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Urgent Camping Q: We have a car but no destination.

So 1 week ago we found out that our Labor Day get-away house was actually going to be occupied.

So we thought: Camping on the coast, then we looked at the forecast and decided to go to the Cascades instead of the coast.

Where should we go????????????

We can't get out of town till Saturday Morning, I was thinking of going to the Entiat area, there seems to be quite a few camp grounds on the same route.

I'll run the idea of going to up to the Okanogan's out by Winthrop by my friends.

I wonder if we can call a ranger on the weekend. If so I'll try to get input from them also.

internet_jen asked in Trips & Travel about 1 year ago | Report

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    Greg Barnes

    You've definitely picked the right area for better weather. I was just there last weekend (at Alta Lake, a nice spot near where the Methow feeds into the Columbia).

    Washington State Parks lets you search reservable campsites across the state. Not surprisingly, there aren't many left. Of those east of the Cascades, there is Riverside (all the way in Spokane), Sun Lakes (kind of a pit, but near the amazing Dry Falls), Wenatchee Confluence (dull, but a reasonable base if you want to go hiking), Wanapum (where I-90 meets the Columbia).

    By the way, Lake Wenatchee State Park is closed due to the potential for rotten trees falling on your head. Which might make it even harder to find a spot, since everyone who had reservations there had to move.

    Unless one of the state parks sound good to you, I'd drive out Highway 2 toward Wenatchee, stopping at any Ranger Station from Leavenworth on, asking if they have any tips. My Camping Washington book says there are 7 campgrounds up Icicle Canyon, SW of Leavenworth (although one is a horse camp), and a few places up by Lake Wenatchee other than the state park (like Nason Creek, which is pretty big). Find the ranger station in Leavenworth and ask.

    If you strike out there, try the next ranger station along the line. See this map:
    http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/maps/oka-wen-location-map.jpg

    Wenatchee, Entiat, Chelan, Winthrop. There are a number of FS campsites up by Winthrop and Mazama, but not all of them have water. Still, anything you can get in this area is going to be warmer than the Puget Sound and the scenery is great.

    Greg Barnes answered in Trips & Travel about 1 year ago | Report
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