Tinkham Campground, near Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, is a solid choice for those looking to escape into nature without straying too far from the comforts of civilization. With spacious campsites surrounded by trees and brush, you'll find a decent amount of privacy to unwind and enjoy the great outdoors.

This spot is known for its easy access to hiking trails and a nearby river, perfect for a little exploration or just soaking in the scenery. Campers appreciate the bear boxes provided for food storage, ensuring your snacks stay safe from curious wildlife. As one visitor noted, “The trail and river were fun to explore,” highlighting the natural beauty that surrounds you here.

While the campground offers basic amenities like vault toilets and trash disposal, keep in mind that there’s no drinking water available, so plan accordingly. Some campers have mentioned the noise from the nearby highway, but many found it manageable, especially with the soothing sounds of the river nearby. 

Tinkham Campground is conveniently located just a short drive from North Bend, where you can stock up on supplies or grab a coffee before heading back to your campsite. Whether you're passing through or planning a longer stay, this campground provides a great base for your adventures in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

## Overview

 Tinkham Campground is located along the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. It offers some of the most stunning scenery in Washington's North Cascades, as well as easy access to an abundance of recreational activities.
## Recreation

 The surrounding area is a prime location for hiking, fishing, picnicking and horseback riding in summer and early fall. In winter, visitors can take advantage of skiing and snowshoeing opportunities. A handful of hiking trails lie within a short driving distance, making Tinkham an ideal setting for both individual and family camping excursions. The 0.5-mile Tinkham Discovery Trail is an easy, family-friendly nature path. It weaves through fallen, moss-covered trees to a small pond. Children love investigating the insects, wildflowers and fungi along the trail.
## Natural Features

 The campground sits alongside the river, in a towering canopy of Douglas fir, cedar and western hemlock, providing abundant shade. Rugged peaks, scenic rivers and abundant wildlife define the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and surrounding designated wilderness areas. On a clear day visitors can see Mt. Baker, which rises to an elevation of 10,781 feet. The active volcano is perpetually snow-capped. Mt. Baker's summit, Grant Peak, is actually a 1,300-foot-deep mound of ice, which hides a massive volcanic crater. Wildlife in the area ranges from mountain goats in the higher elevations to coyotes and pine martens in the forests. Migratory birds and native fish find ample habitat in the varied ecosystems as well. 
## Contact Info

 For facility specific information, please call (530) 932-0242. 
## Nearby Attractions

 Mount Rainier National Park is about an hour away. This beautiful park offers fantastic glimpses of glaciers, subalpine ecology and volcanic landscapes. Hiking and scenic driving are the area's most popular activities.
## Charges & Cancellations

 Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.

Tinkham Campground

Whether you're an RVer or tent camper, Snoqualmie Pass, WA is a great place to post up for the weekend—or longer. Snoqualmie Pass is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. At The Dyrt, campers like you share their favorite spots, plus tips and photos. No matter where you're headed in Snoqualmie Pass, you'll find the best spot for you and your camping crew.

Snoqualmie Pass

The Best Camping Near Snoqualmie Pass, Washington

Great campground close enough to the city for a quick trip but feels like you are in another world. Pretty primitive, no showers/electric. If you want to get away, you are away.

Beautiful

This campsite is perfect for the outdoor enthusiast. We chose this site because it was close to so many hikes!

Awesome campsite! 

This campsite is great! Lots of space and friendly people

Great spot by the river

Quiet, not a long distance away and great seclusion!!!

Questival

Came here for Cotopoxi Questival and it was perfect. Great friendly neighbors yet peaceful!

PLENTY OF SPACE!!! Great camping. I would give it 6 stars if I could.

This campground is close to Seattle but feels like your hundreds of miles away. Easy to get to. Well maintained and you can reserve online. Beautiful views of the cascades and right on the river!

Your new favorite campsite

We stayed at Tinkham campground for the Questival challenge. The camp hosts were not only helpful but had a great sense of humor. There are a ton of campsites but it's still fairly quiet. Thanks for a great experience!

Great campground!

Good set up. A little mossy and uneven but hey, that's camping!

Good times!

We decided to camp here the day of and found camping grounds right away. Came with a nice BBQ and table, perfect for our smaller group. Other campers were quiet

Last minute camping

Green with tall trees. Close to great hiking

Nice for close to Seattle

Enjoyed our short stay here for Questival. Lots of room between the sites! Easy access to beautiful river also.

Nice campground! 

We found a walk-on campsite on a busy weekend and we're so happy to find this spot. There is a lovely little river that runs through the campgrounds.

Great spot, like very river

We stayed at Tinkham just one night (a Friday). Thankfully, they have first come first serve campsites. We were able to get a spot around 10:00 am and then spend the day doing activities away from the campsite. Everything was well maintained and reasonably private. Highly recommend!

Peaceful stopover 

We had a beautiful experience at this campground. At the sound of the river rushing behind us the entire time. Woke up to a beautiful sunrise. Easy to get to, clean, bathrooms are clean, and nice fire pits.

Relaxing by the river

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

Good experience

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!

Great Location!

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.

Quick Camping

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.

Peaceful and quiet getaway 

Tinkham campsite 

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.

Don’t Forget To Go Off the Beaten Path

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

Fun for kids

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.

Near freeway but worth it

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. 

Near River

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! 

Great spot

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.

Convenient, but not quiet 

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!

Beautiful site

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 

Fun little campground 

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!

Sweet spot

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. 

River nearby is lovely

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. 

Free camping on NF-55

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. 

Perfect quick getaway 

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!

Decent place not far from Seattle 

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.

Stunning camping

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)


Nice forest campground next to river

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.

First time campers

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. 

Pretty spot close to Highway

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!

Great little stop but noisy from the highway

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. 

Beautiful and convenient 

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.

Weekend Warriors 

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

No potable water!

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. 

Pretty spot, used as a toilet by most

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. 

Quiet spot to rest overnight 

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

Nice 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. 

Photos of Tinkham Campground

Real photos from real campers