Host staff warm and welcoming. We stayed one night for July…read more4th. It was a last minute decision but I was able to find one ada spot available but it was right next to the restroom. People walking through the campsite at all hours of the night thinking it wasn't a site as it isn't clearly visible that it is. So if you don't want that don't get one directly next to the restrooms, but if you are a people person and enjoy talking that would be a great spot if you're disabled. This year for July 4th we found a better site a bit farther away because of my dog. There are lots of trees and great water access for fishing and swimming. A very family friendly place! On the day after July 4th, the local fire department goes through the campground and hands out stuff for the children. It was fun watching before we had to leave . This was a great place to camp to get away from the noise of fireworks too. I definitely will be camping here in the future! Cons: no showers and bring a roll of toilet paper with you in case there isn't any in the restroom in the middle of the night

Great campground. Lots of trees. Has a beach spot for swimming. Huge parking loar for boat access…read moreor extra parking. No showers though.

Merrill Lake Campground is a pretty awesome spot. Awesome enough that I honestly hemmed and hawed…read moreover whether to even add it to Yelp. Although my better Yelp humanitarian judgment has won out here, I still hope you read this, enjoy it, and camp somewhere else. Why? This little campground only has about 9 sites. It's free but you need a discovery pass. There is a camp host and there are surprisingly clean pit toilets on-site, but no potable water. The sites fill up fast in the summer time, but have a 3-day limit that's enforced by the friendly but vigilant camp host. I don't want it to fill up even faster now that I'm sharing this, since I do plan to hit this spot at least one more time before summer is over. There are no reservations (first-come, first-served) and the campsites are designed to work for larger groups - some of them could easily fit 7-10 tents. Each site is spaced decently well away from the others, and offers a picnic table, fire ring and places to pitch. The sites don't really offer views of the lake, they're set back in the trees, but there's plenty of shade Not too dusty, but some sites are heavy with gravel. While it's car camping, you don't drive right in to your site but park in a common lot, then walk in (the farthest you'll have to walk is about 50 yards). So no car noise up close to your site. This little campground sits just by Merrill Lake, a nice smaller lake that does not (thankfully) allow motorized boats and fishing is restricted to fly only, catch + release. For these reasons the water is calmer, cleaner, and dotted with fly fishermen and specific times of the day. At the mid-July mark the lake was warm and clear... perfect for swimming and canoeing. There are some excellent trout holes around the edges of the lake, however I'm not a fly fisherman and don't believe in torturing anything I'm not able to then eat (so catch + release is not for me). However I can see how this would be an attractive spot for a fly fisherman. This campsite is a great place to get away from PDX. Only about 1h 35m in no traffic, and the drive (especially if you come up the 503) is a nice one. Very pastoral, windy road. Get out of your house this summer and sleep under the stars. Just do it at some other campsite since this one is mine.

We stayed for two nights-three days last weekend for my niece's birthday. We usually stay at a…read morecampsite at Lake Berryessa in California, but most of my family now lives in Vancouver so we opted for somewhere near there. Plus, the lakes in California don't even amount to the lakes in Washington/Oregon. My parents went to Merrill Lake Campground on Thursday to secure us a spot which was first come first serve. They managed to get a campsite (#4) that had a direct path to the lake (not the day use where most of the guests would walk to)! It was really big, the only downside was the hill which isn't ideal with little kiddos. Also, that we couldn't have a campfire due to Washington's high alert for fires. It just wasn't the same. You do need a discovery pass which we got at a store that was twelve minutes from the campsite- Lakeside Deli. It was $11 for a day use. The scenery was amazing. It wasn't hot at all where the campsite was. It was surrounded by trees. The water was so clear and clean. The weather was perfect once we made it out of the campsite, through the trail, and to shore. Oh god, and the drive. The drive up the mountain was the scariest I've ever seen. It was beautiful, but so scary. It was a great stay (for free at that!). I recommend this lake!

This is a 5* spot, no doubt about it. If you had a bad experience, check your expectations at the…read moredoor! Large private sites (which few exceptions that allow groups to gather without having to reserve the group site). Staff always present but not the least intrusive very polite and helpfull. If I had one extremely small issue.. our Site 18 has a large street light (for the restroom nearby) that lights up the campsite quite a bit. It's great for late night trips to the restroom. To the positive.. 18 also has possibly the best "gathering space" around the fire area. plenty of room for pets and kids to play also close to the trail that leads to the reservoir. If you fish or have kayaks/canoe/boats, bring them. There is a dry nice boat ramp in camp. I went for the first time this August and have scheduled another stay in September. Bummer for me is they're not open year round. Definitely will be back next year.

Excellent, well maintained campground. Lots of activities and a boat ramp. Bathrooms and showers…read moreare available too.

This campground was so beautiful and peaceful and well-maintained. We had a wonderful time.read more

This place is amazing!!! My daughter and I made a spur of…read morethe moment trip to packwood & found this off the path place to stay. Cheap and the people are super nice. Loved it so much stayed another night. My daughter forgot my pot for coffee, our neighbor Bob & dog Katie brought us coffee both mornings. Will DEFINITELY stay here again!!!!

This is The cutest Back country store you will ever see. Attractive decor, Beautiful live plants…read moreand flowers And picnic tables with umbrellas. This is also an RV Campground

Stopped by for a bathroom break on our way to the Lewis River and SO glad we did. Turns out it was…read morejust before 11am and we were already hungry. We were the first at the window and ordered a couple pizzas. They were ready in 15 minutes and were delicious. The sausage and mama lil's was outstanding, and the pepperoni with black olives was also delicious. The price was reasonable ($22-ish for a pizza) and we ate all of it between the 6 of us. We ate at a nice picnic table outside under an umbrella. We'll definitely be back.