What a great park! Excellent river side hang out and spot to go swimming. Today was no exception. Slightly more crowded on this visit than a year ago. But still a very enjoyable experience. No walk today just hanging out water side with my bestie. A short walk down to the all rock beach. Be sure to bring a thick towel, a chair, or a pillow. There is small rapids here that is fun to float down. Water shoes highly recommended! And please pack out your trash. There is a bathroom next to the parking lot along with plenty of picnic benches of waterside isn't your style. The beach area has shaded areas which are perfect to avoid the sunshine. The water is very cold as well. Be careful and mentally prepared for it! Discovery Pass needed. Enjoy your life! SYOY! read more

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There will never be a place I love more than this place. On the planet. But I come from the angle of having grown up here. My grandmother still lives within walking distance so when I say my childhood is in this water, it's no joke. I can still walk up the rock in the middle of my favorite swimming hole (at 43) like an easy set of steps and cannonball people with great enthusiasm. This park is a standalone experience. The Green River is ideal for fishing, kayaking, floating, swimming, and generally anything you'd like to do with a river except drinking. Don't do that, they pull a lot of bodies out of every year. I'd hazard a guess nearly all of those bodies made bad life choices with no respect for moving water. There is an excess of swimming holes along the stretch of river the park encompasses. This might lead you to think the fishing is also great. It is, but if it's swimming season, stick to early and late fishing because people will not respect your ill-timed line in the middle of the day. (This feud is as old as time). The camping in the park is limited although the implementation of yurts is adorable and fun, and they do accommodate RVs and tents as well. It's a great place to have an event, the availability of bathrooms and faucets has always been the standard I judge other parks by. Parking is limited, get there early or access it by taking the Long Walk. The rangers these days are young and friendly, and they deserve respect for the idiots they often have to put up with. I suggest getting the year pass for entry, you'll want to return. The park is exceptionally clean and well maintained, it hasn't changed much in the 40+ years I've known it because it's a solid setup. This is a beloved area. If you want to get drunk and stupid go upstream to the bridge or up the headworks road or downstream to Flaming Geyser area or Auburn. It's not a rowdy place, it's families doing family things. Whatever your swimming skill, there are beautiful places to put your body in the water either carefully and gently, with momentum aboard flotation apparatus, or from tall places. Respect the class IV rapids, they're easy to avoid. You can chase the sun around to all the different spots if you're apt to sunbathe, or avoid it entirely. The simple trail from one end to the other is a faerieland walk under beautiful canopy all year round. The water is pristine, the critters are adorable, and it attracts a nice style of people from many different places. Please respect it and enjoy, we're proud of this little jewel. read more

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This place was pretty but honestly my experience was ruined because of other people. There was no camp host, which proved to be an issue. The camp site spaces are Really on top of each other. Not much privacy in your camp site when you can see and hear multiple other sites at a time. Our direct neighbor had one or two SCREAMING kids in their group (who were old enough to speak) that weren't being either disciplined or comforted, nothing to stop them for screaming for hours. Then at night when we tried to go to sleep, there were multiple sites with drunk people being super loud and disrupting the night from 8pm until about midnight. Also fyi the "loop" trail is very broken apart, not a connecting loop, very random hike. The bathrooms are not well maintained, pretty disgusting. Definitely not staying here again, and you guys REALLY need a camp host read more

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Love the campground at K-P State Park. The grounds and lawn area are clean and well maintained. I see the rangers drive by often to check on safety which made me feel safe letting my kids to ride their bike around on their own. There is a short trail that leads down to the the river. I see ppl fly fishing and picnicking. read more

Kanaskat-Palmer State Park - Hiking Near Me - Ravensdale, Washington

This state park is a treasure of the Pacific Northwest. Tucked away in the small town of Ravensdale, which is just west of Maple Valley, you'll find this park. The Green River travels through it, and the water is a lovely shade of green with bits of aquamarine and teal. It is really beautiful. I've seen people fishing and many people in their kayaks on the river. I go here to hike through the many trails that go along the river and through the woods. I see new things every time I visit. I've seen deer and many small animals while hiking. There are easy, simple trails and then there are ones that are longer and steeper that I haven't taken. I've seen yurts here, and there are alot of campsites around. I haven't investigated the fees to rent a space here yet but this would be a wonderful place to go. It is so far removed from the city and from anyone, really, and it's just divine. Near the main parking lot, there are BBQ grills and various picnic tables. If you're looking for a place to go to get away from the world for a day or a week's vacation, this is a great place to visit. read more

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I stayed in a yurt for a weekend getaway. I have the say the yurt was amazing. It was very clean, and the beds were very comfortable. It even came with lighting and heating inside, which is great for the winter time. The site itself came with a fire pit, a picnic bench, and a coal pit for easier cooking. That bathrooms were also pretty clean. The park has tons of beautiful trails and the river is wonderful. There's lots of spaces to hang out and play. Would definitely recommend this park, especially since the drive is not too far from Seattle. Had a great time, would definitely come back. read more

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Quiet trail along the Green River. You can touch the river in several points with the different views. The highlight is the fewer people in the park during the pandemic, which make us feel very safe and relax. read more

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Awesome best place ever and it's local! Beautiful during summer and delightful during winter!

We were to stay in a yurt but ended up leaving later on in the early morning hours! (around 1AM) because of all the spiders in the yurt. Yurt-18, plus there was an empty soda can and a candy wrapper under the bed. There were 2 large spiders and 5 smaller ones hanging around. We couldn't stay, I could never sleep in a room with 7 spiders! These yurts need to be sprayed for spiders! All I can say is that the online reservation system works good! That is what the 2 stars are for. read more

Kanaskat-Palmer State Park - yurt spider - Hiking Near Me - Ravensdale, Washington

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The park ranger told us to be quiet at 845pm on a Friday when quiet hours are 10pm. He came back at 10 (we were doing our best to be quiet but there were 6 of us) to tell us the entire campground was asleep, which was a lie as i had just gotten back from the bathroom and heard plenty of groups. We had to practically whisper. Morning quiet hours are never enforced as kids are up playing and screaming at 7am. Other than that, we had a huge site which was great and the bathrooms were very clean (despite the long trek to them) read more

This campground is absolutely beautiful! Stunning greenery. The campsites are a very good size. Hearing the rain fall was so peaceful. I will say though, this Nevada girl did NOT like all the slugs . There were soooo many of them! I was constantly watching my steps to make sure I didn't step on Obviously that just comes with the territory. My kids loved them read more

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I've been here twice with my 4-year-old and we love it. The river is not one to mess with in terms of going for a casual float down it or anything, experienced folks only! But the scenery is gorgeous, big beautiful rocks surround this aquamarine colored river and my son loves to play in the small pools that form on the outer edge. There are grassy areas with picnic tables, but they are up a short way from the river. We don't stay still for long here, but I brought my camping chair to relax in the sunshine while my son played. A peaceful, scenic, and not-so-crowded space in nature on a Sunday. We will always be back. read more

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Great spot to camp in during covid times, very quiet on the weekdays. A few things to mention however...they recently started accepting change or tokens for camp shower use. Also, no firewood was available after 15 minutes from checkin time which was 4pm, so we couldn't have a blazing fire at our yurt during 37 degrees outside. The bathrooms are very clean and maintained. The restrooms are brightly lit. Bring your own water or fill it at the nearby water reservoir. During fall/winter season we had a few encounters with hungry and too friendly of raccoons upon arrival and around bedtime. Other than that, a quiet and serene campground close to our home! read more

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First time going to this state park. It looks like a nice quiet place to walk my dog and spend time with family. We were there 10 minutes and we sat on bench. I removed my dog's leash and he sat right next to me on the bench. A very well trained golden lab and then the park ranger comes up to me to write me a ticket. I have been going to state parks for 40 years and I was just really surprised. There was two other people in the whole park and my dog is laying right next to me. I was just shocked, very rude huge ego young rude ranger just doing daily tax collecting. Really shocked me, no warning and as soon as people came into the park. This guy was on them. We were at this park for 30 minutes and he wrote 3 tickets. I would chose another park, he has a home right there at the entrance. Just no freedom at this park. I get rules, but common sense should prevail. read more

Will definitely be back! Clean, quiet, beautiful! We stayed in one of the Yurts. Clean, warm and cozy. Even with howling winds and pouring rain, we stayed warm and dry. The heater provided in the unit worked great! Yurt was clean!! read more

A perfect getaway. My daughter and I explored nature in the rain. We stayed in a cozy yurt that kept us warm. Yurt 16 was perfect for our 2 day stay. read more

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This is my favorite campground to go to for a quick getaway. It's less than an hour away from the big cities, but it's remote enough that it stays pretty quiet. The sound of the train going by occasionally doesn't bother me, it's part of the atmosphere. The yurts are always kept clean, as are the restrooms. Good place to have a cook out and walk the trails. read more

Stayed in a heated yurt with my husband and dog. We had a great time. The fire pit was awesome and the river is nice to walk next to. The bathrooms were clean . read more

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This is one of my favorite state parks. This particular state park has both camping sites and a day use part. Does have a river going through it. 9nly draw back is that its next to a fire training facility so once and awhile there is an old wwii air siren that goes off. read more

I actually hate to review this place, it was one of my favorite almost secret spots for so many years. Very nice clean ( let's keep it that way please) Park, fishing, swimming, camping, picnicking, etc. Again a cherished place, leave only your footprints please!! read more

I would say this park ranks in the top 20% of WA parks that we fish and camp in with amenities. I have visited, hiked and fished (fly fishing) here many times in the last two years and in all four seasons. It can busy (and crowded with swimmers) by the river in the Summer but in the off-season the park is quite peaceful. We have close friends that camp here often and we have stayed with them in their camper. The campsites are decent, spartan is probably the best term but more than adequate and spacious. Facilities were good to above average in my opinion but kept quite clean. The on-site live-in camp groundskeeper was friendly and helpful in getting our water and electrical issues figured out (our fault). I like this park for it's quick accessibility to Issaquah/Maple Valley and neighboring civilization. If you are seeking true outdoors with miles of lonely hiking, this is not the ideal park for you. Nights are quiet in the campgrounds and not loud and obnoxious as some other parks can be which is great as we have toddlers and usually don't sleep in the camper. It's not the very best park WA has to offer but is close to civilization and the Green River can be a fishing mecca at different times of the year. In the summer and fall berries abound here and we have picked/eaten buckets full of red huckleberries, native blackberries and thimble berries. The front office staff was friendly when I asked a question about some of the fish and salmon runs at that time of year and did their best to help me. Overall, I think you should visit this park if you haven't.--And for those fishermen/women, I have caught many rainbows and pinks (odd-year) here. read more

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We've been back here a few times since my last review. The star rating is for the park only. If you do come here for the trail, please be aware that there are people who do not leash their dogs. It is a state park and dogs are supposed to be on-leash but each time we have come here, there are owners who do not follow this. Since there are parts of the river trail that are more narrow, there isn't much room for escape when an unleashed dog suddenly comes towards your leashed dogs out of the bushes. It startles my dogs, surprises us, and the owners tend to be farther away so I find this irresponsible. We decided to no longer use the river trail due to this. read more

This is a review for camping at Kanaskat-Palmer. We are not avid campers, and this was our first time camping with the kids, ages 2 and 5. We were with another family who are more seasoned campers and have three kids, ages 4 (twins) and 5. Pros to this campground; Close to Seattle, easy to get to. ~ Nicely wooded area, trees provided good shade, and our two sites (5 and 7) were next to each other and each had a nice drive-through parking space. We (and more importantly, our kids) could go back and forth between our two sites without going into the road. ~ Nicely equipped and clean bathrooms with showers and flush toilets. ~ Friendly staff/park ranger/volunteers. There were frequent drive-bys on their John Deere Gators, which was nice and made it feel like they were keeping a watchful eye on things and if there were a problem they were easily flagged down. ~ Convenient places to dump your garbage/recycling ~ Lots of fresh water spigots nearby alongside the road. Great for getting water to wash dishes, kids, etc... ~ The nearby river was great. We were there during a heat wave in the 90's, so a water spot to cool off in was a must. Apparently you can walk there, but with the kids in tow we opted to drive and park closer to the access point. Cons ~ There are nearby train tracks. A train would come by a few times at day and night and toot its horn VERY loudly. We were only there 2 nights so I didn't get a feel for whether there was any set schedule as to when the train would come by, but from what I saw, it was day and night. ~ The local fire station uses an air siren to summon volunteer firefighters. This can happen at any time of the day or night. It happened our first morning at 7:30 am and we didn't know what it was. We seriously thought that maybe Mt. Rainier had erupted and we were about to be swallowed by lava. Had to ask the pay booth later that day what it was. It happened again that night around 10 pm, just after getting the kids to sleep. Aurgh! It is LOUD! Search the web for videos of a Fire Station Siren and you will hear it. This alone is nearly reason enough for us to not want to camp there again. ~ Specific to site #5 - Our tent pad was gravel. :-( Not nice round pea gravel, but sharp jagged broken bits of rock. Had I known I would have brought a heavy duty tarp to fold in half and put under our tent to lessen the impact. In looking at other sites in the loop, I did not see any others with gravel in the actual tent pad. Most others seemed to have packed dirt. The rest of our site also seemed freshly resurfaced with gravel whereas most of the others seemed to have more soil. It made for a painful surface for the kiddos to take a spill on, and nobody could walk around without shoes. And when my husband got up early in the morning to make coffee, all you would hear was the "crunch, crunch, crunch" of him walking around outside the tent. In all, it was an OK camping experience and the kids still had fun. But for me, the noise factor between the train and the air siren is almost a dealbreaker, and the gravel surface is just something I wish I'd known because I feel like we could have been more prepared to make the accommodations more comfortable. read more