Back in WA for a wedding and the kids and I HAVE to visit La Wis Wis!! We moved to NC in 2018 and…read moreNOTHING comes close to the beauty of this campground!

In August 2019, our family stopped by La Wis Wis Campground, which is about 4 miles east of…read morePackwood, WA on U.S. Route 12. We were searching for the Blue Hole Swimming Area, based on a spectacular picture I found in a Washington state travel magazine. Inside La Wis Wis Campground, the blue swimming hole has a cliff where bold teenagers can jump into the deep, glacially cold water below. The campground is somewhat difficult to find, but once you enter the complex, it's best to ask campers where the Blue Hole Swimming Area is located. When we arrived, the rocky area on the beach felt a bit painful on the feet - if you have water slippers, it might be more comfortable. The river is pristine but frigid (the water comes from a glacier) and has a pretty indigo (light aqua color) from above. My 14 year old son and 12 year old son jumped from the cliff into the blue swimming hole and were cheered by.a crowd of families on the opposite shore! This is a fun and memorable activity if you're visiting Mt. Rainier National Park and would like to do something fun on a hot afternoon with teenage kids. But it's not for the faint of heart. We stayed for about 45 minutes before continuing on to Packwood.

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!

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.

What a great family friendly campground. Water and electric hookups only, but the onsite bathrooms…read moreand showers were nice and well kept. They are located in a remote area, so there is no cell service, and wifi is only available right by the office, but they do have a great selection of loaner DVDs, which kept my hubby . They have a gathering space with movies and popcorn, an onsite store. They even had a great DJ on Saturday night.

Admittedly, we have not done a lot of camping at campgrounds like this one, in fact we haven't done…read morea lot of camping at all. That said, this is the sort of place that we want to go camping all the time now! We're definitely not go out in the woods and sleep on a camping pad under the stars type people. We're more camp where we can see the car and have a bathroom around type people. This definitely trends towards the latter. This little campground is about 17 miles past Bron Yr Aur in Naches and is an absolute gem of a spot. Upon checking in, you find they have a small store with plenty of food and beverage options. They have spots for tent camping, cabins with beds, and plenty of RV parking. We went up here for a friends birthday weekend and opted for one of the small cabins. It was named "mamas place "and was lovely. The cabins are newly renovated and have small kitchenette's, a nice TV, And most importantly were warm! The two that we saw in so I did not have bathrooms, but there is a shared central bathroom and shower house that's close to everything, and is also heated! On the grounds, they have a small beach area where the kids could go throw rocks in the River and during the summertime everyone is able to get into the water to cool off. They have tons of play equipment for kids to run around and play on, some awesome area for people to ride 4 x 4's if they brought them, and they even have a meadow type area where they hold weddings. It's incredibly picturesque with the river in the background and the cliffs behind it. Go out there at night and check out what they called the fire flies - a bunch of lights set up in the meadow the dance on the trees. It's pretty awesome! You are just close enough to be able to run into town for something you forgot, but also far enough away that your cell phone isn't going off all the time because the reception is bad. This is actually about as close to perfect spot as we've been, and we're really excited to go back!

$25 a night. Attentive camp host. All the sites are good or excellent. Quiet. Family friendly…read more Everyone has two spots to access the river. I love this place.

Overall the grounds are well cared for and the people who are doing the work seem happy and content…read morewith their roles.

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

This is our first time at Cowlitz Falls Campground. It is beautiful , quiet , and lots of walking…read moretrails . Our site had water and 30/50 amp hookups with a dump station in the park. Very affordable too. The camp hosts / Rangers are very friendly and make regular rounds to make sure everyone and everything is in good order. We will definitely be back !

Check in was super easy and the staff was nice. Campsite was clean and picnic table and fire pit…read morewere in good condition. The prices in there store were comparable to those in our town (with exception of the ice cream). They definitely don't price gouge unlike most campground stores. Store also had useful items, not just novelty junk, which was a huge plus. Bags of ice and firewood costs were extremely reasonable. Had ice cold pop and sunburn cream, both which turned out to be necessities. Campsite was clean and so were the Portapotties and bathrooms. It was also quiet at night which was a huge plus. Staff was around if you have questions or concerns. Also felt safe staying there, which is again a huge plus. Don't get the Riffe Lake campground confused with the MossyRock park run by Tacoma power. This place (Riffe Lake campground) is much more family friendly and quiet. There is not boat access and it is a steep walk down to the water, just be aware. They do rent boats and kayaks if you didn't bring your own. Very short drive to Stofford pond for fishing. Had multiple black tail deer sightings, several just walking carefree through the campground. Was an amazing sight to see. Also was a great place to see eagles. We had lots of close sightings of eagles right over our campsite, which was super cool. Plus for our trip there were no mosquitos (July 2021). Plan to stay here again and highly recommend it for anyone camping in the area. Not a tourist trap, it is a nice honest family owned/ran facility, clearly!

Lovely, quite campground. Hosts are extremely friendly and helpful. Would've been a 5/5 if not for…read morethe having to pay for a shower. Took awhile for water to actually warm, 6min goes by fast.

Such a fun campground you never wanna leave! Very relaxing and clean and organized love how the…read morebathrooms are maintained and clean

Fun to camp there , been going there for many years! It is a bit hard to get camping sitesread more

Great quiet place. There's a lot of things around walking distance (all within a couple min walk)…read more Also has great showers bathrooms and laundry ($1.75 per load). Tent lot was $10 per person per night. There's so much to do here and so many hikes and beautiful views. Highly recommend. Coffee/breakfast near by Brewery across the campsite Gas station Grocery store Gift shop Visitors center

We were RV newbies in a 29 ft motorhome. Staff was friendly, restrooms were clean, spot was level &…read morehad a fire-pit, full working hook-ups at a reasonable price. We arrived just as the annual flea market/fair thingy was ending, and were told that it was an occasion that many plan for each year. Really, I loved the little town. We took a walk and saw some elk wandering the neighborhood, circled back and stopped for yummy pizza, woke up in the morning and walked 5 minutes over to an excellent coffee shop with free wi-fi. Rumor has it you can see Mt Rainier on a clear day. I'm planning to go back and stay longer!

Easy hike. Beautiful!!! The turquoise water is incredible! Came here with another couple and their…read morebaby - they were able to hike with the baby in a body carrier. Not stroller friendly.

Easy loop hike. A little bit of up then down then up kinda stuff. Its beautiful nature but really…read morenot much real view until the waterfall. Compared to skyline loop it isn't much. But its easy and quick.