Kanaskat-Palmer State Park

We got lucky and snagged the very last spot here on a Saturday in late September. It’s a beautiful campground, very peaceful, other campers were quiet and respectful, we were surprised at how quiet the place was despite being completely full. Note that you can check availability online on the day of, but you cannot make same day reservations online. You have to do it in person at the ranger entrance. We got a no-hookup spot for $25, an electric spot would have been $35. Showers are hot and free, and there’s a free dump and potable water fill as well. I read somewhere that for non-campers there’s a $5 fee to dump, but I didn’t confirm that. 

Park hosts sell firewood, sites are level and fairly decently divided from your neighbor. There are many pull through sites (pull along a curve next to your site, not straight pull through). Zero cell reception here for ATT and Verizon, and the cell booster didn’t help. There are trash dumpsters here and blue recycling bins, but they don’t specify what they will accept for recycling. Lots of tree coverage here, solar didn't work well and I’m not sure if Starlink would work.

General: 50-site campground (including six yurts) plus a group campground. The campground is in two loops: one with electric hookups and one without. 

Site Quality: All sites are level and are a mix of back-in and pull-through. Site 24 was a pull-thru. Sites in the tent (no hookup) section are gravel while sites with electricity have paved camper pads. ADA-accessible sites (one in each loop) are completely paved. Heavily wooded sites afford good privacy between sites. 

Bath/Shower house: one building between the two loops with six all-in-one (toilet, sink, shower) units. They were clean. At first glance, it appears you need tokens for the shower but upon closer inspection, it did look like they were free. However, you were asked to conserve water and that the hot water was turned off at night due to vandalism.

Activities: Several trails that are open until dusk. Several places to put in and take out boats but you are warned that some sections of the Green River are Class III or IV and where you should take out if you are not a highly experienced boater. We also saw some people fishing.

This was our final stop on our North Cascades loop trip. The campground is located about an hour outside of Seattle yet it was very quiet (except for several trains throughout the day and night). Surprisingly we had zero cell coverage(Verizon).

We stayed 1 night here for the maiden voyage of our recently purchased travel trailer, which was nice since it's only about an hour away from our place near Seattle. Arrived Friday early evening and it wasn't busy at all.

The check-in process was easy, even though their reservation system was down at the time. Filled up w/ some fresh water at the dump station, which was clean and well maintained.

Campsites in the RV loop were spaced out enough with vegetation between them so as to provide some privacy. Our site had a pull-through driveway, 30amp hookup, a fire ring and picnic table. Bathrooms in that loop were pretty nice... heated and very clean.

Took a walk down to the day use area by the river, which was easy for us, but some portions of the trails closer to the river were slightly overgrown w/ a few obstacles, which could be problematic for some. Didn't see any kids play structures down there, which would be nice to have for families.

We heard a couple trains while there, but the noise wasn't too loud. Never heard the fire siren that they warned us about. Overall, it was a good camping experience for a quick trip and would return!

This campground was a wonderful place to spend a night or two. Well maintained heated bathrooms, the staff we had the opportunity to meet were quite friendly, and for hiking the river loop (would definitely suggest purely for the view) was just a few minute walk from our campground.

There are only two negatives that I can see:

1. When purchasing wood, be aware that it may be a bit damp. Being that it was March when we visited, this likely impacted the moisture inside the shed they held the firewood.
2. This one is subjective as it comes with an upside. Some of the campsites can be a bit close to one another even if they aren’t the designated group sites. This, however, came as quite a helpful part of our visit as we, relatively new campers, were assisted by a wonderful group of people in the next site over when we struggled to light our fire or kindling. (view negative 1)

In summary: We would strongly suggest this site to any traveler with wonderful views, and consider sourcing dry firewood from a vendor in the wetter months!

We love this campground and camp here about once a month. The sites are large with lots of trees. One loop has electricity (no water or sewer hookups but has a dump station) and the other does not. It has 6 very clean individual (one person) bathrooms with a shower in each. The riverfront accessed from the campground tends to be a bit too raging for my taste with children. We usually take the kids to the lake at Nolte state park (approx. 3 miles away) for water play. This campground is heavily patrolled by the park rangers. I usually have contact with them in my campsite at least twice a day( not for any reason)I have had a fellow parent dropping their child off to camp with us and within 10 minutes the rangers were there checking that they had a park pass. I have been asked by the park rangers at 10:01 p.m. to be quite at as myself and three 9 year old girls were talking (no music etc) too loud. I have also seen the park rangers call in the King County Police. I have never felt unsafe or had any unpleasant experiences here but the park rangers mean business. My point with this is, if you are a large group, like to stay up late and listen to music and/or party it might not be the campground for you. At times I have felt slightly annoyed with all the patrolling. However ultimately as this campground is so close to town I know it’s these efforts that keep the campground safe and pleasant. Thank you!! park rangers I’m sure it is a tough job.

The group site set apart from the rest of the camping, so you can really enjoy the space without feeling like you are bothering the other campers. There's lots of space for tents plus some wooden bunks in a wooden shelter, a nice option for people new to camping who don't have a tent, but I'd be afraid of spiders! :O Site is adjacent to a river access, which I did not get a chance to check out myself, but being near water is always a plus to me.

The campgrounds are about an our of of Seattle, so it's a really nice low-commitment option for those residing in the greater Seattle area. Despite being so close, it doesnt feel very populated or anything like that, nice and woodsy still! :)

The only drawback to the group site is occasionally you'll get a random person wandering through to access the water.

I wouldn't suggest going so late in the year unless you are prepared for rain, it poured on us most of the stay, but we still managed to have fun. Luckily there is a large covered dining area so it's survivable in rain