I worked at Sly Park as the Rainbow Camp camphost from early June-mid September and had a fantastic experience. The park itself is gorgeous and well managed while the rangers and hosts are super friendly. Day use areas and day use parking fill up very quickly, especially on weekends, so arrive early if you want a good spot. The hiking trails around the lake are beautiful and easy to traverse. I’m in my mid 40’s and walked the south side waterfall trail from Hazel Creek to the first dam and back in about 3 hours…and I’m by no means a regular hiker. The rangers and camp hosts alike make regular rounds to insure that there is no picnicking/day use or day use parking going on in the numbered camp sites and to make sure the park rules are being followed. Numbered sights are available by reservation only.
Rainbow, Kam Loop, Dogwood and Hazel Creek camping loops are nicely shaded and stay much cooler than the camping loops toward the front of the park but it can be tough to get a larger motorhome or travel trailer into the back of the park. The roads are very narrow with plenty of blind corners. Unsupervised children on bicycles, hikers, and other campers walking dogs on the roads is very common, unfortunately so are speeding cars. Be cautious on the roads and keep a close eye out.
There is plenty of potable water spigots available throughout the park and plenty of pit toilets. There is also a lovely, short hike to a waterfall! It’s just a 1 mile walk along the lakeshore from the Hazel Creek day use parking area. I definitely recommend this campground. It does get very busy on weekends, so if you would rather not deal with the “Weekend Warrior” type of campers, book your stay for mid-week (Mon-Thurs) and probably avoid camping in July altogether.
We stayed here overnight when passing through the area. Very clean campground with pit toilet, concrete picnic tables and fire rings. There were also a few game cleaning stations as well. Beautiful rock formations and juniper trees. The area feels ancient with a beautiful energy. Will definitely be staying here again when we pass back through the area.
We only stayed one night and would have loved to stay more. Beautiful older campground right on the beach. Clean restrooms and showers. Electric and water at the site with a dump station available near the campground entrance. Walking paths from the campground through the dunes and to the beach are well marked. Head out for sunset! It’s beautiful. It was cold but sunny when we visited in February.
Loved this campground. Lucked out with a last minute reservation and got a fantastic spot right below a trail that leads to dinosaur footprints in the sandstone. The entire campground was clean and well maintained and spaces were far enough apart to not feel cramped even the campground was full. If you camp with pets, especially dogs, I recommend protective booties because there are goatheads everywhere in the grass and bushes.
My favorite type of campground! Feels remote, quiet, clean, well established with giant mossy trees and a river rushing through the camp.
The pit toilets were very clean and there were only 3 or 4 other groups camping.
The sound of the creek lulled us to sleep and we woke bright and early to the sound of birds and chittering squirrels.
We stayed in site 19. The sites have a lot of green space between them so I would imagine that even if there were a lot of people in the campground, it wouldn’t feel crowded. There were also lots of paths that led to the river.
10/10 would recommend and we’ll be visiting there again.
What a beautiful RV park! Large spaces, easy to drive through, 30 and 50 amp, most sites had full hookups with fire pits and picnic tables. There is a park right on the lake, wonderful wildlife viewing, an adult size set of swings just made my day. Took me back to small kid times! Wifi available at the pavilion near the park. Very clean bathrooms. Large dumpsters. and a dump station. We also saw a propane fill station as well. We will definitely be back.
This place is REALLY pretty and well maintained. The camp host was very friendly and helpful. There are a BUNCH of hiking trails nearby and the rangers have classes on certain days at the amphitheater.
The bathrooms were clean and there was a freshwater spigot to fill jugs and whatnot.
These spots fill up fast every day in the summer. Come in early to secure your spot. We got lucky and snagged one of the last 2 spots in the campground at 2:30-ish PM
Didn’t stay at the RV Park or campground as they were booked solid but for $18 (discounts for veterans, disabled persons and seniors) anyone can use the pool and hot springs.
We just happened to be visiting the Olympic Peninsula during a heatwave. It was close to 90 degrees every day we were there. After a couple days without a proper shower (in all that heat) we were feeling pretty icky. We popped in for the 10:00am soak time slot. (They have scheduled 90 minute swim/soak starting at 8:00am with a half hour break between soak times.) Showers are required in the locker room before you go to the pool area, then they have 3 pools filled with water from the mineral spring and 1 large, chlorinated, fresh water pool.
They were all fantastic. The 3 mineral pools are all slightly different temperatures, so you’ll find one that is comfortable for you. The pool was perfectly refreshing with the weather being so warm the day we went. We left the pool area about a half hour before the end of the time slot so we had time to take an actual soapy shower in the locker rooms without holding anybody else up. Side-note, there are lockers but you have to bring your own lock and the shower stalls don’t have doors or a curtain. I soaped up in my swimsuit, changed into my regular clothes and then used the swimsuit spinner to dry my suit. Also! The gift shop has beverages, snacks, ice creams and ice at a reasonable price along with plenty of fun souvenir shirts and things.
10/10 would recommend. Will be coming back for another visit every time we visit the area.