Tinkham Campground

Stopped for one night on our way to Glacier National Park. Campground sits off a 6 mile dirt road that stretches from one exit to another off of Interstate 90, so easy access and location. Seemed to be a very well known and popular place. The road was my only issue. It’s full of deep dips and bumps throughout, end to end.

Spacious campsites with a decent amount of privacy trees and brush in between. The trail and river were fun to explore. Bathroom was kind of far away but not terrible. They provide bear boxes for your food. If you like more privacy I’d suggest staying on the outside of the loops as the inner portion backs up to more sites

I parked in a pullout, along the road leading to this campground. It was exactly what I wanted, since I took a last minute road trip and didn’t have time reserve a camp spot. Waking up to the green forest out my car window is one of my favorite things on a low budget trip like this.

The dispersed campsites themselves are nice enough, but if you walk 20 to 30 feet in any direction... there's human feces and toilet paper everywhere. Really disappointing.

 I stopped here to fill my water tank and found that the water they do have is unsafe to drink.

I stayed further up the mountain due to noise from the freeway. It’s a nice campground for city dwellers to experience nature. The sites are well kept. Vault toilets and dumpster are available.

We stopped for one night at Tinkham campground on our way to Olympic National Park. Easy to find, well maintained and beautiful, right along the river. We have a per van so highway noise didn’t bother us. A great place to stay when traveling near Greater Seattle area without having to deal with the city. North Bend is just 12 miles down the road for gas, coffee and grocery refills before heading off.

I camped here over the past weekend and had a wonderful time. There are a lot of campsites to use and they are somewhat close together but I was not disturbed by any of my neighbors near or far during my two night stay. The is a good amount of tree cover but also plenty of open spots usually around the center of each camp. At almost every location you can hear the water from the river but you can also hear the noises of cats along the highway which was the main reason I give it 4/5 stars. They have a water pump for fresh water but I would recommend having two people to operate it. Bathrooms were spartan but clean and usable. Every site that I saw (about 20) had fire pits with some type of built in grill top so if there is no ban I’d strongly recommend bring local firewood to cook your dinner and make some S’mores!

We stopped here so we could leave the camper trailer and run into Seattle for the evening. Worked great! The road in is a bad as it gets still being able to haul a camper trailer. We literally went 0-5 MPH and it took awhile! We did first come first serve and found a site easily on a Monday. Lovely site, super remote feeling, but you can hear I90 right across the stream! Trash was not managed well and camp host wasn’t really around that we saw.

I booked this spot for our first camping adventure with our kids. Close enough to Seattle that if it didn’t work out, we could head home. We had a great time.

We were in a cluster of four campsites (sites 15,16,17,18)- it was semi private with enough trees to make it ok. Cute little paths all around for our kids to explore, easy river access and pretty quiet, except for the I-90 noise.

Road going up is full of potholes!

We had a great time testing out our equipment and figuring out if we like camping with kids before investing in more gear.

I will start off by saying that the road leading into this campground is pothole galore. There are some serious holes and a LOT of them, so if you are traveling in a sedan like I was, be prepared for a lot of zig zagging trying to maneuver through them without damaging your car. We visited Tinkham campground June 29th and meant to stay until July 1st but ended up leaving early due to kids freaking out and wanting to go home and screaming all night. The campground itself is nice, a lot of the camp sites look nice and distanced well away from others so you have some privacy. Ours was directly on the side of #9 so there wouldn't have been any privacy if we did have a neighbor. The discovery trail is right to the side of #10 but it's easy to miss because it's a small narrow trail in the woods. We would have missed it all together if it weren't for the small wooden sign a few feet down the trail identifying it. The noise from the freeway definitely overpowers the river sound, but like other reviewers said, you get use to it and it becomes white noise at night. The south fork of the Snoqualmie river goes right past the campground, we went to look at it but with small kids we didn't get too close because it is fairly deep and was running pretty fast. Overall, the stay at the campground was nice, minus our issues with the kids. There is a pump with fresh water when you come in and vault toilets on each side of the campground (no lights inside and some don't lock so bring a light)

As the title states,, stunning camping.. Only downside is highways noise but other than that absolutely no complaints. We spend our days hiking and collecting crystal clear quartz up at Hansen Creek. Love that spot and this great camping spot.

My wife and I went to Tinkham during the week to get away from the city for a few days. Our campsite (#33) was off of the river and well spaced from other campsites. Being close to the freeway, you do hear the car noise but it’ll get drowned out after awhile, a pretty basic site and overall good experience. Day hikes nearby and the host was very friendly. I would say, if you’re living in the city and if you’d like to get out of town for a few, test out your camping equipment, tinkham is perfect for it!

Great camping spots, lots of space and privacy from the other campers. Only down side, the campground is pretty close to the freeway, you can hear the white noise from the cars on the road through the night/day.

River/creek is right behind the campsite! The sites have easy access points.

We stayed at a free spot along Tinkham Road (NF-55). It’s the same road that the paid campground is on but there are quite a lot of free dispersed spots. The ones on the river side looked pretty large and quite nice. We were just sleeping in our car and found a spot on the opposite side. It was free and convenient for hiking Annette Lake the next morning, but trash that people leave is disappointing! Other than that, the road overall is a great spot for a free site.

The best part of this campground area is that it is near the river. Unfortunately, a lot of folks use it and abuse it as well. The unpaved road to the camp areas took out a tire of mine, so make sure you have a spare or roadside assistance that’ll save you in the woods.

Spent the Sunday after the 4th of July and it was still relatively full We didn’t stay in the paid campground but a little further up the road. After having to clean the site up a bit it was a really great spot. Close enough to hear the river all night so it’s relaxing!

I have always enjoyed camping here. Sites are well spaced out, mostly private, and nestled among the trees. River next to the campground is nice, especially helpful to drone out traffic from I-90. Within an hour of Seattle

Spacious sites. Quiet and relaxing. We chose a spot close to the water and this is by far the nicest camp site we have ever experience. 11/10 stars!

We were traveling from the Olympic Peninsula to the Tri-Cities and needed to stop for the night when I saw this campground. Because we are somewhat spontaneous travelers, leaving late afternoon, I knew it would be slim pickings for a campsite. But hey, we just have a tent and need a place to put it. After driving down the the not too bad dirt road, we saw the campground was full. Never being afraid to ask a question, we approached the campground host and asked about the unmarked spot near the campground entrance. He said we could have it for the night! Talk about relieved! He was very friendly. Well we set up the tent and got ready to get some sleep when we realized the constant hum was not the river but was I-90. All night long... Probably won’t stay here again unless we have ear plugs. Campground was clean though with nice camping spots.

Beautiful campground in a great location! Close to so many hikes and outdoor activities. The only downside is that the sound of the freeway is never ending. Will definitely stay again tho!

A very nice campground! The sizes vary for the size of group you need. It is close to the highway but the river in the spring covers up the sound of the highway.

The river is a fun place to play in, find cool rocks and if you need some nature photos. This is highly recommended if you have kids who need to roam free.

There is free camping on the road before you get to the campground if you are running tight on cash or all the spots are full. These sites are right along the river an unmarked but are remarkable.

This is a great campground on the south fork of the Snoqualmie River, however, no matter what month we go, the water is always super cold.  Gotta love glacier water.

There are ton trees through the site as well as more open sites to get the occasional sunshine.  We stayed in a site directly on the river and loved hearing the sound of the water at night. There are a few bathrooms around the campgrounds but only one water spicket for drinkable water.

There was both walk-in sites and reservable sites for both tents and RVs.  No hookups though.

My littles loved the Discovery Trail on the edge of the campground.  It was super easy for them to do and only about a mile and a half.

Off the 90, you have to go down a mile and a half unpaved road. The sight is near the freeway and you will hear the cars during a busy weekend.

Decent sized sites, lots of ways to play in the water!

Although the Camp Ground and facilities are great at Tinkham, my advice would be to get into your lifted Off-Roader and hit the mountain roads for this camping trip of a lifetime!

We set up camp in an open field and found an old camp fire ring that hadn’t been used for at least a year and proceeded to roast our packed hotdogs and s’mores.

About a Half Hours hike back to some formal campsites and you’ll hit the South Fork of Snoqualmie River, so you’re still able to enjoy all the fun that camping at Tinkham has to offer but you can pitch your tent for free, even in the summer months!

Dont forget to grab your inner tube and float around in the shallow pools of the River (remember to anchor yourselves down of course) and enjoy a nice cold beverage as the breeze bends the trees surrounding this river.

Another benefit to Off Road Camping is that you can explore some creeks that aren’t crowded and can take a private little splash to cool off on the hike back to civilization.

great campsites right by the river!!!

I have visited this campground many times. It is a small Forest Service campground next to the south fork of the Snoqualmie river. The site well shaded and fairly privet for the most part. No real ammenaties so I would call this organized bone docking. Camp host is on site #2 and firewood is available. Vault style toilets are available and a hand operated well pump for drinking water is at the entrance. Hiking abounds around the campground. The river is cold and shallow but very peaceful. With no playground or organized swimming area there aren't a lot of children but those that are there can have fun exploring, splashing in the river, bike riding and so on.

Pros: woodsy, peaceful, relatively quiet, close Seattle so you can go camping Friday after work. Reasonably priced.

Cons: yes you can hear the freeway. If you close your eyes and relax it Lund like the river until you hear a jakebrake but that's not very often. Most sites are not reservable but rarely is the park full. Road to Tinkham can be pretty rough.

All in all this is one of my favorite quick getaways close to home and will return many more times.

The campground was easy to get to from Seattle and a beautiful drive through the mountains. The site itself was clean flat and large, and had everything we needed. The road noise is constant, but it is kind of like a white noise machine. The river was beautiful as well.

Wonderful time at Tinkham! Most of the sites are on the water and it is GORGEOUS! Only thing, the bathrooms were unbearable! I'd definitely go again there tho!

The sites were clean and spacious. Not running water or clean restrooms though