Iron Creek Campground, near Randle, Washington, is a peaceful retreat tucked away in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. This spot is all about the beauty of nature, surrounded by towering old-growth trees and lush greenery that creates a serene atmosphere for campers.

The campground offers a variety of sites that provide a good amount of privacy, making it easy to unwind and enjoy the sounds of nature. Visitors rave about the clean vault toilets and the availability of drinking water, which adds to the convenience of your stay. As one camper noted, “The sites are quite private, and the campground was quiet,” making it a great escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

For those looking to explore, the nearby Cispus River is a highlight, with trails that allow you to soak in the stunning scenery. Many campers appreciate the access to the river for fishing and relaxing by the water. The area is also a fantastic base for adventures around Mount St. Helens, just a short drive away, where you can find hiking trails and breathtaking viewpoints.

While the campground is family-friendly, some campers noted that it can get lively, especially during peak times. However, the overall vibe remains respectful, with many visitors enjoying the natural beauty and tranquility that Iron Creek Campground has to offer. Whether you're camping with family or seeking a solo retreat, this spot is worth checking out.

## Overview

 Iron Creek Campground sits near the confluence of Iron Creek and the Cispus River. This large campground winds through a forest of old-growth Douglas firs, cedars and hemlock. Lush vegetation and ample space between sites offers excellent privacy. 
## Recreation

 Iron Creek provides great fishing for cutthroat trout, whitefish and rainbow trout. Visitors can stroll along the .3-mile Iron Creek Old Growth Trail and weave through the forest and along the Cispus River, or continue on a longer walk down the Iron Creek Campground Trail. This trail is barrier-free and designed to accommodate any age or skill level, with benches and plenty of places to stop along the way.
## Natural Features

 Located in southwest Washington State, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest encompasses 1.3 million acres and includes the 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument established by Congress in 1982. Iron Creek is part of the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District, which is located in the northernmost portion of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. This District is roughly located among three volcanic peaks: Mt. Rainier to the north, Mt. Adams to the east, and Mount St. Helens to the west. 
## Nearby Attractions

 The Woods Creek Watchable Wildlife Interpretive Site is just up Forest Road 25 toward the town of Randle. Forest Road 25 is a popular scenic drive and provides excellent views of Mount St. Helens. The Windy Ridge Viewpoint at Mount St. Helens is approximately 20 miles away. 
## Contact Info

 This location has limited staffing. Please call (360) 686-3008 for general information.
## Charges & Cancellations

 Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee. A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a campsite. Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-Shows A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite. Refunds Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended. Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay. For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive. In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.

Iron Creek Campground

The Dyrt is here to help plan your best camping near Randle. Aside from great camping spots, you'll find hiking and many more outdoor experiences. Thinking of traveling with kids? You're in luck—Randle is surrounded by family-friendly activities. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Randle camping trip.

Randle

The Best Camping Near Randle, Washington

Iron Creek is a great camp site in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The river runs near the camp was a great spot for the kids and dogs to play. Camp sites were large spacious and private. I would highly recommend this campground!

Great spot with plenty of camping spots! 

This is a great campground. It feels perfectly removed and is filled with huge old trees. Light streams throgh in morning and evening. You can hear the creek in the distance. Wonderful hiking at both Mt Adams and Mt st helens. Easy to find sites here.

Perfect calm and peaceful

This is a larger campground great for RV, trailers and tents. There are a total of 99 sites enclosed in a circle, making a nice walk or bike ride. The campground does not have electric hook ups, though it is very camper friendly otherwise.

Sites are pretty enclosed not offering a good amount of privacy, though most are along the Cispus River. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring, with bbq grate. The site does not have showers and the toilets are the pit style.

This is a perfect getaway for people looking to unplug as no cell service (tested on sprint, verizon, and google fi) is available. There is tons of wildlife and lots of trails and riverbank to explore.

Beautiful River front

There are so many trees and plants here! I haven't been camping for very long but this has become one of my favorites. The camp sites are pretty secluded so you don't feel like everyone is watch you and the camp site that I stayed in (39 I believe) had a little trail to get to the creek nearby.

Lush and Beautiful

Beautiful sites and large. Heavily wooded and private. No hookups. Close to Randle and Mt. St. Helens

Large Sites

This is an off the beaten path campground, large and secluded. Campsites seem very private due to lots of large trees separating campsites No cell service.

Large, secluded, private

We camped here in July 2018. It was hot but thankfully the Cispus River was a short hike away and we cooled off in that. It is close to the Ape Caves at Mount St. Helens. The sites are pretty secluded. My only complaint would be the bathrooms. We don’t use the bathroom in our tent trailer so we had to use the bathrooms at the campground. They had a pretty strong ammonia smell and people didn’t put the toilet lids back down so there were flies. Great place for kids.

This place was amazing

The hosts were very kind and helpful. I rode in on my bicycle. There are lots of sites. The sites are spaced apart from each other allowing for plenty of privacy. It is in a beautiful forest with big trees. There is a nice, short loop trail leading to the river. The washrooms are pit toilets, a little dark inside, but we'll maintained and has air fresheners so it doesn't stink. One of my favourite campgrounds I've been to. 

Very nice place and even nicer hosts.

Nice enough site. Pretty large, I think it’s about 100 sites across 4 loops. It’s private in terms of visual space but definitely not private enough to keep barking dogs and yelling kids from dampening the wilderness experience. 2 bathrooms per loop, no sinks. Bathrooms were clean and well maintained. 

It just wasn’t really our kind of campsite, seemed more family friendly than remote or peaceful. I’d recommend the sites closest to the river as you’d fall asleep to the sound or water instead of children. 

Great for large groups and families, not so much for solace seekers.

Deep NW Woods Riverside Camp

The camp sites were large, and absolutely beautiful. I would love to go back again. Lots to do in the area. 

Absolutely beautiful!

This lush campground is carpeted with ferns and dripping with moss. It feels like stepping back to prehistoric times. Serene and breathtaking. En route to Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

MOSS AND FERN WONDERLAND

2nd stop on our camping trip for Summer 2020.  Large camping area with tons of family and group  camping, which we don’t mind, as we got our own kid party going at our site. Picnic table, fire pit, clean toilet structure. Site managers nice enough to help us with our drive to view St. Helens, which was a personal highlight, to see St. Helen’s, Rainer, Adams and Hood, all from one spot! Firewood for sale, easy paved loops, and big river with kid friendly soaking areas, and fishing! Had a good mix of everyone.

Family of 4

A beautiful campground with clean vault toilet and potable water. There is a path from our campsite that join the bigger walking loop around the campground and access to the river. We were there after the July 4th holiday so it was quiet. We chose this campground as a base to explore the east side of Mt St Helens. It takes about an hour to reach the hiking trails and viewpoints for St Helens. Highly recommended.

Beautiful base camp for Mt St Helens visit

The campground is super quiet and allows you to get away from it all. There are no services and no cell phone reception so come expecting that. The roads are rough as you cross into the National Park so watch your speed especially with a trailer. The site has a great trail that provides access to Iron Creek from anywhere on the grounds, although B Loop seamed to be the closest to the water. The sites are not too close together and you have some privacy. This is an excelled location

Almost every camping spot is  private with ferns and tree's surrounding you. Wonderful old growth feeling. Ample trails surrounding the campground and along the Cispus river.

Beautiful old wooded campground

Real winner of a site, 98 spots but still very peaceful and private. We were in loop C and just about able to see a few other sites from ours. Restrooms, water pumps and lovely camp hosts selling firewood if you’ve forgotten! The river is beautiful and lots of trails around the site. Arrived late on a Sunday (7pm) and a fair number of free spots to choice. Loops C and D are closest to the river 

Beautiful old forest

We spent 2 nights here. So peaceful. The forest is so thick couldn't hear other campers. Vault toilet kept very clean and stocked. Had water a short walk away. Trees here are 600 years old. Huge. We use a solar panel to run out refrigerator. The trees were so thick we were on battery the whole time. It's 9 miles south of Randle on FS 25. Rough in spots. Our 30 ft TT filled the parking pad but we never unhooked the truck. I think a 40ft would be maximum length.

Old growth forest 

The sites are quite private, and the campground was quiet. Our site was a nice size, but we got a double site, and it said it could fit 12 peeps. It had room for 1, maybe 2 tents. So We had 1 small RV and a tent. Other tent campers were going to join, and they would not have fit on this site 34 B. We could have fit a second small RV. The campground is like fairy wonderland with so much moss and greenery. All of the vualt toilets were spotless and smelled fine. It was quiet, and everyone was respectful and leashed their dogs, and managed their kiddos. The river is amazing, and there is a trail loop that is not fully open now, but you can walk along the river. The river was moving very fast in early June, and we would not have felt safe being beginning kayakers. The river was moving quite fast and seemed turbulent. We have At &amp; T cell service. We had no service at all. It
Was nice to be unplugged. We did bring two dogs, and it seemed dog friendly. We loved it and can not wait to go back! 

Beautiful Old growth forest campground 

Beautiful and private campground, we'll be back for sure. Honey hole type toilets and lots of water spigots around. We didn't hike but there seemed to be lots of hiking trails, plus the beautiful river! Despite there being a total burn ban (propane stoves only) there were SEVERAL fires happening all weekend which was disappointing.

Most sites are really private which we loved. We walked through the three loops that were open and made note of the sites that looked most private/flat-ish for a tent/good location. In our opinion these were the best sites we could see: Loop B 24, 52, 47, 44, 39, 38, 36, 31. Loop C 56, 57, 60, 69. Loop D 78, 80, 84 (this one seemed to have an awesome trail leading right down the river!). No cell service so plan accordingly!

Photos of Iron Creek Campground

Real photos from real campers