Washington State

[Michael]

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

[biznaga]

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.

[Michael]

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.
:new_newbi

[NW Native]

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,

[biznaga]

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

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.

[Michael]

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!

[wwjam]

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.

[Michael]

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

[northwest campers]

Hello Michael,
My wife and I are fairly new TM owners from the NW. We have explored several
WA. state public campgrounds and several private. Reservations seem to be required in advance for the more popular State campgrounds from Memorial day
to Labor day weekends.
We have camped at Larrabee State Park, a very beautiful campgrounds located just south of Bellingham Wa. which is a very woodsy and within walking distance to the Sound.
Deception Pass is very popular, located on North Whidbey Island, and requires reservations several months in advance. We drove through, but didn't get to camp there this summer.

If you like lake recreation and the summer heat of Eastern Wa. Steamboat State park located just south of Coulee Dam is a wonderful campgrounds.

I must say that we have been dissapointed with several private RV parks upon arrival and continued to find something more suitable to our tastes.

We recently camped at Thousand Trails preserve and really liked the idea of
no specific check-in or check-out time.
Woodall's publishes a very comprehensive campgrounds guide for the entire U.S. that is worth purchasing if you want to explore a wide variety of camping sites.
Enjoy your TM and hope you discover your favorite campgrounds.
K.Sells

[Catawbalea]

Biznaga, thanks for the pictures you put on the web of Riverside SP. I grew up in Spokane and wistfully enjoyed memories of picnics and the swinging bridge.

[BobWilson]

The problem of course is weather. Hard to plan on that. Like most places the summer months will be the busiest on the holiday weekend. There are many first come first served places. You are not far from many really nice wooded campgrounds.

Take a day and drive to the Olympic Pennisula and just visit a few campgrounds. There are many State parks and national parks with nice facilities if you don't need hook-ups. I prefer it that way.

Some nice places around Mt. St. Helens to Mt. Rainier. The Mt. Rainier National Park will get crowded during the busy season.

North Cascades National Park has some nice campgrounds that aren't busy most of the year. But you have to check them out. The campgrounds are not all the same in convenience and environment. But the weather plays a big part in the enjoyment. They have a good visitor's center that will be very helpful in selecting camping places.

But most of the fun is discovery that becomes your favorite place to go. You are so blessed to have so many choices. I live in Southern California and it is a long drive up there.

[Joe]

Michael, We live in Virginia and don't have any specific info on Washington, but I suggest that you get the Trailer Life Campground Directory. I have it on CD and when I pulled up Washington state I see many campgrounds on the map. Trailer Life rates them by appearance, rest rooms, and facilities. We always pay most attention to the rest room rating. We're not selling either one but we've always found that Good Sam and KOA memberships are worth the price.

[Michael]

My DW and I stayed at Ft Flagler State Park this past Sunday and came home today (Wednesday). To get there, we pulled the TM onto the Keystone ferry which was a new experience and a whole separate story. We were very lucky to find one open serviced site at Ft Flagler. In short, it is beautiful there!! Highly recommended.

[Michael]

Here it is, six years later and what I can say is Fort Flagler State Park is our favorite of all the Washington State campgrounds we have stayed at. They have upgraded the lower campground to full hookups, have a general store on site with free wifi and amazing trails/museum. The views are awesome and we now plan one week every year there. We used the new "Coupeville-Pt. Townsend" ferry "Salish" this year and it was light years better than the antiquated ferry it replaced. For those of us in the Pacific Northwest, give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

[RejoiceWay]

Depends upon what you want from a campground. We sometimes bring our kayaks, we've stayed at Sun Lakes Resort next to the state park (both good, but the resort has full hook-ups) We were able to kayak all the little lakes (also a great place for fishing and hiking). We sometimes stay at Jarrell Cove State Park near Shelton so we can drop our kayaks in the sound. More primitative BLM camps on the way to Yakima, just off Hwy 12 along the river are also good - fun watching the rafters (or being the rafters) come down the river when the dam releases water in September. Way too many to list - can't wait to retire in a couple of years so we can do more exploring.

[Unstable_Tripod]

There are so many places to camp here in Washington that I couldn't even begin to list them all. I never make reservations and I almost never use hook-ups. Places with hook-ups usually have smaller sites and cram people closer together, especially those that are privately owned. I avoid state parks because they cost too much and most of them now require reservations. I prefer federal campgrounds in national parks, national forests, COE and BLM land. Most of these places are inexpensive and some are free. I also like to boondock in the national forests. There are many camping guides, maps and websites that list such places. Do some google searches.