Fort Townsend Historical State Park Campground

If you're looking for a serene woodsy place to tent camp this is it! There are RV/trailer sites which are what you would expect - all in a line with no privacy between them. The tent sites all have moderate to high privacy, especially the perimeter sites. If you're in the middle of the loop then unfortunately you have people 360 degrees around you but still not terrible. I noticed that all the sites have fire pits with grills except for #2 for some reason. I would also avoid #2 and #3 as they are literally directly next to the bathrooms and there is a bright metal halide light outside the bathroom. The pull-through sites generally are more secluded and offer more natural buffers than the back-in sites do.  

  

Within walking distance of the tent sites are large grassy fields with plenty of room for activities and games and there are several miles of easy walking trails that parallel the shore line with beautiful vistas overlooking Port Townsend Bay. One of the trails leads down to the shore which has a nice picnic table right on the shore. An added bonus for history buffs are the placards on one of the walking trails that tells the history of the park when it was an active Army base in the late 1800's. The trails are all wide and well-maintained as well as heavily shaded which is nice in the hot summer. Only of a few of the lesser used trails were quite narrow (shoulder width wide).  

  

All in all my wife, daughter and I fell in love with this park and will definitely be reserving #1 again!

Better than I expected

I've come to expect state campgrounds to be crowded noisy and generally unpleasant but really enjoyed this one. Our site had woods behind it so there was plenty of space to set up a hammock. There was plenty of space between sites and nice privacy.

Surprisingly Good

Had a wonderful stay! We were there the last weekend of the season. Will 100% be back when it is open again. We loved hiking around with our kids and roaming the beach exploring!

Love it!

We were in the 28-35ish strip of slots and they were narrow, 360 degree exposure and had no fire pits.  The spots up the hill were better, which would be why our spots were the last remaining. I would not come back here if these were the only places available.

  

Saving graces were:

  

*   having the parking lot next to the lots for our cars to park
*   A huge lawn in front of us to play games on
*   Water access nearby 
*   Restrooms were very clean. (could be because they're the restrooms used for events?)
*   Next to their event barn where we were allowed to take our firewood down to and hang out there (thank you rangers!).
*   Note: If this was a non-covid weekend, there would have been a wedding right next to our site, no doubt about it. 

All in all we had a nice time, it just wasn't the woodsy experience we desire.

Pick your spot carefully

This nice little campground probably gets overlooked by people heading to Port Townsend or Marrowstone Island, but it’s well worth consideration. There are sites in the woods that are preferable to the more open sites near the day use area, which are very close together. The sites in the wooded loop offer better privacy, although heavy tree cover limits the sunlight if you have solar. Nice beach down the hill. Also not too far from the Port Townsend historic waterfront, which would be a nice bike ride but a long walk. 
Clean and well maintained. Would definitely go back for a night or two 

Overlooked Opportunity 

I stayed two nights.  Did the Botany Hike.  Very educational, but not overwhelming.

The Botany Hike was the best

We camped here during mid week shoulder season taking our first time RV on a shakedown trip.  The park is really nice.  Lots of good, medium difficulty hikes, as well as interesting history (old military graveyard, anyone).  The sites for RVs out near the old parade grounds are pretty tightly packed.  There was no one else here, so it was not a problem for us, but I could imagine it packed with kids, riding bikes around the loop and playing in the fields (good news if you have kids!).  The sites in the forest on the hill are much bigger and more secluded, but the road would be tight for any trailer over 20 or so feet.  Ours is 25’ and I would not try it back there.  Overall the visit was good.  It is 5 minutes from Port Townsend with lots of shops, eats, arts and pubs.