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Located 12 miles north of Elma, Wash., on the East Fork of the Satsop River in Mason County. From Elma: Drive 12 miles north on the East Satsop Road. The park is also accessible via the Brady exit from U.S. Hwy. 12. This route offers a scenic 10-mile drive.
Love this place!! We camped this summer and have used the park for day use, multiple times, it's a great spot! The bathrooms on the camping side are so clean and there is a really nice shower, it's a smaller campground but has large sites that easily accommodate multiple tents. Can't wait to come back in the fall and watch the salmon spawn!
Nice out of the way state park. We wanted to try camping somewhere new so this is where we ended up. The hiking trails inside the park are perfect for kids and very beautiful. Nothing too strenuous for younger kids. The river access was handy and kept kids busy throughout the day.
The bathrooms and the grounds were clean. The park rangers were friendly and willing to answer any questions. All the campers we met were very friendly.
The park is about 20 minutes off the freeway and there’s really not much in the immediate area. The short drive to either Brady or Montesano is a simple and quick little outing, if needed. The drive to the campground is scenic. Cell phone coverage wasn’t great, but the park has a free wireless network so you can connect to your people.
We’d definitely go back and you’re only an hour from Ocean Shores if you want a more ambitious day trip to the beach.
This was our first trip here and we had fun with our small group including two 4 year olds and one 9 year old. We didn't go tubing down the river but there was a big group going tubing and I'm sure that would be fun!
The main bathroom was clean, the porta potty was not.
We started off at the river right off the beginning of the parking lot trying to fish, but then other people came to swim. They let us know about going to a part of the river where no one else would be (you have to walk all of the way down the parking lot, then keep walking when it ends on a less traveled trail with overgrown grass and trees, past construction where they're making a larger camp ground). We found a pretty spot there and spent a couple hours fishing and then swam around a bit.
We ended up for a night here as a kind of stop over but it will now become a destination for sure. The camp is very well kept and will be expanded next year! The river was a welcome place to cool off and met some nice folks while enjoying it. Lastly, the staff was super friendly and helpful.
Schafer State Park is large & spread out, meandering along the Satsop River. The main entrance gate was closed on 11/8/23, so we continued on this road a short distance, & parked in a medium-size parking lot, on our right, just shy of a bridge spanning the Satsop River. We paid the Day Use Fee, $10, in an envelope provided here. You may also display your Discover Pass, should you possess 1. There are several decent fishing spots along the river here, although much of the shoreline is unfishable, from the bank. Campsites are available, within the park, though only in the warmer months.
What we saw this day, was incredibly beautiful Fall scenery, with orange & tan-colored leaves blanketing the forest floor, beneath countless tall, moss-covered & leafless Maple trees. Lush ferns lined the pathways through the forest in many places.
I saw a woodpecker, quite a few small squirrels, chattering and racing up & down the tree trunks here, a medium-sized tan bird, that was quite comfortable diving & swimming in the river, time & again, before flying to one of its favorite spots, a sand bar & log, stuck on it, midway out in the river. Flying through the air, along the Satsop River, were many inch-long, red-tinged moths. I noticed most were ascending, into the tree branches, & lit up beautifully in the bright sun.
Walking beneath the leafless trees, bright beams of sunlight crazily lit spots below, on the tranquil forest floor. The park was so pretty around 11am, with beautiful light glinting off the Satsop River, & also brightly illuminating the profuse & neon green patches of moss, which almost completely covered some trees, on our walk through Schafer State Park. Blue skies, mixed with cotton-ball clouds at the periphery, completed our scenery panorama today.
