Dosewallips State Park Campground

I spent three nights (arrived Monday, departed Thursday) at this lovely campground about an hour from my house.  The grounds are well-maintained with easy access to some hiking trails that are easy to moderate in difficulty. (If I were in better shape without 50+ years of knee problems, I'd rate all the trails as easy.)

The campsites are a short walk to the Dosewallips River, which is shallow and not very fast this time of year. It's a longer walk to the Hood Canal itself.

You're not going to have a private, quiet, pristine wilderness experience here. US 101 runs through the park next to the campground, and the logging trucks can be quite loud. There are lots of families -- meaning, kids running around and riding bikes -- and the campsites are close to one another without any privacy. But, highway traffic is pretty much nonexistent in the evening and night and the entire camp was pretty quiet by 9 pm every evening.

The camp is arranged in a bunch of loops. The first and last sites in each loop are preferable because of all the open space between the site and the road. The last site -- in my case, No. 20 -- is the best with an RV because the trailer will provide privacy from the adjacent campsite and there's a big space to other sites. (See the attached photo.)

T-Mobile was 2 bars of 4G LTE reception. I have a Pepwave cellular modem in my trailer and had virtually no problem streaming shows.

This is the ultimate family campground. Kids and families on bikes everywhere, amphitheater, trails, water, grass fields, the works. The spots along the road are subject to highway noise, it does die down at night, but starts early. (If you live on a busy street, you won’t notice!) There are quieter tent sites in the back, but also what looks like a group camp. Staff was super friendly. Probably need to reserve far in advance, we reserved 3 weeks out and got the last spot. Not everything was open though, still clean-up from winter going on. Online reservation system worked perfectly and was intuitive. Had a few bars of ATT. Did not investigate WiFi. Beautiful park!

Really nice and maintained campground overall with nicely spaced sites. Only downside is that some of the loops are right next to the highway and so it can be a bit noisy. We had a nice stay though and the river is beautiful!

Amazing campgrounds. Super clean bathrooms and showers.

We had a nice time in spot #29. I am not sure if the creek behind the blackberry bushes is around I. The summer but in December the sound of the rushing water was so relaxing. It was a nice weekend and I feel recharged :)

This campground is right next to a state park. It’s also very close to a river and lots of woods. We stayed here to see Olympic national park, (I wouldn’t recommend this location to travel to Olympic every day, it was very far.)

The amenities were nice, bathrooms with warm water (one shower per bathroom.)

No laundry, no Wi-Fi and both Verizon and AT&T worked with about one bar.

The sites were level spacious and had a fire ring and picnic table at each. We chose the full hookup option. Firewood could be purchased through the camp host.

The best part about this day was the surrounding area. Every night, my husband and I would walk to the wildlife viewing platform to see lots of birds, or walk down by the river and see lots of elk and bald eagles.

Spacious campground, had 4 spots with power when we got there. Clean bathrooms and pay showers. $45 for site with power. Woke up to a gang of Elk right outside our front window, they stayed around about 2-3 hours

A very pretty campground on the Dosewallips River right next to the Hood Canal but there is no privacy– especially in the winter when only one of their loops is open with hookups. As I understand it, you can stay in the other loops in winter if you dry camp, but it was cold and rained everyday so I opted for a full hookup. The park is right next to US 101 which is only a two-lane road so the noise level was ok(not like my native CA!).  The price of propane at the nearby store was $5/gallon - ouch!

Well maintained river adjacent campground. Plenty of room for large RV’s. Hiking access was limited due to weather. Make sure you go in late spring early summer to access all the park has to offer.

Sites are open or shaded, the full hookup section has recently been upgraded with new paved roads, power pedestals, and water hookups. New bathhouse/washrooms being constructed. New RV section being constructed as well. AT&T service was 30+ down and less than 1 up. Little to no T-Mobile.

This was the first stop on a trip to the Olympic Peninsula. Glad we were only here one night. It was kind of spendy and didn't offer any privacy. Was with a friend who set up a tent and she was just out in a field behind my van fully exposed. 

There was a nice walk down to the river and beach. We saw lots of salmon in the river. The coolest part was waking up to a herd of elk right in the campground.

We car camped with our three kids for a few nights. It was like most state parks, so not super private or remote - but it was a good state park. The tend sites are wooded and private. Showers were cold. We walked down to the beach to clam for dinner, which was a neat experience for the kids.

Right on the river on one side of the freeway, and hood canal on the other. Has some road noise for sure. Good hiking.

Plenty of FHU sites and loads of camping sites. There are 11 cabins and 3 Platform Tents - combined with RV and tent sites - all of which must be reserved online. Restrooms and Outhouses are numerous and dispersed throughout. Pay Showers ($.50 token) are in central Restrooms. Only 1 shower per Restroom. A new large central facility is under construction. Hiking trails and river access are accessible through the campground and Day Use area. RV sites are blacktop and level. Some sites have partial hookups w/o septic. Dump station is on site.

Really enjoyed this campground. Had a lot of fun. It was a bit chilly but we enjoyed our time.

Campground has elk that walk through it and is right on the river. There are several hiking trails that start from the campground. Make sure and go to near by Hama Hama for their oysters.

Great central location near the Hood Canal and Olympic National Park. The campground is right next to the Dosewallips River too. Super pretty. We enjoyed the open layout of the campground. Our son was able to ride his bike and run around the grounds while easily staying in our sights.

We did the Steamy Donkey trail, which was a nice forested trail out of camp. We also visited Hama Hama Oysters. Loved this. We had a great time here.

We have gone to the Olympic peninsula three times and this was my favourite campground. We didn’t explore too far, but the campground was spacious, there were elk and clean bathrooms. I wish it was farther around the corner so we could be closer to the NP- we’d stay here the whole time then!

We have camped here many times over the last year or two and always clean and friendly, needed a tool once and the park staff stepped up and helped

I heard good things about this place but experienced something else. I think we just had a bad spot and it kinda ruined it for us. Had to scoop elk poop when we got there. Was out in a field and had no privacy. There was a little trail that took you out to shore. Lots of people getting shellfish. Stores nearby. Would I come back? Probably not.

Very spacious park! The RV sites are in cul da sacs so each one has a good 30 feet or so between campers. It’s a short walk to the river and the beach. When we were there last week (Mid September) we saw an elk herd and salmon going up river to spawn.

😊🤙

There is a river and salmon climb it to spawn in October I believe. Very cool to see. Campground is large, with about 20% of camp sites have good privacy. Walking distance to a gas station for supplies. Clean bathrooms with running water.

This is a large campground with all the of camping options. They have tent sites, platform tents, cabins and RV hookups. This is located on both the Hood Canal and the Dosewallips river. This provides lots of activities like hiking, fishing, clam digging and exploring. There are several camp sites located on the river. The campground is well maintained year round.

Sites are decent, not crazy packed in, but not a ton or privacy. Fire pits, decent sites. Toilets and whatnot. The best part is the proximity to the other cool stuff around the area and great day hikes and activities.

Campground Review

Dosewallips State Park is located on the Olympic Peninsula.  It butts up against the Olympic National Park for easy access into the trails there. This is a great spot for a family as it's pretty open and allows for littles to bike around the park. For the most part, campers follow the speed limit and are respectful of the many kids around. The sites are pretty large and depending on where you camp can be private or open. There are cabins and platform tents available for your stay but they are booked pretty well in advance.  There are lots of hiking trails in the area and easy access to the water and clamming and shrimping.  The campsite has ice and firewood for purchase.  The rangers offer weekend shows for the littles. 

This campground is right on the freeway so if you do not want to hear cars and semis driving at any hours of the day and night, this may not be the best place for you. 

Gear Review

I was given the opportunity to review the RovR RollR 60 cooler as a Dyrt Ranger. I grew up using the old school Colemans, so this cooler was a huge step up. I chose the green as I am from the Pacific Northwest and it resembled Seahawks green. The cooler is pretty big (my 7-year-old is able to get in and sit comfortably). 

Pros:

Large capacity with side Dry Bin for perishable goods

Collapsible bag for easy top carry

Lasting ice/ cold ( 4 days for us)

Rubber latches for animal proofing (!!!)

Rubber tire for a smooth pull

Easy to grip handle

Bolts on 4 corners to allow for bungee carrying of other items

Cons:

With the Dry Bin on one side, the weight balance is off during lifting

On uneven terrain, handle drags 

Hubs said having handles on all four sides would ease lifting

If you dont follow directions for pre-prepping cooler, ice only lasts for a weekend

Accessories are a bit expensive

Overall, this is a pretty sweet cooler and one that I will be using for years to come.

https://rovrproducts.com/product/505229344820/6841244385332

I’ve been coming to this state park for as long as I can remember. There’s so many activities to do; clamming, shrimping, hiking, hunting for oysters, and there’s even places to rent kayaks. No shortage of bald eagles here either. Plenty of group tent sites as well as regular RV and tent sites. Each site comes with fire pit, hook ups, and a picnic table. Showers and bathrooms are clean and only costs a quarters for a shower with hot water. Great way to bring the whole family together. Will continue coming to this state park and campground for as long as I can.

Large campground right off the highway with lots of extras for families. Multiple group campsites a available. Volleyball court, baggo, boat ramp access, larger campsites with RV sites as well.

My husband and I spent two nights camping in one of the rustic cabins- it was exactly what we needed to ward off the chill of transitional October weather. We trekked out late night to the canal at low tide to collect oysters and clams, and upon our return, found the camp area occupied by a herd of Roosevelt Elk. It was a quite a sight! We loved this place and would return in a heartbeat.

We stayed here with our two small kids, 4 and 1.5. We had a nice shared tent site with my parents. The website allowed for a great description of the site to know what we were getting which allowed us to prepare better. Clean well stocked bathrooms, and a maintained park. Saturday night the kids enjoyed the ranger talk about Smokey the Bear. And do not forget to get your shellfish license and walk across to go clamming for dinner! Oysters and clams were superb, just don’t forget to harvest your oysters on the beach.