Hendy Woods State Park is a hidden gem off the 128 between Hwy 1 and Hwy 101. The 128 has lots of curves, vineyards with wine tasting and a couple of apple orchards with cider tasting. We camped in the Wildcat loop of the campground, which was beautiful and quiet. Campsite 53 was large, level with plenty of space between neighbors. We hiked Big Hendy Grove and Hermit Hut Trail among the redwoods. Peaceful trails with trailheads right in the campground. Bella enjoyed swimming in the Navarro River near the day use area. Highly recommended state park.

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 wanted to find a campground along the 20 and found a fabulous little spot on the Cascade River; Marble Creek Campground. The campground is an 8 mile drive from Marblemount on a paved road, Cascade River Road. Then, the road to reach the campground is not paved. There are only about 24 reservable sites and 4 FF sites. We reserved campsite # 21, no hookups, no dump station. Beautiful, quiet campground surrounded with trees with short walks to the swim beach near site #8. Some campsites are right on the Cascade River. Some campers used Marble Creek Campground as a base for longer, more strenuous hikes such as to Lookout Mountain and Hidden Lake.

We stayed at Horseshoe Cove Campground on Baker Lake, campsite # 23, in July 2023. The lake itself was very nice with a swim area and boat launch. The campground was fine, no hookups, no dump station, we found one water spiket with a threaded faucet to fill our fresh water tank. #23 was large and level with a small view of the lake through the trees. Our issues had to do with day-use people; boat engines revving all hours of the day & night; and the campground hosts having their off-duty sign up the entire time. Day-use people completely took over the swim beach during the weekend. Many left trash, a couple had uncontrolled aggressive dogs, & some smoked pot. Boat owners zoomed all over Baker Lake which could be heard as late as 11 PM and as early as 4 AM. There was no evidence of the hosts trying to request compliance with rules and they definitely did not clean the swim beach area. Too bad, it should have been a better camping experience.

We stayed at Horseshoe Cove Campground on Baker Lake, campsite # 23, in July 2023. The lake itself was very nice with a swim area and boat launch. The campground was fine, no hookups, no dump station, we found one water spiket with a threaded faucet to fill our fresh water tank. #23 was large and level with a small view of the lake through the trees. Our issues had to do with day-use people; boat engines revving all hours of the day & night; and the campground hosts having their off-duty sign up the entire time. Day-use people completely took over the swim beach during the weekend. Many left trash, a couple had uncontrolled aggressive dogs, & some smoked pot. Boat owners zoomed all over Baker Lake which could be heard as late as 11 PM and as early as 4 AM. There was no evidence of the hosts trying to request compliance with rules and they definitely did not clean the swim beach area. Too bad, it should have been a better camping experience.

We stayed at Horseshoe Cove Campground on Baker Lake, campsite # 23, in July 2023. The lake itself was very nice with a swim area and boat launch. The campground was fine, no hookups, no dump station, we found one water spiket with a threaded faucet to fill our fresh water tank. #23 was large and level with a small view of the lake through the trees. Our issues had to do with day-use people; boat engines revving all hours of the day & night; and the campground hosts having their off-duty sign up the entire time. Day-use people completely took over the swim beach during the weekend. Many left trash, a couple had uncontrolled aggressive dogs, & some smoked pot. Boat owners zoomed all over Baker Lake which could be heard as late as 11 PM and as early as 4 AM. There was no evidence of the hosts trying to request compliance with rules and they definitely did not clean the swim beach area. Too bad, it should have been a better camping experience.