Free Camping in the Northwest

[35thAV]

35thAV,

I'm sorry that you didn't find a spot. Be for warned most of Central Washington usually goes with out campfires sometime in July. This is also suppose to be a dry year. Better luck next time for a spot.

No campfires...now thats roughin' it!

We're going to give it Icicle Creek Rd. another try this Thursday with the trailer. The whitewater is calling me again but this time we'll be arriving Thursday evening so I doubt we'll have any trouble finding a good site. - one that allows campfires!

I'll let you know how it goes!

[grubbr]

Hello, Last year we camped in the Sinlahekin Valley. It was great, fairly primative, but it was free and uncrowded. Note- its gets very busy in the fall/winter deer hunting season.
http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas ... Sinlahekin

Additionally, we also did some tent camping over by Kettle Falls area, in the Sherman Creek Wildlife area. Did not really see any designated campsites or facilities, but there were many tent and small RV campers scattered through out the area, up next to crick bank, valleys, etc. Lots of wildlife, very peacefull. if you want more info in this area email me, I will have to break out my hunting maps and field notes.

Ron

[dreadcptflint]

Thanks Ron, we will have to give that a shot. We have camped quite a few times in that area. Last year we did Lake Beth and Sherman Pass. They did cost the traditional $6-$8 but there are a couple of Federal sites up in that area that are free.

[AmyH]

I haven't been on here in a long time, and since I started this thread I figured I would get it going again.

One thing I look for in a free campsite, is a place that will allow me to maneuver the teardrop trailer easily. I have been stuck on forest service roads before and ran into difficulty finding an adequate place to turn around.

This past summer we tried to hit a couple of free sites (can't remember the names right now) out near Big Creek Campground, Olympic Peninsula. They were further north of Big Creek on Forest Service Roads. Turns out they were closed indefinitely due to budget cuts. So, we learned a lesson on that trip, always check to see if the campgrounds are still open. We should have called or checked the websites first. Turned out okay in that we were able to find a spot at Big Creek that worked out nicely for us.

One site that we did find the previous year is Rainy Creek Campground, out near Lake Wenatchee. This is a nice little campground with 10 sites, right along the Little Wenatchee River. There are pit toilets there, but we opted to use our toilet/shower tent the majority of the time. We went in mid-September, after the kiddies had gone back to school. Great little site! If you look at my camping log and check the Cascade Loop photos, you'll see shots of Rainy Creek Campground.

Napeequa campground is out around the same area, along the White River. That is actually where we had planned to go, but we missed the turn and ended up going to Rainy Creek instead. Napeequa only has 5 sites, so you would probably want to get there early before the weekend.

Both of those campsites are accessed by driving on the north road of Lake Wenatchee, past the lake. You end up hitting forest service roads after you pass the Lake. Can't remember the FS road numbers, but if you look at a good Benchmark map or Delorme map, you can find the campgrounds and service road numbers.