Big Pines Campground - Yakima River Canyon

The older reviews are all accurate and still apply. I really don't have to much to add. Campground makes for a great base for all your canyon adventures.

First time there and it was pretty, but completely without any way of communication, which is ok but not when you are with a 99 year old camping fanatic.

Yakima River Canyon Campgrounds offer 4 options to choose from, each of them a few miles apart. The other 3 options are quite small with only about 6 sites each, and Big Pines about 40 sites. All of them have vault toilets and NONE OF THEM HAVE WATER. We spend a weekend at Big Pines in September and really enjoyed our stay. The campground was quiet, many campers leaving during the day to go hiking or spend time on the river boating and/or fishing. We rode our bicycle on Canyon Road which at this time of the year was not busy. At 15$ per night or 7.50$ if you have the senior discount there is not much you can complain about. We plan in going back.

Some reviews mentioned the train waking them during the night. With that in mind we did bring ear plug and did hear any in our small trailer.

Pleasantly surprised.  Lots of sites, reasonably priced, paved roads, near the Yakima River.  The train on the other side of the river will wake you once or twice during the night.  A great stop from Bend to North Cascades.

Stopped at Big Pines for a quick one night. Beautiful sunset scene in the middle of the canyon! Near a river where a lot of the other campers were kayaking and fishing. It got really windy at night. Quiet stay, not too crowded (but my stay was in the middle of the week in September)

We stayed here one night on our way to Bend traveling from Seattle in the late afternoon. We stayed at the campsite #1 which is adjacent to the boat launch. Given that was winter season, part of the campground is closed yet there were several RVs and a couple of tents in the one open loop. The site we stayed was right by the river and across from the one outhouse that was open. Big dumpster also available to deposit garbage. This looks like a really nice spot for warmer weather hanging out. Nice big fire pit. Picnic tables in the sites near the River were moved to a central location due to winter time flood hazard.

Large Campground right on the river. very little shade. Vault toilets. Great place to stay for floating the river or fishing.located in the beautiful Ellensburg canyon on the Yakima river

One thing I love about Washington is that there are so many different places to hike. My husband and I stayed here, which is close to White Pass where there are tons of great hikes. This area is known for rattlesnakes, though so definitely be alert. There is also a really great place to go rock climbing nearby. We dont rock climb, but know that a lot of people love this place. We decided to get up early and do some hiking. We hiked Round Mountain one day and Bear Mountain the next. Round Mountain is about 4 miles roundtrip with lots of switch backs. Bear Mountain is 8 miles round trip, and is pretty flat until the last 1 mile. We liked the campground, and loved that it wasnt busy when we went which was surprising. I think we caught it at a good weekend. There were some RVs, and other tents while we were there. The weather was really warm. Bring sunscreen and lots of bug spray. There are areas with shade which is nice too.

One of our favorites. Right on the Yakima river, fishing. Boating, floating the river. Watching Elk, Bighorn Sheep, Eagles and Pelicans.

This is the largest site in the lower Yakima Canyon and has mostly campsites for RVs, etc, but a couple of walk in tent sites. BLMused to let camping be free during the off season but now charges $15 per night, no matter the site type. And if your a tent camper like me, then you also get the short end of the stick because the walk in sites do not have any shade while most of the RV sites do. Additionally, 90+% are reservable from ~Memorial Day to Labor Day, so don't plan on trying to get lucky unless on a first come first serve sure unless you can get there before 5 pm on a Friday. There is no water here.

It's pretty nice to wake up early and go for a quick hike up for a morning view. There is no water and unfortunately there aren't many first come first serve sites between memorial and Labor Day, so reserve ahead if you can.