Washington State

[benchmarks]

Hi,

I'm a resident in Seattle area looking for recommendations on campgrounds. I have a 25' travel trailer and typically camp with water & electric hook-ups. I have been doing so for about 5 yrs and going to a couple different sites each year just to see what is out there. Predominantly we always make sure we go to places we have already been because we know what we will get. Anyway, I would like to save some money $ by not gambling on if it is a good campground or not. Any tips would be most appreciated. Not looking for the parking lot...a bit of privacy is preferred. A buffer of some type is nice between trailers (I know were in travel trailer so I do not expect a lot of real estate).

Aside from the electric/water hook-ups if you have camping places where I have to provide my own electric that would be great as well. I have a generator, but I do not want it to be a nuisance to sites that are too close for the humming.

Lastly, I like to shoot and if you have camping spots that are near areas that it can be done as well it would be appreciated.

Thanks,

benchmark

[benchmarks]

Nothing? That top secret...Jeesh.

[clarkbre]

I've had great luck at:
Deception Pass State Park
Winthrop KOA
Leavenworth KOA
Bayview State Park
Whispering Pines in Cle Elum
Cape Dissappointment State Park (By far my most favorite campground)

I have not camped at Kulshan Campground but have heard great things about it and will be there in the Spring. Same with the LaConner Thousand Trails (I will let you know in 2 weeks).

And, anything off the Manashtash road out of Ellensburg is also very nice.

Where are your favorites?

[Hutch333id]

Hi,

Just found you post. We have stayed at Pioneer RV Resort, Anacortes, WA several times and found that to be very enjoyable. There are a couple of other places close by as well that we haven't stayed at but if you look at campgroundreviews.com that'll give you a good idea of what you can expect at any of the campgrounds and resort they list.

On the other side f WA we usually stay at Spokane RV Resort, Deer Park, WA. Again, another great place but very different from Pioneer Trails.

Further south, we stayed at Plymouth Park COE CG near Umatila, WA. A little more basic but still very nice.

[benchmarks]

Originally Posted by clarkbre

I've had great luck at:
Deception Pass State Park
Winthrop KOA
Leavenworth KOA
Bayview State Park
Whispering Pines in Cle Elum
Cape Dissappointment State Park (By far my most favorite campground)

I have not camped at Kulshan Campground but have heard great things about it and will be there in the Spring. Same with the LaConner Thousand Trails (I will let you know in 2 weeks).

And, anything off the Manashtash road out of Ellensburg is also very nice.

Where are your favorites?

Thanks! Grayland Beach, Lake Wenatchee Campground, Lakeshore RV Park in Chelan, Steamboat Rock, Cape Lookout. Thanks again for the references.

[benchmarks]

Originally Posted by Hutch333id

Hi,



Just found you post. We have stayed at Pioneer RV Resort, Anacortes, WA several times and found that to be very enjoyable. There are a couple of other places close by as well that we haven't stayed at but if you look at campgroundreviews.com that'll give you a good idea of what you can expect at any of the campgrounds and resort they list.



On the other side f WA we usually stay at Spokane RV Resort, Deer Park, WA. Again, another great place but very different from Pioneer Trails.



Further south, we stayed at Plymouth Park COE CG near Umatila, WA. A little more basic but still very nice.

Nice. I am going to look into a place called Priest Lake in Idaho. 6hrs away. I’ll let all know my excursions in PNW and do the same. There should be a section added for this.....separating it by state.

[SlfMdeFam]

Originally Posted by benchmarks

Nice. I am going to look into a place called Priest Lake in Idaho. 6hrs away. I’ll let all know my excursions in PNW and do the same. There should be a section added for this.....separating it by state.

Priest is huge. The little rivers coming off of it have many rv parks. We were up there this past summer. We have family who have a house on Pendoreille River. We are relocating to Spokane in June and will be staying at North RV Park for a few months in our 5er till we get settled.

[DNA Dan]

If you take route 95 from Cour d'Alene north towards Priest Lake there is a huge maritime facility that was turned into a state park on Lake Pend Oreille. It's called Farragut State park and is a big conglomerate of several smaller parks and camping areas combined. Tons of mountain biking and water sports, not sure about hunting. Most people don't know this, but this was the largest naval training facility this side of the Mississippi and they used the lake for submarine training. There's a pretty big museum there about the base and all the activity it once saw. If you have kids, there's also Silverwood Amusement Park about 20 minutes away to get your roller coaster fix.

If you're looking for something closer in WA, I would suggest looking up the NE corner of the state towards the channeled scablands. That whole area from Pend Orielle northward is where glacial lake Missoula Ice dammed and flooded over many centuries dumping into the Columbia basin. I have never been to the scablands, but I am told they are a sight to see.

[SlfMdeFam]

Thanks DNA Dan. I couldn’t remember how to spell Pend Orielle. Couldn’t remember if it was 1 or 2 words. It’s absolutely beautiful up there. We can’t wait to get there from Southern California.

[benchmarks]

This is great. Let’s keep on sharing the honey holes. [emoji1360]

[benchmarks]

Originally Posted by Chris Allen

Priest is huge. The little rivers coming off of it have many rv parks. We were up there this past summer. We have family who have a house on Pendoreille River. We are relocating to Spokane in June and will be staying at North RV Park for a few months in our 5er till we get settled.

Cheers!

[benchmarks]

Originally Posted by dna dan

if you take route 95 from cour d'alene north towards priest lake there is a huge maritime facility that was turned into a state park on lake pend oreille. It's called farragut state park and is a big conglomerate of several smaller parks and camping areas combined. Tons of mountain biking and water sports, not sure about hunting. Most people don't know this, but this was the largest naval training facility this side of the mississippi and they used the lake for submarine training. There's a pretty big museum there about the base and all the activity it once saw. If you have kids, there's also silverwood amusement park about 20 minutes away to get your roller coaster fix.

If you're looking for something closer in wa, i would suggest looking up the ne corner of the state towards the channeled scablands. That whole area from pend orielle northward is where glacial lake missoula ice dammed and flooded over many centuries dumping into the columbia basin. I have never been to the scablands, but i am told they are a sight to see.

great info!

[OldGal3]

Sun Lakes/Dry Falls is a large area with several camping places, lots of fishing and a great visitors center. It's a mini-Grand Canyon that you certainly don't expect to see.

Dry Falls Visitor Center | Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission

The movie in the visitors center is worth watching.

[clarkbre]

Another place I thought of is Jameson Lake outside of Waterville, WA.

Off the South access road, there is Jack's Resort with full hookups and a small diner/restaurant/general store. On the same road there is a county or state dry camping area with a few vault toilets and the East access road (connected to the South road) has camping a bit higher in elevation than the lake with shooting areas.

The lake has a weird fishing season (Late April Opener-July 4 & the month of October). I've had lots of fishing success and plan to take my family, the trailer and my inflatable boat there for a long weekend.

The ladies that run Jack's Resort are absolutely awesome and are about as down to earth as you can get.

Attachment 156010

[benchmarks]

Anyone ever camp at Thousand Trails called Chehalis RV?

[xgarys]

It might be tough this time of year but many federal campgrounds (NPS, Forest Service, Corps of Engineers) offer dry camping in remote areas. You can usually find places nearby where target shooting is permitted. You might look at the White Pass area in late spring through summer since it's fairly close to you. Central and Eastern Washington offer many such opportunities also but winter weather will be harsh and you have to get over the mountains to get there. If you want to go shooting you are going to get a long ways from your particular home area. Best of all the rates are very low, typically $10.00 per night or half that if you have a senior pass.

[DNA Dan]

Benchmarks, any word out there on the condition of the Columbia Gorge after that big fire last season? We camp every year at Ainsworth SP on our way to the Oregon coast. I am dreading what the situation is going to be. It looked like they tried to protect the areas immediate by the highway, like near Multnomah Falls, but it's really steep and the photos a few month back looked so depressing.

[benchmarks]

I have not heard any negative feedback from others I know. Have fun!

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by benchmarks

Anyone ever camp at Thousand Trails called Chehalis RV?

I've stayed there. It wasn't a bad park, though I did have some low voltage issues while there (I used my Autoformer to boost voltage for my rig). The site that I was in wasn't super private or spacious. But we had a few friends at the park and needed a couple of night stop between Seattle and Bend. No sewer at the site we were on, but the dump station worked just fine.

Otherwise, we stayed at Tall Chief in Fall City. This place had horribly low voltage- so bad that I couldn't run my A/C without my EMS shutting power down. A voltage booster helped but it was a frustrating stay. The good, though- it was a beautiful park. We had a very private site on one of the pods. Pool was warm and clean. No sewer, but the dump station accepted my juices just fine.

[xgarys]

Originally Posted by DNA Dan

Benchmarks, any word out there on the condition of the Columbia Gorge after that big fire last season? We camp every year at Ainsworth SP on our way to the Oregon coast. I am dreading what the situation is going to be. It looked like they tried to protect the areas immediate by the highway, like near Multnomah Falls, but it's really steep and the photos a few month back looked so depressing.

We're staying in Stevenson for the next couple of nights. We'll be seeing the sites in The Dalles and Hood River and then go West to Portland. I'll try to remember to post our observations.