## 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

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

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

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

Questival

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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 

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 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

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.