! 

Except if you're actually trying to camp in the woods. Everything was amazing, great little hikes, sweet freshwater and saltwater fishin, beautiful spots. Then the mfing jets started. They didn't stop for 72 hours. Don't even try to talk to anyone whilst the jets are happening. 

But..yea Id go back lol.

Spent two nights here and while the park and coastline hikes were beautiful, I really couldn’t get over the constant jet noise from the F/A-18’s flying overhead. Not just a little bit, constant low passes incredibly close to the campground. The noise is so loud you can’t hear someone speaking right next to you. If there was a way to be sure the fighter jets weren’t flying that day, I’d go back, otherwise this park isn’t for me.

Camped here for a couple of nights in a 25ft rv. Location was perfect, and enjoyed the beach and hike up to the bridge. Cant wait to go back and explore the rest of the park.

We came for 4 nights before Thanksgiving. The only part of the park that is open for overnight camping during the off season is Quarry Pond. About half of the sites with hookups (water, electricity) are reservation only and the other half are first come first served. There are also 7 primitive sites with no hookups that are first come first served. The first night we got in after dark and snagged a first come first served spot (336) but were able to reserve one in the reservation section after everyone cleared out on Sunday (315). The location is great for lots of hikes. Bathrooms were warm and clean. There is water at the sites with hookups up until late November when they turn it off after Thanksgiving but electrical is still available. Primitive sites are $20/night, sites with hookups are $30/night. There is a store at the entrance with firewood, food, propane, gas, etc. They have coin-op showers and provide a coin change machine.

Two nights at Deception pass state park. Great wildlife, from porpoises and seals to eagles flying above.

The Navy PBY museum in Oak Harbor is not to be missed.

We have tent camped and most recently taken our travel trailer to this park. It my fav! Wake up early in am take your warm beverage and sit on the logs & listen to the wave come in. Also you can occasionally spot whales from the shore.

I stayed at the Cranberry Lake campground because everything else was closed for the season. There were lots of cozy nooks to park anything from a car to an RV. The ocean and a lake are right next to the sites, and it was great to watch the sunset through the trees as I cooked dinner. There are bathrooms with flush toilets, but the showers require tokens.

Plenty of sites available in late September to reserve in advance OR claim by arriving and talking to ranger. No issues.

Beautiful area with lots to do. Electric, water hookups with sewage dump on the way out. Campsites are not level and can be a tight fit between trees. Lots of different beach trails & bike paths. Whale watching excursions nearby. Cell service spotty.

Large forested campground in a massive state park. Lots of trails and Great Lake paddling. Beach access but strong currents make this a challenge to kayak on the sound, at least from the Cranberry Lake CG.