Finding campgrounds near Seattle is the easy part. Getting a site on a July weekend is the hard part, and most "best camping near Seattle" lists skip the two things that actually decide your trip: when the campground opens, and when reservations open.
So this guide leads with both. Nine options below, sorted by drive time from downtown Seattle in normal traffic, with the season dates and reservation systems for each.
Fair disclosure: we run a campground ourselves — tent sites and 22 RV sites on 54 private acres in Easton, at I-90 Exit 63. We've included our own property in the list because it genuinely belongs there, and we've been specific about where the public campgrounds beat us.
Start with the booking windows, not the campground
The single most useful thing to know about camping near Seattle is who takes reservations how far out.
- Washington State Parks — "Reservations can be made up to nine months in advance of the first date of your trip," per Washington State Parks. Nine months. If you want a Fourth of July site at a popular park, you are booking it in early October.
- Recreation.gov (national forest and national park campgrounds) — the booking window varies by facility, and Recreation.gov's policy page states that policies listed for a specific location supersede the site-wide ones. Check the individual campground page rather than assuming a standard window.
- National forest campgrounds on I-90 are summer-only. Most open around May and close in September. If you're planning an October or February trip, that entire category is off the table.
That last point catches a lot of Seattle campers. Roughly half the options below simply do not exist for eight months of the year.
Under an hour from Seattle
1. Dash Point State Park — Federal Way (about 30 minutes south)
The closest real camping to the city that doesn't involve a mountain pass. Dash Point is 461 acres with 3,301 feet of saltwater shoreline on Puget Sound, and it offers cabins, standard sites, utility (hookup) sites, and a group camp. Open year-round.
Best for: first-time campers, a single overnight, families testing whether the kids will actually sleep in a tent.
2. Kanaskat-Palmer State Park — Ravensdale (about 50 minutes southeast)
A forested plateau above the whitewater of the Green River. Kanaskat-Palmer has standard and partial-hookup sites with a 50-foot maximum site length (limited availability), yurts, and a group camp for up to 80 people. Open 8:00 a.m. to dusk year-round, with reduced off-season operations.
Best for: rafters and kayakers, and groups who'd rather book a yurt than pitch tents.
3. Tinkham Campground — I-90 Exit 42 (about 50 minutes east)
The first genuine national forest campground heading east on I-90. Tinkham sits 1.5 miles up Forest Service Road 55 with shaded tent and RV sites, vault toilets, potable water, and fire rings — no hookups. Season runs roughly May through September, reservable on Recreation.gov.
Best for: a Friday-after-work escape into actual forest without committing to a long drive.
The I-90 and Snoqualmie Pass corridor (1 to 1.5 hours)
This is where most Seattle camping traffic goes, and where the sites are hardest to get.
4. Denny Creek Campground — I-90 Exit 47 (about 1 hour)
Denny Creek sits 17 miles east of North Bend where Denny Creek meets the South Fork Snoqualmie River. Open roughly May through September, reservations through Recreation.gov. The Franklin Falls trail and the Denny Creek trail — which climbs into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness — both start close by, which is most of the appeal.
The tradeoff: the campground is tucked right into the I-90 corridor. Freeway noise is part of the experience.
5. Kachess Campground — I-90 Exit 62 (about 1 hour 15)
Take Exit 62 and follow Kachess Lake Road about 5.5 miles. Kachess has over 100 campsites plus one group site, two boat launches, a picnic area, vault toilets, and drinking water. Reservations run mid-June through mid-September on Recreation.gov; some sites stay first-come, first-served.
Best for: boaters, and large groups who need more than one site next to each other.
6. Lake Easton State Park — I-90 Exit 70 (about 1 hour 20)
697 forested acres with sites ranging from full-hookup to no hookup, and room for RVs up to 60 feet. The detail that surprises people: the campground is closed November 1 through May 1. Off-season overnight use is limited to the day-use and boat-launch parking areas, and the adjacent Sno-Park operates December 1 through March 31 under separate permit rules.
Best for: summer RV trips that need hookups. This is our nearest public neighbor — a few exits apart, two very different trips.
7. Alpine Lakes Lodge — I-90 Exit 63 (about 1 hour 20)
Our property, so weigh this accordingly. 54 private acres in Easton with four private lakes, tent sites, and 22 back-in RV sites with 30/50-amp electric and water. There's a dump station on site but no sewer at individual sites, and shared restrooms and showers for everyone camping.
What's actually different from the six above: no Washington fishing license is required to fish our private lakes (bring your own rods and tackle), kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, and paddle boats are free with any stay, there are sheep, alpacas, and horses on the property, and we're 1.5 miles off the interstate instead of alongside it. We're also open year-round, which none of the national forest campgrounds on this list are.
Where the public campgrounds win: price, and scale of scenery. A national forest site on Kachess Lake costs a fraction of a private site and puts you against a much bigger lake. Our honest pitch is availability, hookups, hot showers, and February.
Note on timing: summer weekends carry a two-night minimum and book months out. Our RV sites and cabins fill on roughly the same curve.
Worth the longer drive (2+ hours)
8. Deception Pass State Park — Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands (about 1.5 to 2 hours north)
Deception Pass spans two islands joined by the well-photographed bridges, mixing saltwater shoreline with freshwater at Cranberry Lake and Pass Lake. Summer hours run 6:30 a.m. to dusk.
Be warned: this is among the toughest state park reservations in Washington. Nine months out, to the day, or plan on midweek.
9. Mount Rainier National Park (about 2 to 2.5 hours south)
Two frontcountry campgrounds are open for 2026, per the National Park Service: Cougar Rock (late May to late September, reservations required through Recreation.gov) and White River (late June to late September, first-come first-served). Ohanapecosh is closed for 2026 for a rehabilitation project.
Critical for RV travelers: the NPS states plainly that there are no electrical, water, or grey water hookups in any Mount Rainier campground. Plan on full boondocking.
The short version
Sorted by what usually matters most:
- Closest to Seattle: Dash Point State Park (~30 min), year-round
- Best hookups within 90 minutes: Lake Easton State Park (summer only) or Alpine Lakes Lodge (year-round)
- Open in winter: Dash Point, Kanaskat-Palmer, Alpine Lakes Lodge
- Best for boaters: Kachess Campground
- Best hike-from-your-tent: Denny Creek (Franklin Falls)
- Cheapest: the national forest campgrounds — Tinkham, Denny Creek, Kachess
- Hardest to book: Deception Pass, then Mount Rainier's Cougar Rock
- No hookups anywhere: Mount Rainier National Park
Practical notes for camping east of Seattle
- Passes. Many national forest trailheads require a Northwest Forest Pass ($5/day or $30/year). Washington state parks require a Discover Pass for day-use vehicle access — check current pricing and how it applies to overnight stays before you go.
- Nights are cold. The I-90 corridor campgrounds sit around 2,000 to 3,000 feet. Even in July, expect lows in the 40s. Bring a warmer bag than the forecast suggests.
- Cell service thins out fast east of North Bend. Download offline maps before you leave the city.
- Fire restrictions are normal in late summer. Check for active burn bans before you pack firewood — and never bring firewood from home into a national forest.
- Store your food properly. Bears and cougars are present throughout this corridor. Hard-sided vehicle or bear box, not your tent vestibule.
- Winter driving over the pass means chains. Check WSDOT's Snoqualmie Pass page before you commit, and remember that campgrounds east of the summit are reached without crossing it from Ellensburg or Yakima.
Public campground or private property?
The honest breakdown, having watched both sides of it for years:
Public campgrounds win on price and on landscape. Nothing private in this corridor competes with a shoreline site on Kachess Lake for what it costs. But you're competing with everyone in the Seattle metro area for those sites nine months out, and most of them are locked from October through May.
Private properties cost more and trade some wildness for infrastructure. What you get back is a site you can actually reserve, hookups, a hot shower, and a place that's open when the forest service gates are closed.
If you want to see how the seasons compare before you pick a date, our season-by-season guide to Snoqualmie Pass breaks down weather, crowds, and what's open month by month. And if you'd rather fish than drive, our private lake fishing and hiking trails near Easton pages cover what's on and around the property.
Either way — book earlier than feels reasonable. That's the whole trick to camping near Seattle.