Small wooded campground in a great location to see the westside of Mount St. Helens.

Sites/setting:

Sites 1-20 are RV sites. Most have full hook-ups. I believe sites 17-20 are just water/electric. Sites 1-6 are currently occupied with long-term residents. Sites A-J are smaller tent sites.

Sites are in a wooded setting; however, the woods are in the back of the sites and there is nothing in between each site, so there isn’t much privacy. It wasn’t too bad because it was pretty empty (aside from the residents), so we only had other campers on one side of us.

All sites are easy to get in and out, dirt, and pretty level.

All sites have a picnic table and a fire pit (you can purchase wood there for $10 a wheelbarrow).

Amenities/Utilities:

Cell service was nonexistent. There was no wi-fi available. From the campground to the westside of Mount St. Helens (trails and observation areas) we were never able to get internet, so we had to rely on maps/brochures to plan our days. I wish I would have know this so I could have been more prepared in planning our activities during our stay ahead of time.

The campground doesn't have a store(the gas station across the street is permanently closed), so aside from firewood, the closest store is Drew’s Grocery which is about 8 miles away.

There is no laundry facility. Bathroom was fairly clean and maintained.

No dog park, but they do provide doggie bags.

Activities:

The westside area of Mount St. Helens was about 30-40 minutes away (Mount St. Helens Visitor Center at Silver Lake, Johnston Ridge Observatory, and Coldwater Lake Recreation Area).

You can take a short trail to the restaurant Fire Mountain Grill (used to be called Patty’s Place at 19 Mile House). The food/service wasn’t the greatest, but you get a nice view of Toutle River.

Access to swim/fish the Toutle River is 1/4 mile down the road. Turn right out of the campground and take a right on the first road. My little ones enjoyed swimming in the river and swinging on the rope swings into the water hung under the bridge.

The center of the campground had a nice large grassy area to run around, a small plastic toddler slide, tether ball, horse shoes, a rundown basketball hoop, a balance beam, and a sandbox.

No military discount offered. Current rate was $28 per night for full hook-ups. Must have cash or check! No credit cards accepted.

Overall, it was a nice little campground; however, the long-term residents were very off-putting. Some of their trailers were old and unkept some people looked to be living in cargo type trailers even. This is the main reason for the lower rating.

We didn’t realize when booking that it was so far from some of the trails we were interested in doing during our visit. For example, Ape Cave was over two hours away. Next time I would choose to stay at a campground more centrally located (maybe near Kalama), but if you just want to see the mountain and do a few hikes nearby than this is your place.

#tencatestravel

Small wooded campground in a great location to see the westside of Mount St. Helens.

Sites/setting:

Sites 1-20 are RV sites. Most have full hook-ups. I believe sites 17-20 are just water/electric. Sites 1-6 are currently occupied with long-term residents. Sites A-J are smaller tent sites.

Sites are in a wooded setting; however, the woods are in the back of the sites and there is nothing in between each site, so there isn’t much privacy. It wasn’t too bad because it was pretty empty (aside from the residents), so we only had other campers on one side of us.

All sites are easy to get in and out, dirt, and pretty level.

All sites have a picnic table and a fire pit (you can purchase wood there for $10 a wheelbarrow).

Amenities/Utilities:

Cell service was nonexistent. There was no wi-fi available. From the campground to the westside of Mount St. Helens (trails and observation areas) we were never able to get internet, so we had to rely on maps/brochures to plan our days. I wish I would have know this so I could have been more prepared in planning our activities during our stay ahead of time.

The campground doesn't have a store(the gas station across the street is permanently closed), so aside from firewood, the closest store is Drew’s Grocery which is about 8 miles away.

There is no laundry facility. Bathroom was fairly clean and maintained.

No dog park, but they do provide doggie bags.

Activities:

The westside area of Mount St. Helens was about 30-40 minutes away (Mount St. Helens Visitor Center at Silver Lake, Johnston Ridge Observatory, and Coldwater Lake Recreation Area).

You can take a short trail to the restaurant Fire Mountain Grill (used to be called Patty’s Place at 19 Mile House). The food/service wasn’t the greatest, but you get a nice view of Toutle River.

Access to swim/fish the Toutle River is 1/4 mile down the road. Turn right out of the campground and take a right on the first road. My little ones enjoyed swimming in the river and swinging on the rope swings into the water hung under the bridge.

The center of the campground had a nice large grassy area to run around, a small plastic toddler slide, tether ball, horse shoes, a rundown basketball hoop, a balance beam, and a sandbox.

No military discount offered. Current rate was $28 per night for full hook-ups. Must have cash or check! No credit cards accepted.

Overall, it was a nice little campground; however, the long-term residents were very off-putting. Some of their trailers were old and unkept some people looked to be living in cargo type trailers even. This is the main reason for the lower rating.

We didn’t realize when booking that it was so far from some of the trails we were interested in doing during our visit. For example, Ape Cave was over two hours away. Next time I would choose to stay at a campground more centrally located (maybe near Kalama), but if you just want to see the mountain and do a few hikes nearby than this is your place.

#tencatestravel