By:
Submission
Millersylvania State Park offers fun for everyone. Spend a summer day splashing in Deep Lake. Gather with friends in an historic kitchen shelter.
Conveniently located between Olympia and Centralia, this large, well-visited park beckons to adults and children alike.
Many of the park structures, including the kitchen shelters, were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s, making the park a great place to see and admire the hallmark artisanship of that era.
With two swimming beaches, miles of forested hiking and biking trails, watercraft launches, non-motorized watercraft rentals (kayaks, paddleboards, pedal boats) and abundant fishing, Millersylvania will keep you busy for a satisfying weekend or an extended outdoor vacation.
FROM I-5 SOUTHBOUND: Take Exit 99. Go left/east onto 93rd Ave. for approx. 1.5 miles to 2nd four-way STOP. Turn right onto Tilley Road, travel approx. 3 miles to park entrance on right.
A great campground, lots of space for large trailers and RVs. My boyfriend and I spent one night here, we didn't have a reservation but found a site. Power and water hook up for our RV and a dump station not too far away. Showers were great, plenty of hot water and no tokens needed. $40 for the night, I will be back for sure.
Spring/Summer 2023 multiple trips. Easy trails, decent fishing area. On one trip an Amazon driver made a few wrong turns and ended up where he never should've been. On several other trips I noticed mass die offs of bluegills around the dock.
We enjoyed the walking trails around Millersylvania state park. It is a very peaceful place to spend the afternoon. When we went the trails were muddy in a few spots.
Wet and rainy weekend (4 day weekend). Of course, rainy, doesn't mean unpleasant or horrendous downpour. Well, on Saturday, it was too heavy to be out for long. Cold this time of year, so we rented the lakeside cottage. Heated with full kitchen, so we spent time inside, reading and playing games. We spent a morning hiking a trail (Old Growth Lane). A mix of wetland (very high water -it's raining) and upland old growth. The high ground was a rain forest setting. Ferns up to 3 ft and a thick ground cover of other plants. The trees were thick trunked. The Fen Way Boardwalk got us over the wettest areas and the 'lane' had been built up in a levee style at the north end of the fen. Very pleasant. Even on the rainiest day, there were some people out. The three 'kitchens' are open with plenty of air moving. No lights and the heavy clouds and rainy meant it was dark Saturday morning. Otherwise, they were quite airy and well lighted the other days. Several other trails of interest we didn't have time for but did do the half mile picnic area and beach areas (2) along Deep Lake.
Our camping site was really nice and large with a lot of tree cover with soft pine needle covered dirt that is perfect for tent camping. The burn ban was still in effect but we brought a propane fire pit and although it wasn't the same as a real camp fire, it did the job. The bathrooms were clean and there are even pay showers (50 cents- quarters only for 3 minutes of wonderfully hot water) We spent the last day of summer swimming in the lake (I wish they would still do the paddle board/kayak rentals until the start of fall, but they don't, no beer garden or concessions either after a certain date). The park rangers were friendly but make no mistake, they do their job and do it well. They do check extra cars for a receipt to park at the site and they make sure rules are being followed in order to protect the land. There are a variety of different birds, it's not just crows so you will hear a lot of different bird sounds. There are many trails to enjoy here, we only explored two so far but we will be back for the rest. We hiked on the first day of fall, first rains in a long time came with it so we pretty much had the trails to ourselves. Don't worry about getting lost because there are signs at every intersection. I can tell you the boardwalk trail is very easy and the smaller loop by the Old Growth trail had one little hill, I would consider it easy as well. You can see some old growth trees between the boardwalk and upper loop trails. It was a nice hike. I do want to let everyone know that dogs are not allowed in the designated swim areas but there are plenty of other areas on the lake you can sit and enjoy with your pups.
