Bald Knob Campground — Mount Spokane State Park

If you'd like a lovely campground standing 3000 ft above the northeast Columbia basin, this would be hard to beat.  It's simply beautiful.  A couple hundred feet you can peer twenty miles to the east (probably more).  The campground is small (8 sites) and compact (you'll have neighbors near), but that's a good design choice --- the little plateau at Bald Knob simply isn't big enough for more.

If you're up for a stroll, then climb (or drive!) to the top of Mt. Spokane.  On a clear day you can see three states (WA/ID/MT) and two countries (USA/Canada). If you get to the campground and then *don't* take a side trip to the top of Mt. Spokane, you will need to have your head examined.  [N.B. If you're driving a motorhome, do *not* drive to the summit past the campground: the narrow one-lane (paved) road is just not going to let you go up while other cars are coming down.]

If you go there at the right time of year, you can stroll a couple hundred feet and harvest huckleberries.  Actual huckleberries.  I had waffles with fresh huckleberries, so eat your heart out.

This is one of the pricier campgrounds ($39/night in 2026), but there's potable water and restrooms with flush toilets and even hot water(!).  And of course, there are bear-proof food lockers and garbage bins for each site.

If you'd like an alpine campground with easy access, unbelievable views, and excellent facilities, this is it.

in the TLDR department,

(*) paved road to within the last few hundred feet of your campsite.

(*) potable water

(*) restrooms with flush toilets and hot water (!)

(*) 8 campsites --- kind of cramped, but nice.

(*) 20 minutes drive to summit of Mt. Spokane with "unbelievably spectacular view"

(*) if you're there in mid- late- July, huckleberries are right there.  I had them on waffles this morning.

Depending upon where you start, this campsite is about 45 minutes from Spokane WA.  You'll have to have some patience with the last 15 miles or so of the (paved) road, as it is pretty curvaceous.  

This campsite is at about 5100 ft on a shoulder of Mt. Spokane, whose summit is 5800 ft.  Let's just say, if you go to the trouble to get to this campground, and *don't* take a side trip to the summit, there's not much I can do for you.  If you're not familiar with the geography in this region, Mt. Spokane stands about 3800 ft above the valley floors in the Spokane Valley and adjacent valley floors.  In other words, you'll have a stunning views on clear days.  From the summit of Mt. Spokane, you can see two nations and three states.

The campground itself is small: 8 sites --- so prefer to reserve online.  

At each site:

(*) a bear-proof garbage bin

(*) a bear-proof food bin

(*) a potable water source (shared)

(*) a surprisingly nice, clean restroom with (omg) flush toilets and (omg) hot water.

(*) they don't have showers, but gurl: you know what you can achieve with a sink and hot water and some wash cloths.

(*) it's a small thing, but there is some cell-phone coverage there.  This means that if you're a smart phone and computer nerd, you can watch Netflix at night.  

The thing is, as stupendous as this site is, it's a "one night" site.  

However, I will be back next summer, because Bald Knob is just so amazing.

Considering that Mt. Spokane is Washington's largest state park, it is a little odd that they have so few campsites (eight of them, if I'm remembering correctly), but I certainly don't mind a small campground. For the number, the campsites could be more spread apart, however.

Mt. Spokane is such a wonderful state park though that even my few complaints about the campground is easily overlooked. The trails, views, flora, and wildlife is spectacular here and I'd gladly sleep in the parking lot if that was my only camping option.

I went camping here in early July when Spokane had a heat wave of over 100 degrees temperature everyday, and on Mt. Spokane the temperatures were a good 10 - 15 degrees cooler. With a breeze and lots of drinking water it was well tolerable.

I booked the last available campsite at the campground for our trip as it was last minute, it was definitely the worst of the campsites but it still was not that bad. I'd stay at that same site (site #2, btw) if it was the only one available again. It had a single tree (so no hammock setup for us) which did little to offer any shade, and it was right at the entrance of the campground. It did only have a neighbor on one side though which is nice.

If I went again, ideally I would get campsite 4 or 6. They are both much better than campsite 2 and, in my opinion, the best two campsites at the campground.

What a gem! Small state park campground at about a 3000 ft elevation with only 8 sites. Dry Camping only, no dump station, but clean flushable toilets(no showers) and potable water available. Two beautiful trails are accessible from the campground and lots more are within a 10 minute drive with plenty of parking at trailheads. Local foliage is wonderful, views are fantastic from the trails. Quiet hours are enforced and observed- very quiet and relaxing. The camp host, Linda, does such a wonderful job of keeping everything neat and tidy and checking in with campers to see if they have what they need. Sites are small- only one was a pull through. I wouldn't attempt with anything longer than 23 feet. Each site has a bear box, really nice and large picnic table, firepit and tent pads that are nicely cushioned with pea gravel. Our site,#3, was centrally located without a ton of privacy, but it was still a nice site and folks were respectful and quiet. Decent cell service in the campground. I am absolutely coming back.

I just stayed at this campground for the first time over the weekend. Arrived Friday night after work and left on Sunday. Despite being a small campground, there were still 3 sites available when we got there on Friday, and 2 sites open at the end of the day on Saturday. It was $27/night to camp there, plus $10 extra if you have additional vehicles. You also need to have a Discover Pass. There is a nice bathroom with a sink and 3 flush toilets (I can only vouch for the ladies room, didn’t see the men’s). The sites are pretty close together and there really isn’t a lot of privacy, but it’s still a nice campground. There are tons of lovely hiking trails on Mt Spokane and there were plenty of people out enjoying it over the weekend. There’s a very nice hiking trail right across the road from the campground that has great scenic views along the way and lots of wildflowers. The peak of the mountain is a short drive from the campsite and I absolutely recommend driving up there to watch the sunset. What a view.

We stayed at Mount Spokane campground in August 2017. The price was $12 for one night and $8 for an additional car. The campground itself is very small (6 spots). They do not allow reservations. It doesn't seem like a heavily used campground, possibly because of it's close proximity to the city or maybe because there are no swimming areas nearby. There was only one other family camping while we were there. Site #4 (where we stayed) has tall trees that provide shade, a bit of a view, and a nice place to put up a tent. Site 1 is shaded by tall trees but it's very close to the bathrooms. Sites 2, 3, and 5 are in the middle of the campground, not much shade or privacy, but great if you have a group of campers that you want to be close to. Site 6 is a pull through for an RV and is fairly private and shady. We encountered A LOT of hikers and huckleberry pickers. There were still tons of berries left to be picked and we saw many people carrying buckets full. Plenty of bike trails, hiking trails, the old cabin you can visit, the Vista House, or you can go to the top where the views are amazing and they have viewing tubes that you can look through to identify the surrounding lakes. The temperature was about 20 degrees cooler than the city, which was a much needed break from the summer heat. We did some hiking and huckleberry picking too and made huckleberry pancakes for breakfast. Overall it was a pleasant little campground and we will definitely visit again.