By:
Submission
Goodell Creek Campground is a small, yet comfortable facility close to the town of Newhalem, Washington along the Skagit River. It is surrounded by forests that that can be explored through the area's many hiking trails. The campground has individual campsites as well as two group sites. It is private and secluded, yet the town, a visitor center and other amenities are close by.
Visitors can walk to several of Newhalem's hiking trails from the connecting trail to the Newhalem Campground, such as the River Loop Trail, Trail of the Cedars and Rock Shelter Trail. The creek and river are popular for fishing, boating access is available from the raft launch at the campground. Black bears inhabit the area, so caution must be taken while hiking, picnicking or camping.
The campground is set along the Skagit River. The entire facility offers drinking water, vault toilets, and paved roads.
The campground is forested with western redcedar, western hemlock, Douglas-fir, wild red huckleberries, and other native shrubs. Nearby is Newhalem Creek and the Skagit River. The river is the largest river that flows into the Puget Sound area and provides critical habitat for all species of Pacific salmon. The river drains cold, clean glacial melt-water from the mountains of British Columbia and northern Washington. Bald eagles return to its shores every winter.
The town of Newhalem is a short walk from the campsites.
Goodell Creek Campground is located at mile marker 119 on State Route 20. From Burlington, WA, drive 60 miles east on State Route 20. From Twisp, WA, drive 82 miles west on State Route 20.
There is no discount for group campsites.
Stayed at site 10 which is on the river but you can't see it with the overgrowth of trees and brush and close to Site 12. Site 12 and 13 have a small trail to a small private river beach with site 13 being the better of the three sites. Vault toilets are old but clean. Short walk to the other loop to have river access to take a dip in the glacier river. The river is beautiful and very cold. Soooo many mosquitoes. Bring bug spray and long sleeves or they'll eat you alive.
A smaller campground option across the river from the Newhalem Creek campground. Goodell has two very small loops just off Highway 20, 19 sites total. All sites are heavily wooded, and there are several right on the river. We stayed at site 19, a large site with a nice view of the river but no direct access to it. Sites were much larger and more private than the ones at Newhalem, which is why we opted for this campground, and we were overall pleased with the choice. The happy burble of rushing water helped immensely in drowning out traffic noise from the highway, which was a bit annoying as you got further from the water.
The major downside to our stay was the outhouse situation. The larger of the two loops had a really nice, newer set of pit toilets, but the small loop where we stayed had much older toilets. The doors kept being left open so they were absolutely full of bugs, they reeked worse than almost any pit toilet I've ever used (probably why people kept leaving the doors open), and when we arrived the floor and toilet seat in one was covered in feces and the other in urine. This campground doesn't have an on site host and the restrooms seem to only be checked once per day, so we ended up walking over to the other loop to use the facilities.
There is no firewood for sale here or at Newhalem Creek, so bring your own. The general store in Newhalem has some but the price is steep.
Small campground with 19 sites. Lot of privacy. A river on the campground which is beautiful to relax at. A small covered picnic section with tables and grill on the river. We went there off season and it’s first come first serve during that time. We got lucky as one family was leaving and we arrived just then. I do not recommend bathing in the river as the current is strong. Water is cold as it’s fresh from the glaciers. Fire pit with grills. Toilets are not flush so it’s only good for one day camping. Flush toilets at the nearby(5 mins drive) visitor center but they’re closed in off season.
Holly cow, this is heaven on earth. The most prettiest campground I’ve been too. I love camping. There are no fancy facilities but the location is wonderful. They do have trash cans and outhouses. No showers. Also have potable water. There is a river right next to the campground with beautiful turquoise water coming from lake Diablo. Smells like nature heaven
Great spot to camp. Trash cans and water access available all through camp. Two large, clean, pit toilets in the center of camp. Sites are spacious with tables and campfire pits. Dog friendly. Group picnic area near adjoining raft launch. Parking lot near boat ramp. People seemed to car camp in this area due to sites being full.
