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Location is great but you are largely camping in a burn area next to a dam that frequently has sirens blaring whenever water is let out. The volunteer rangers that patrol this area didn’t know what the sirens meant, if we needed to evacuate, or have really any useful information. They are however overzealous with their punitive duties….we kept coming back to written warnings for the pettiest things, including for leaving bug spray out on our picnic table. Be prepared to put EVERYTHING in the bear boxes before you leave and haul it all out when you return. We’ll probably stay in a Forest Service campground when we return to this area where the amenities are the same, costs are less, and we’re not harassed.
We had plenty of room at our site and the restrooms are nice. There were a few nearby trails as well that we enjoyed.
Loved this ground. Pretty nice bathrooms, everything was pretty spread out, went right after peak season and saw some beautiful fall colors.
You can hike down to the river easily and see fish jumping. Will be back.
Tons of great hikes near by, and seemed better than the colonial creek grounds as there were mobs of people there.
Not much reception.
Campground host in 2022 was nice as my husband lost his phone and they returned to to the visitor center.
Newhalem Campground on the west side of North Cascades National Park is a quiet campground with 3 loops & a visitor center, located on the Skagit River and Newhalem Creek. It has small trails within and extending east beyond the campground. It is a good base camp with reasonable distances to drive to Gorge, Diablo, & Ross Lakes and longer trails within the NP. Newhalem Campground was significantly less crowded than the campgrounds and day use areas at Diablo Lake. We reserved campsite # 7 in Loop A in advance. Some campsites in Loop A were along the river and Loop C was close to the burnt out forest area. There were no hook-ups, but there was a dump station. We rode our bikes to town, to other campgrounds in the area and to find slower water on the river. We watched rafters entering the Skagit River from the boat launch at Goodell Creek Campground and from the River Loop Trail at Nehalem Campground.
We enjoyed our stay in #86 Loop C, which was a pull-through roomy campsite in the old growth forest that suffered a forest fire a few years ago. This sunny spot was perfect for charging our solar panels, generators allowed during specified hours. The clean bathrooms, water fountain & potable water were close by. There is a dish washing sink on one side of the bathroom building. The dump station was well designed so that the slope of the concrete pad allows for drainage from RV tanks. Potable water for filling tanks is available at the dump station, too. Perfect location to take in the sights & hikes in N. Cascades!
