Jarrell Cove State Park

Recently we spent the 4th of July weekend at Jarrell Cove and we had a great time. The campground is very family friendly (we have a toddler) and quiet. They had more amenities than I would expect: they had free wifi, loaner life jackets, little library, and kids packets from the park (coloring pencils, bookmark, coloring page). Bathrooms are clean with a shower. A short drive to Harstine Island state park is great for collecting sand dollars and clams, you see a ton of little crabs and we went kayaking. I read previous reviews and they do have deer that roam and when we pulled up there was one at our site to greet us.

I wanted to love this place. We were lucky enough to score sight #2 early in the booking season, or so I thought. I was suprised to find when we got there the campground was maybe half full at most and cleared out quickly-mind you we showed up on Sunday and stayed till Wednesday. We have a 12x12 tent with an attached 8x8 awning so in total it's 20 feet long with guy lines all around and we had plenty of space. This sight is right next to the day area's covered picnic tables so be aware of that If you book it. It's pretty much in the middle of the "campground". There was also a giant parking pad you can pull into right next to the sight that easily fit our 2 suv's. The ground is extremely hard dirt. We have thick Kodiak steel stakes and managed to bend a few getting them in the ground. That was a first. The sight is at the top of the camp ground (there is a trail that leads it down to the water, it's easy to follow and not far at all) so you do have some what of a view to the water the docks and the small marina across the water from you, but because of the brush and trees it's very very limited in this spot. There are two docks you can walk down to, both are beautiful and if you have a kayak or boat they would be ideal. When the tide goes down the rocky beach comes out full of crabs and other treasures that were fun to find. However, it's just not enough to make it awesome. The camping and "day area's" are not seperated so all the park traffic goes right past your sight, which was a lot of traffic. That, with it not having any sort of play area mixed with the constant attack of wasps and yellow jackets do not make for a kid friendly experience. The bathrooms are clean. Hot water, several toilets and one pay shower-the typical 50¢ for 3 min sorta thing. Across from us were some beautiful mature apple trees and a large grassy field where you'll find several sights including 4, 5 and 6. No one took these sights but they are just beautiful with soft grassy area's for your camp and plenty of space for even large tents and lots of gear. Several deer came up throughout the day to eat the apples off the ground and trees in those spots, that was fun. They only have a few little forest trails but nothing longer than maybe 10 min worth of a "hike" so not something I would come here for. All in all it was beautiful but between the stinging pests, the foot and vehicle traffic from day visitors, zero Verizon cell service and not much to do, I don't think we'd come back here with the kids for anything more than maybe a night on our way elsewhere. If you have a boat and need a dock with power and water for the night, a safe place to anchor your boat or a beach you can paddle up to and camp, this place is awesome! They did have a few smaller tent sights that seemed cool where you park and carry your gear a few feet or like I said the grassy apple sights and at least 4 sights that would easily hold large RV's or trailers with easy parking so keep that in mind. I think #8 especially was a nice pull thru spot with full hook-up's and you can see the water better as well. It wasn't windy at all and only made it into the low 80s then down to maybe the high 50s if that, so beautiful warm weather. Honestly,if you have a boat or kyak absolutly check this place out. If you don't care about entertaining young kids and just want a quiet, relaxing, off grid place to watch the water this is your spot. All in all it's well maintained, busy in the day quiet at night. More bees than mosquitos, day visitors than campers and friendly camp hosts. Wanted to love it, still like it a lot, probably won't be back with the kids anytime soon. Good luck!

This is a very basic campground, but it's clean and very well maintained. It's about 10 minutes off Rt. 3, all the way on paved roads, which do get pretty narrow as you enter the park. The sites, some of which are reservable, are pretty close together and don't offer much privacy. Some are right next to each other in an open area. Some are set into the woods, but still not very private. The bathrooms are centrally located, and very clean by campground standards. The big plus about this campground is the proximity to the water. You can walk to docks in a couple of places, which means you can bring your kayaks or small boats, or arrive by boat, if you want. When the tide is out the mud is exposed in several areas. There isn't really a beach area. This would be a great campground for a one-night stopover, but the closeness of the sites would make it less desirable for longer stays. If you like to play horseshoes you're in luck. There are two sets of horseshoe pits. Less than half the sites were occupied during a midweek in early May. Summer weekends probably get more crowded.

Nice campground and dock camping. Been a couple times in an rv and a couple times in a boat. No sewer hookup and only 2 sites with electric and water. Great kayaking too.

Campground Review:

Jarrell Cove has a few spots you can reserve for camping that are up above the water, and a number of sites of different sizes that are first come first serve. Many of the FCFS sites have a water view, and all of them have plenty of trees for hanging hammocks. My friends and I slept in our hammocks the whole weekend and all of us had a view of the water and all of the sail boats. Something we discovered on our last day was a FCFS spot at the very end of the path that was huge, had a view of the water from everywhere, and was the most private spot there. The only downside to that one was a standing grill vs. a fire pit. The sound is a short walk from any of the sites, as is parking and water crafts of all kinds are welcome on the water. I spent the weekend paddle boarding and lounging on the water, and plenty of our neighbors brought boats. There is a boat launch and a dock, but beware, the tide goes out far enough to ground a boat if you dock too close to shore. Great camping spot, I'll definitely go again! Reserve a spot at Jarrell Cover here.

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I occasionally get products to test! During my trip to Jarrell Cove I tested Lily Trotters Four Kisses Compression Socks, and they do not disappoint! First I will say I was not a believer in the power of compression socks until I put these on. They feel very tight when you first put them on, but after just a couple minutes they felt like the perfect fit. I went on a hike in them, climbed a few trees, and jumped around to get a real feel for them. After all of my activity my calves, shins, and feet felt so great I didn't want to take them off. As a side note it was a very hot day and they didn't stink at all when I took them off (I checked). I would recommend them to anyone who is active or travels (I plan to wear them on my next flight). I don’t typically suffer with shin splints, but my friend does and she said they made her shins feel great!

This is a small quiet park. We enjoyed the view of Jarrell Cove from the boat docks and enjoyed our crab dinner.

There are two sites here with hookups. No dump station on the grounds. Site 8 is a pull through and is very large, but not so private as everyone walking to the main dock walks right past your site. Site 10 is a back in site but is very secluded with brush all around the site. Both sites have an obstructed view of the water through the trees with site 8 having a slightly better view. There are some great walking trails through the woods you can take if you need to collect yourself. There is a hidden field (which is actually the drain field for the septic system) in the woods that we found useful for running the dog. We wish we had kayaks with us. The nearby Olympic Bakery is very nice. Driving around the island was frustrating because you can't really get to the water anywhere other than at the other state park. The drive to Jarrel cove is on a very rural road with several places where the road is almost one lane wide. Tent sites are really cute here and if you want to haul your stuff a few hundred feet you can choose sites very near the water, or deep in the woods.