Hot tip: Washington State Parks has a new reservation system for the more casual planner and has added 26 more campsites for same-day reservations. For flexible dates, visit the reservations system and follow these steps: 1) Choose a flexible date, 2) pick a park and a timeframe up to four months in advance, and 3) add group size and equipment. The flexible dates option makes it easier to pick a spot without sifting through many dates. You can also go back and add filters to accommodate your specific needs.
Same-day reservations allow visitors to secure campsites before heading to a park instead of loading up and heading out, not knowing if an empty site will be available when they arrive. This offering also allows parks to better fill empty sites during cancellations. Visitors can make same-day camping reservations until 4 p.m. Book your stay online, or by calling (888) CAMPOUT or (888) 226-7688.
Same-day camping reservations are available at the following parks: Alta Lake, Belfair, Birch Bay, Bridgeport, Cape Disappointment, Conconully, Curlew Lake, Deception Pass, Fort Casey, Fort Worden, Lake Chelan, Lake Easton, Lake Sylvia, Lewis and Clark Trail, Lincoln Rock, Millersylvania, Moran, Ocean City, Pacific Beach, Pearrygin Lake, Riverside Bowl and Pitcher, Sequim Bay, Schafer, Twanoh, Twenty-Five Mile Creek, and Wenatchee Confluence.
If you yearn to go camping, but every campground you usually haunt is all reserved, there’s hope.
Even if you don’t have a reservation, there are quite a few first-come, first-served campsites on public lands in Washington, and Washington State Parks offers a few tricks for landing one.
Be prepared — and flexible: Pay attention to the amenities at the campground. You might need to pack water. Set out for your perfect spot but have a backup plan or two. Search the area around where you are headed for other campgrounds and places to stay. Even if it means a night in a motel, it’s still better than driving back home.
The early camper gets the site: Pack (and fill up the tank) the night before and be ready to go early in the morning to get a jump on the crowds.
Shoot for the middle: Showing up in the middle of the week or on the tail end of the weekend vastly improves your odds of getting a nice campsite. Bonus: fewer crowds.
Think outside the box: Try these lovely, semi-close but less used parks where you might get a spot without reserving a year ahead.
More camping resources: 5 close-to-Seattle campgrounds that are great but not as busy | Campgrounds to reserve early — with backup plans in case you didn’t
Where the parks are
State Parks
Here are the parks where all camping is first-come, first-served:
Joemma Beach State Park: 19 primitive tent sites.
Mount Spokane State Park: 8 standard sites and more than 12,000 acres to explore.
Obstruction Pass State Park: Small Orcas Island park with 10 primitive sites; take your car on the ferry or arrive by boat or kayak.
Sucia Island Marine State Park: Horseshoe-shaped island in the San Juan Archipelago; 60 standard sites accessible only by watercraft.
Wallace Falls State Park: You will need to set out early to score one of the two prime sites at this park in Snohomish County.
And these parks have a combination of reservation and first-come, first-served campground sites:
Blake Island Marine State Park: Close to Seattle but you’ll need a boat or water taxi; 44 sites.
Cape Disappointment State Park: On the Long Beach Peninsula; 137 sites for spontaneous campers. [Also read this report from a family’s trip to Cape Disappointment.]
Part of the park will be closed from September 15, 2024-March 2025 for restoration and renovations.
Curlew Lake State Park: Just 25 miles from the Canadian border, out-of-the-way lakeside park has 82 sites; most campsites must be reserved. (Due to colder temperatures, water and restroom facilities may be reduced during April and October. Hook up sites may be affected. Please call the park at (509)775-3592 for more information.)
Jarrell Cove State Park: Access this forested campground on Harstine Island (in South Puget Sound) by boat or car; 19 campsites are available for reservation. (Use caution due to muddy soil levels. The Jarrell Cove T-Dock Pier will be closed Tuesday, Aug 20, 2024 – Thursday, Aug 22, 2024 for repairs, and will re-open on Friday, Aug 23, 2024 for full use.)
Lewis and Clark State Park: Two first-come, first-served sites, and Jackson House State Park Heritage Site just 2 miles to the north. (The park wading pool is closed until further notice.)
Schafer State Park: A short hop east of Interstate 5 in Elma on the East Fork Satsop River; 14 no-reservation sites.
Campgrounds at Olympic National Park
The following campgrounds are all first-come, first-served. For more information about camping in Olympic National Park check here.
Deer Park: 14 sites in a spectacular mountain meadow at the end of a winding dirt road.
Fairholme: 88 sites on Lake Crescent.
Graves Creek: 30 sites in the Quinault Rain Forest.
Heart O’ the Hills (Temporarily closed): 105 sites in the old-growth forest near Hurricane Ridge.
Hoh: 72 sites by the Hoh River. Sites are first-come, first-served outside of the reservation period.
Kalaloch: 170 sites by Kalaloch with views of the Pacific Ocean. First come, first served in the off-season.
Mora: 94 sites in a forest along the coast, two miles from Rialto Beach. First come, first-served in off-season.
North Fork: 9 sites in rainforest
Ozette: 15 sites by Lake Ozette
Queets: 20 sites by the Queets River
South Beach: 55 sites on a bluff overlooking the Pacific
Staircase: 49 sites near the Skokomish River. Sites are first-come, first-served outside of the reservation period.
Campgrounds at Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park has two campgrounds, which are first-come, first-served. For more on camping in Mount Rainier National Park, click here.
Mowich Lake: 13 tent sites in the northwest section of the park
Campgrounds at North Cascades National Park
Many areas are closed and evacuated because of fire. Please see website for more details.
Due to a fire many of the roads are closed. Please see this website for more details.
North Cascades National Park has six campgrounds available for first-come, first-served in the winter season. Most of the campgrounds are available for reservations during the summer season. Drive-in campgrounds along Highway 20 are on a reservation system through recreation.gov. More on North Cascades National Park camping here.
Goodell Creek Main Campground: 19 sites near the Skagit River.
Gorge Lake: Eight sites on the bank of Gorge Lake.
Purple Point: Six tent-only sites near Lake Chelan. The remote location is only accessible by walking, boat, or plane.
Harlequin: 7 tent-only sites by the Stehekin River. The remote location is only accessible by walking, boat, or plane.
Lakeview: Nine tent-only sites located by Lake Chelan. The remote location is only accessible by walking, boat, or plane.
Campgrounds at Olympic National Forest
All 17 campgrounds in Olympic National Forest are first-come, first-served, and most have amenities such as drinking water. Fan favorites: Willaby, on Lake Quinault, and Seal Rock, on the Hood Canal. Details on Olympic National Forest camping are here.
Campgrounds at Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Most campgrounds in Mount Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest are reservation only. (Details on Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest camping here.)
There are two first-come, first-served campgrounds.
Evans Creek: This campground is located in a beautiful forest setting, offering 40 miles of combined four-wheel drive and motorcycle/quad trails of varying difficulty.
San Juan: Tiny campground near the north fork of the Skykomish River. Open from July 7 to Sept. 15.
Campgrounds at Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
Many road and fire closures, please see website for more details.
Although a few popular campgrounds in this area take reservations, most are first-come, first-served. One to keep in mind is Kachess Campground, located tantalizingly close to Seattle on Lake Kachess. It has some first-come, first-served sites. Details on Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest campgrounds are here.
Campgrounds at Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Many road and fire closures, please see website for more details.
While the largest and most popular campgrounds in Gifford Pinchot National Forest are reservation only, there are a number of small, usually primitive, first-come, first-serve areas in more distant parts of the forest. Details here.
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