Mowich Lake Campground — Mount Rainier National Park

The view was nice and same goes for everyone there. The campground was pretty rough, so make sure to bring a sleeping mattress or something soft to lay on.

Okay so there are a few things to know before making the trek here:

1. You don’t need a permit or anything to stay but you DO have to pay $30 to park your car on the premises and the pay station is in the middle of the road on your way in. So DONT pass it like we did.

2. Some sites are reserved for back country campers but it isn’t super obvious. It was hard for us to get a site, so plan to arrive on the earlier side.

3. Even in July there is snow and temperatures reached as low as 40F. Fortunately we were prepared, but you may not be.

But all in all this location was so reclusive and relaxing. I’ve never felt so close to nature and would absolutely recommend it in the future.

Hammock score: 0 of 10

Good location for day hikes, bear boxes, trash cans and pit toilets all good things.

All spaces are wide open. No privacy and your view is the picnic area.

Free camp ground in Mt. Rainier national park. Mostly used by backpackers but car campers are welcome. Spots are very small and there is zero privacy. All sites have bear lockers and picnic tables. 1 Vault toilet. Recycling and trash cans. Trail heads at camp ground going in several directions. We did the spray falls hike as well as tolmie peak. Both hikes are beautiful. About 3 miles each.

My husband and I just spent a weekend at Mowiche Campground located in Ashford, Washington. We chose this campground because we wanted to be close hikes near Mt. Rainier. Hiking here is incredible, and it was so nice to go out hiking in the morning and having a campsite so come back to. The campsites were a little small so I felt like we were close to our neighbors, but we honestly weren’t at the campground a whole lot other than in the evening and sleeping. It was super busy, but we went in August so we expected it to be busy. We made reservations online which helped because we were guaranteed a spot. Every campsite was filled. I did see some RVs in an area as well. If you are a hiking lover, I would recommend doing Tolmie Peak! This was hands down my favorite. It was about an hour drive from the campsite, but we got up pretty early and we’re back by 1pm. Such amazing views of Mt. Rainier. ALSO, there is an area where you can see Mt. Rainier from the campground.

There are 10 spots, first come first serve, they are arranged in a circle above the day use parking lot. You will have to carry your gear up you cannot park next to your site, no fires allowed. Bit of a rough ride to get up there but totally worth it. There are bears! Although I didn’t see one apparently according to our neighbor he walked right behind me. L Really beautiful and kinda eerie crystal clear lake. You are in the middle of nowhere. Get gas before you go up, the town has signs saying last chance for gas and make sure you have everything you need including water because you will be all by yourself and there is nothing out there. Great trails right from site.

This place is beautiful with many different options.

The campground is beautiful for car campers! It's a loop layout with trash/recycle, bathrooms and designated box type platforms for the tents. Cons: all spots are right next to each other so not a lot of privacy, camp fires are not allowed, cars have to be parked away from the campsite.

The tent sites are right off the parking lot; I was a bigger fan of the backcountry camping. But the lake is this amazingly clear, turquoise blue. You can see the fallen dead wood sitting at the bottom of the lake. Hiking into the alpine was too beautiful for words. I loved the area, but I didn't like the parking lot proximity

This cam[site is great aside from the roads. This is a very popular place so come ealy. This campsite is first come first serve. There is tables. Sadly you cannot build a fire here so it does get really cold at night time because there are glaciers in the park.