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Tinkham Campground is located along the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. It offers some of the most stunning scenery in Washington's North Cascades, as well as easy access to an abundance of recreational activities.
The surrounding area is a prime location for hiking, fishing, picnicking and horseback riding in summer and early fall. In winter, visitors can take advantage of skiing and snowshoeing opportunities.
A handful of hiking trails lie within a short driving distance, making Tinkham an ideal setting for both individual and family camping excursions. The 0.5-mile Tinkham Discovery Trail is an easy, family-friendly nature path. It weaves through fallen, moss-covered trees to a small pond. Children love investigating the insects, wildflowers and fungi along the trail.
Tinkham Campground offers single-family sites, a few of which are accessible. Picnic tables and campfire rings with grills are provided, as are vault toilets and drinking water. No electrical hookups are available.
The campground sits alongside the river, in a towering canopy of Douglas fir, cedar and western hemlock, providing abundant shade.
Rugged peaks, scenic rivers and abundant wildlife define the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and surrounding designated wilderness areas. On a clear day visitors can see Mt. Baker, which rises to an elevation of 10,781 feet. The active volcano is perpetually snow-capped. Mt. Baker's summit, Grant Peak, is actually a 1,300-foot-deep mound of ice, which hides a massive volcanic crater.
Wildlife in the area ranges from mountain goats in the higher elevations to coyotes and pine martens in the forests. Migratory birds and native fish find ample habitat in the varied ecosystems as well.
Mount Rainier National Park is about an hour away. This beautiful park offers fantastic glimpses of glaciers, subalpine ecology and volcanic landscapes. Hiking and scenic driving are the area's most popular activities.
For facility specific information, please call (360) 386-8214.
From Seattle, Washington, go east on I-90 to Exit 42. Turn south and go approximately 1 mile to the campground.
This campground is great with its dense forest and moss everywhere. Not too far from some great hiking and beautiful waterfalls. It was unfortunate that my reserved spot was taken when we arrived with no camp host around to sort out the issue, but after finding a different spot a few sites down #22 which was even better with great access to the river. It all worked out and we had a great time here. We were just lucky enough that the majority of the campground was empty with many other sites to choose from. (regardless of all the reserved signs posted.) The camp host showed up the next day and mentioned that we hadn't yet payed for our spot, I explained the situation about my reserved spot being taken and she seemed very friendly and understanding of our situation.
Nice campground! You can hear the freeway but i really only noticed it when i was going to bed
Didn't mind the noise and if your not worried about it you actually don't hear the traffic. Very beautiful area for me to meditate and if your there let me know cause I lost a walking cain there.
Hand carved.
This is a very pretty campground, with a gorgeous river (south fork of the snoqualmie) and plenty of sites with direct access to the water.
The vault toilet bathrooms were pretty rough at first on a Sunday afternoon after the weekend rush, but the host cleaned up when they had the chance and they were just fine the rest of our stay.
If you prefer to camp within cell service to maintain that blue light glow while visiting nature, the signal here is strong. In fact I heard several cell phones mixed in with the limited amount of nature audible as it is... (I'll explain in a sec).
The host had not put up the current reservation signs until the last minute, so we almost set up in a site that was taken but mislabeled. We luckily decided to check in with them before setting up.
They brought around fire wood for sale which was convenient and nice. Kind of small bundles for 8 bucks though. That on top of the $28 nightly fee and the billions of tax dollars and the millions in discounts to big timber... seams a bit unfair for "public land."
But the real problem I've got here, and ultimately why only 3 stars for such a beautiful place, is the roaring sound of the freeway. I-90 is right on the other side of the river and it is sooooooo loud. We couldn't hear the river at all (which is one of my favorite sounds when camping). The noise of heavy traffic drowns out the conversation around the fire. And it didn't quiet down a bit until roughly 11pm. Only to start back up in full force and wake up the whole fam at a little before 6am.
With a strong desire to flee the city but unable to go without the phones for a night, I may come back for a single night stay (or explore this area further). Otherwise... I don't see this being a likely future trip's destination.
Sub par for the price of $28/night. Pit toilets are in need of repair, proximity to I-90 provides constant noise pollution, hard to use hand pump for fresh water and access road is rough. If the sights were $10-12/night it might be worth it! This is by far the most expensive NFS campground we've experienced in 8+ year of travel. Since we're here, we'll make the best of it for a couple of weeks. Beautiful forest surrounding!
