Washington State

Does anyone have a favorite NON-MEMBERSHIP campground in Washington State?

[CAmark]

Hi Michael,
In my mind KOA fits the "non-membership" campground category. We really enjoyed staying at the Port Angeles KOA on the Olympic Penninsula. Brian and his family/friends run a first rate place. It is about 5-6 miles out of town so traffic is not too bad. It is along the 4-lane highway but traffic at night is virtually non-existent -- at least when we were there this past July.
Mark

Almost any of the State Parks. Especially Pearrygin Lake SP up by the Canadian border, just outside of Winthrop. We have reservations for there for next June. Hopefully it will be in our new Trailmanor. Wenatchee Confluence SP is good too.

I lived in Wenatchee for 5 years and just had to return to AZ due to wife's health. When we got our popup we spent three days there trying it out. When we moved back we stayed in our popup there while cleaning the house we just sold.

Dash Point SP (stayiang here too in June) is pretty nice too. Just off I-5 south of Tacoma.

Thank you both for the great suggestions. This may seem like an odd "newbie" question but have you (or anyone reading this) had any difficulties with spontaneous trips where reservations haven't been made? My wife and I have work schedules that are so hectic we really can't plan a trip until the last moment. I'm assuming calling ahead is always recommended.

Michael, not sure if you live east or west of the Cascades; we live east so will start there. If you want others west - let me know.

In eastern Washington, our favorite place to camp (close to home) is Charbonneau Park on the Snake River about 20 miles east of Pasco. It is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers and sites can be reserved through ReserveUSA (http://www.reserveusa.com). The sites are big and have lots of shade trees. Bathhouse is nice with free showers. Not all sites have full hookups, but all have electricty (30 amp). There are several sites there that are non-reservable. I think if you come mid-week that would be no problem. I also have had good luck surfing the reserveusa site for availability at last minute and have lucked upon campsites that apparently were cancellations.

There are also lesser used campsites on the Snake River and the Columbia. Will provide more detail if that's your interest.

Regards,

Originally Posted by Michael

have you (or anyone reading this) had any difficulties with spontaneous trips where reservations haven't been made?

Some of the State Parks are first come first served. I stayed at Riverside SP in Spokane several times and they are FCFS. Nice location on Spokane River but just 1/3 mile downstream from the sewage plant (which had an explosion on a digester a week after we first stayed ther and killed a city worker). But you dont see nor smell the plant.

Go to http://www.parks.wa.gov/ to find out about Washington SPs.

PS I have never had problem getting a spot for at least one night at any park in Washington at spur of moment.

I live west of the Cascades in Stanwood but grew up and have family in Yakima. We have "tent" camped for as long as I can remember. But last year found the ground (and getting off it) harder. This is our first travel trailer and have enjoyed the experience so far. But what a learning curve! Thank goodness for this forum. We have stayed at Wenberg State Park and Camano State Park. Both close to home so that if there were any "issues", we could be home quickly. We are heading to Ft Flagler next Sunday at the suggestion of a friend. We are pulling the TM onto a ferry, so another new experience (and a little nervous). The Pacific Northwest has so many great places to visit, we plan on spending the majority of our travels in Washington or Oregon. I sincerely appreciate all the suggestions and there are already a few that I haven't even heard of that have peaked my interest. Thanks!!

[tucsoncarol]

Michael, we don't know where we will stay from one moment to the next. Due to our schedules, we can never make reservations and the only trouble we ever have is site envy. We usually see another after a day or two that we would rather have. Sometimes we move, sometimes not. If we stay in a private campground (ie. KOA or the like) we call when we hit the closest town and take whatever they have. Those stops are overnighters most of the time, not destinations, so we couldn't care less where we are located as long as it's level and quiet. Destinations with us are always state or forest service campgrounds (or dry camping) where all sites are beautiful but not always level or easy access. We actually like the unpredictability of our method, but I sometimes get anxious late in the day if we don't know where we will stay the night. My hubby always just laughs and reminds me that we COULD stay in a motel if nothing else turns up. We truly believe that the vacation is also the journey and we have met some marvelous people using the "off the cuff" method we employ. At Yellowstone we had a great time when the campground wranglers decided to take our unit as a challenge and fit it where other units couldn't go. We stayed in a great site that was "too small" for our 3326K but only when it was open. We pulled in just fine and when open we overhung the paved area by several feet. We stayed almost two weeks and every day the wranglers had to deal with jealous 5th wheel owners arguing that they too could overhang the paving. Of course they would have to drive all over the site to get arranged, but each one just knew we had cheated somehow.YES we cheated, we bought a Trailmanor!

If you want to camp in Eastern Oregon, there is Cove Palisades close to Madris. It's really nice and it's always warm in the summer. There is a nice lake for boating, and a swimming area, and clean bathrooms. No sewer hook ups though, but there is a dump on the way out. In Washington there is a nice camp ground between Vancouver and Auburn. I can get the name if you want it. It also has a lake, is in a forest, and some full hook ups. Another one is by the ocean in Western Washington, also forest. It's called Cape Disappointment I think. It's real close to, if not in, Illwaco. They are all state parks.

Really appreciate all the great tips. Thank you!!!