Falls Creek Campground
Nathan H.The Dyrt PRO User
Reviewed Jul. 13, 2020

Impressive Falls, River Access from Camp, Sweet Pines

Visited in August of 2019. I can't remember the site number, but it only has seven spacious sites.

If you're visiting Washington this is one of the prime areas to see as it is rich with rugged beauty. Winthrop is a fun tourist town but can get really crowded in the summer

A Thriftway grocery store and Ace Hardware outside of town have a good selection and reasonable prices. A camp store at Pearrygin Lake has ice and some supplies (when open).

There are no shortage of camping spots (mostly dispersed) in this area, we chose Falls Creek because there were some nice spots on the Chewuch River. The water was off and there was no trash pickup, but the larger Chewuch Campground up river had both.

The cold and shallow river was great for lounging in and I ran our boys up river so they could float down a few times. Below the campground Falls Creek feeds into it and the depth and flow increase. The river was easily accessible from several of the sites directly

Across the road is a short trail that leads to the surprisingly impressive Falls Creek Falls. The tumbling falls create a tiny oasis set dramatically against the rocks. There are a lot of unofficial trails around the area too and we climbed up a couple hundred feet to get a view of the river valley.

The campground is small and had no permanent host but one did come by daily to check on things.

The road is visible and traffic was common during the day but it was quiet at night. We only had one late night camper looking for spot.

Wildlife was mainly vocal squirrels and tiny field mice, some of whom tried to move into our minivan. Ravens and a hawk patrolled the area overhead but there were not a ton of birds. A few tiny fish but not a lot else in the river.

I would recommend driving down to NF-5140 about a mile below the campground and take it up into the hills. It is well maintained (largely paved) and provides you with some great views and spots for dispersed camping. There is a prime spot where the road crosses Falls Creek in a thicket of pines that I'll try and snag next time we're up in the area.

I will visit the falls again and would camp here if I didn't want to do dispersed, for river access it seems like one of the best of the developed campgrounds in the area.

Month of VisitSeptember
  • The titular falls of Falls Creek Falls
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  • Review photo of Falls Creek Campground by Nathan H., July 13, 2020
  • Review photo of Falls Creek Campground by Nathan H., July 13, 2020
  • Review photo of Falls Creek Campground by Nathan H., July 13, 2020