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North Fork Elk Group sits alongside the Cispus River in the North Fork Campground, shaded by a dense canopy of pine, fir and cedar trees. The facility is typically open from mid-May through late September, and is one one of three group sites within the campground.
North Fork is situated between three of Washington's most impressive mountains: Mount St. Helens, Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier. The variety of recreational activities and the diverse natural beauty draws many visitors to this area.
North Fork Elk Group makes a great base camp for a variety of activities. Hikers, mountain bikers and OHV riders can access the nearby multi-use Valley Trail. From this trail, OHV riders can enjoy a network of over 50 miles of OHV trails.
The North Fork Loop trail is open to foot traffic and can also be accessed in this area.
Anglers can fish the Cispus River for brook trout, steelhead and salmon.
This tent-only site has six tent pads and will accommodate up to 30 people. It's secluded with gated access and offers picnic tables, grills and drinking water.
There is a host on-site and firewood is available for sale.
North Fork is part of the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District, which is located in the northernmost portion of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
Located in southwest Washington state, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest encompasses 1.3 million acres and includes the 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument established by Congress in 1982.
This Ranger District manages four Wilderness Areas including the Goat Rocks Wilderness, Glacier View Wilderness, Tatoosh Wilderness and William O. Douglass Wilderness. Major River drainage includes the Cowlitz River, Clear Fork of the Cowlitz, and the Cispus River.
A variety of wildlife may be spotted in this area, including elk, deer and bears.
This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (360) 686-3008.
Randle is the closest town to North Fork, and it offers access to the Windy Ridge Lookout at Mount St. Helens.
Adventurous hikers who want to enjoy some spectacular views may be interested in the Tongue Mountain Trail, which climbs to an elevation of 4,838 feet.
Group Sites
Group Facility (including Cabins and Lookouts): A visitor who cancels a group overnight facility reservation less than 14 days before the arrival date will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee.
No-Shows
A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date.
No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite.
Refunds
Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended.
Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay.
For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive.
In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.
From I-5, take Highway 12 east to Randle, and from there go south on Road 25 and continue until you reach a fork in the road. Take the left fork onto Road 23 and travel for about 10 miles to North Fork Campground & Group Camps.
Extra Vehicle Fee $8.00
Super cool group campground nestled in the woods. Quite a few kid-friendly hikes in the area, and a freezing cold river to dip your feet in.
This is a great campsite. We fit 8 tents on the site (most were smaller tents) although some weren't necessarily on a designated pad. The toilet was a vault toilet but was clean and well maintained, and there was convenient potable water onsite too. We had 8 cars (the limit is supposed to be 6) - I've seen on other reviews that the camp hosts can be strict on this but we didn't have any issues. There are three nice picnic tables surrounding the fire pit. They are all in the hot sun for the main part of the day but have shade in the morning and late afternoons.
We walked to the river and put our chairs out in the middle for the afternoon. It was fantastic - not terribly hard to get out there if you use a stick to keep from slipping.
The only negative comment was that the main dumpster is nearby and we were catching the smell occasionally (although it was also nearly 90 degrees when we were there). Not many mosquitos compared to other sites I've rented which was great! Would definitely stay here again.
Party of 14 - we camped for two nights at the North Fork Elk Group Camp. it was very nearly perfect. As described, this is a tenting group camp site, without electricity or hookups. We had actually had 8 tents, but the 7 tent pads sufficed, since several of the tents were 1 person tents. The site is "multi-level" - meaning that some of the tent pads were uphill from the table area. This meant that our tents had more privacy that some group sites afford. There are really big trees on the site, and the sound of the nearby river was everpresent.
There are 4 big picnic tables - plenty of space to spread out for cooking and card games. There is a fire pit that we were able to use (purchasing firewood from the camp host - more on that in a minute). There was also a BBQ that we didn't use. There is a spigot near the tables for fresh potable water. There are NOT flush toilets. But the pit toilet was just beyond the parking area and was clean with plenty of TP and hand sanitizer. We had six cars there and fit them into the site's parking area fairly easily.
Finding the site was pretty easy too. On the main road (NF-23) the sign at the entrance to the group sites was clearly marked, then keep following the road in until you get to the dumpsters and the little "ELK" sign. There are 3 group sites along the west side of the North Fork Cispus River, and then the regular campground is along the east side of the river. There is a foot bridge across the river very close to the Elk group site that is lovely, and takes you into the campground. Near the main entrance to the regular campground is the camp host. There you can purchase firewood.
The only drawback to the Elk site was that it is also located very close to the dumpsters that are used for all the camp sites and campground, and while we were there it was very warm (80-90 degrees) so whenever we walked to the river and the foot bridge we had to pass the smelly dumpsters.
The website warns of bears, and to keep food in bear-proof containers. We saw no evidence of bears, and judging by the simple garbage cans and dumpsters, there must not be much of an issue with bears there. Still, we kept our food in our cars, just to be safe. Oddly enough, we didn't even see chipmunks or ground squirrels.
Hope this is helpful. We would definitely choose this group site again in the future. Attaching photos of the group site, the tall trees, the pit toilet, the parking area, the picnic tables, and elk that we saw along NF-23 (about MP 6).
