Graves Creek Campground — Olympic National Park

I liked this place a lot and I'd camp here again. Not everything is as good as it could be, but let's start with the good stuff.

First, the creek is clear and provides a peaceful white noise for falling asleep. I was in campsite #1 which is next to the creek, with easy-ish access. The moss covered trees and giant firs provide plenty of shade, if needed.

The campground was quiet, even though is was almost full. There isn't much distance or privacy between most sites, but the other campers were quiet and respectful.

The picnic table and fire pit were nice and clean, and there was wood in the fire pit! I didn't use it because of the burn ban and also I bring a propane fire pit.

I arrived on Saturday afternoon, and first thing Sunday morning a ranger came and cleaned the bathroom. It wasn't in desperate need, but still a good sign.

Okay, what could be improved. Well, there is only one (One!) pit toilet for all thirty campsites to share. Back in the day there used to be four bathrooms, but those others are locked and boarded up for some reason. So lines formed at the pit toilet.

There is only one bank of garbage cans, and they were almost full, even on Sunday morning after the ranger visited. Maybe they don't do the garbage pickup until later?

And finally, there is no potable water in the campground, so take note and bring extra.

The water in the creek is clear and if you look closely you can see fish in the creek pools. But they are picky fish, and didn't want to be caught. ;)

All told, it was a pleasant place to camp, and I recommend it.

Location: Beautiful. There's forest sites and creek sites with a few sites in between on the inner loop. You can hear the creek at all times and it's very calming. Huge trees everywhere and mountain views. The mist on the mountains at daybreak was gorgeous. We had a water facing site and drank our coffee on the creek. I can see why fishers come to the area, we spotted many large trout in the clear waters of the creek.

Getting there: Mostly flat, not particularly difficult road in dry conditions. However, do not be arrogant about this road. When you see signs that say "Unsuitable for RVs and trailers" they mean it. On day one of our visit, a tree fell in the middle of the road. Though it wasn't particularly big, we couldn't lift it and it still made the road impassible. Later that day, a fellow camper with an axe cleared a small path but the whole three days we were there, no one came to remove it or any of the debris. The road itself doesn't have proper gravel size variation, which forms miles worth of something that feels like rumble strips. On the last day, it rained lightly for a mere five or six hours and the road's otherwise manageable potholes became big ponds and there's also a spot that floods quickly (there's a sign to warn you). It was still fine, I have 4W drive and a high clearance car, but just be warned that conditions can change quickly there.

A word in regards to another poster who said it looked like they were building bathrooms. Quite the opposite, it seems. There had been two different bathroom buildings but they were obviously quite old and were boarded up. No big deal, right? At first I thought so too, but I've kind of changed my mind about it. This campground has way too many sites for there to be one vault toilet. The math just doesn't work out. There are too many people at this campground for that. Any time you need to use it, someone is in there. There was an ACTUAL line at one point. The vault itself was nearly full (puke). It wasn't until we'd set up our site and it was dark that we discovered poopy wipes close to our site. Yes, wipes that don't biodegrade.

Which leads me to another issue...trash. This campground is not pack in, pack out. But the bear proof dumpster was packed in so tightly, it looked like it hadn't been cleared in weeks. Fine, we kept our trash in the car, but it would've been nice to know that the campground is basically not being serviced at all. Why is there a ranger station at Graves Creek at all?

Lastly, our stay was during the fire ban. I can live without a campfire, but it does have its benefits. There were tons of mosquitoes and...other wildlife! In addition to the warnings about bears and cougars, there was a hand written sign warning campers that a bear was in the area and to watch your food. We were very diligent and kept everything locked away in the car (which yes, I know they can still smell). On our first night we had two coyotes sniffing our tent and peeing on the site! They were easy to scare off, but definitely gave us a bit of a scare.

I'll still go back to Graves Creek now that I know what to expect. It's a beautiful place and hopefully next time the fire ban will be lifted.

We enjoyed our stay, got lucky with our spot, ferns all the way aound us and towering trees made a warm day enjoyable. Steps away from the creek feeding into lake Quinault was cold and swift. Enjoyable all together.

Super quiet stay, on the weekend and it was only half full. Beautiful area. Pony bridge is a must see!!! Campground is right on the river. Many spots with great view of it. It is primitive, they don’t have running water, and one pit toilet. But it looked like they are setting up for running water and flushing toilets soon. Bummer if you ask me, means more people.

This campground is one our favorites close by spots. It has plenty of spots and right near a running creek east of lake quinault.no trailers and rvs are allowed out here due to the narrow gravel roads and small spaces. Its a bit away from the lake but nice. No hook ups. The hiking trail head starts just a short walk away.

Wow! What a find this was. We had planned to go to Willaby Campground down the road but discovered it was closed. We saw that Graves Creek was at the end of the road (about 20 miles down) so decided to go for it even though it might be closed. 

The road getting there is a bit narrow and bumpy which was made even more exciting by the fact that it was dark and rainy. We got there and it was totally empty and wide open. 

We took site 2 which is right on the river and beautiful. Sites 1-5 are on the river and there is a whole section of the campground we didn't even notice until the next day and there, sites 17-20 are on the river. 

Really beautiful, very plush place to camp. During the off season, the whole campground becomes first come first serve which is pretty great for those of us who don't like to plan ahead very much. 

There is a trailhead about.5 mile down the road with some great hikes through the rainforest.

Spent one night on 4/22/19, granted it’s still early in the season, the camp hasn’t been very maintained. The drive from Quinault is partly paved but mostly dirt road with lots of potholes. I love how secluded it is, and i’m sure it’s well kept in the summer but this was too early.

We stayed here during our trip to Olympic National Park. The campground was in one of the National Park's rainforest areas and felt quite magical. The sites are first come, but we didn't have trouble getting a site in late September. There is no potable water, so make sure to bring what you need or filter from the Quinault River. You do have to travel down a gravel road to get to the campsite. Just a bit further down the road is the trailhead to a few hikes. We did the Pony Bridge 5 mile out and back hike, which was beautifyl! The lack of potable water and shower facilities is a bit of a down side, but the beauty of the campgrounds makes up for that!

I stayed here twice around July 4th this year, and couldn't believe the was space available! You can't make reservations, but the ranger at the Quinault Ranger Station told us there were spots available, so it may be worth stopping there to ask if they have any info on space.

The campground has one working bathroom but no sinks or potable water. Sites 1-5 and 17-20 are my favorites because they back up on the river.

There is a beautiful (and freezing) swimming hole behind the campground, and this time of year its bursting with huckleberries :)

It was a great experience. The rainforest was beautiful and there is a one mile nature hike near the campground and several trailheads close by. And just down the road is the largest spruce tree in the world. The bathrooms were a bit rough but the campground had a lot of open spaces.

I loved this campground! Deep into the Quinault Rainforest, about 6 miles of unpaved road before you reach the campground. There is a river nearby, but only about 2-3 sites back up to it. The campsites are quite open, so not a ton of privacy, but the bathrooms were functional and clean. I arrived at 6pm on a Wednesday and there were about 7-8 sites available. I stayed in spot A25, which is on the opposite side of the river, but the views of the mossy trees and ferns were enough for me! Not surprised that I woke up to heavy rain in the middle of the night, since it is a rainforest. I'd love to stay here again!

Set aside the Quinault River, this spacious campground is 2 miles from where you park as of Sept 2016 and sits at the trailhead to the Enchanted Valley. The bathrooms are a little rough but the scenery is unbelievable. The spots all have fire rings and tables and are well spaced. because it is now a 2 mile walk, we didn't encounter very many people here but were told it fills up on busy weekends and holidays.

This was a campground that we passed during our time in Olympic national park, and as we checked out the sites we decided we want to camp here. Just the drive to the campground was beautiful! The sites were wooded and a good number of them were on a river. We saw a great deal of wildlife in the campground as we checked it out as well. There were a couple neat hikes in the area that we did.