Elk Meadows is very forested with generous space and natural growth between sites; it feels wild while offering modern infrastructure. Water and sewer hookups were good, electric was fairly good but went out briefly several times during our week stay and electronic communications were totally absent (no AT&T phone or data service, no Wi-Fi, no satellite TV reception at many sites due to tree coverage). Bathrooms and laundry rooms were clean and strongly sanitized. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We REALLY liked the rear RV spots facing the big meadow and Mt. Adams. Wide open views, good night time observations of stars, shooting stars, airplanes, hiker's headlamps on the mountain, and possibly some other more mysterious happenings... Some sites share power boxes with other sites, and power can fluctuate. Our voltage controller sometimes had to work. The laundry facility is small, but clean. The campground has a lot of trees, but we found a "hole" through the trees for our tripod satellite link up, and we noticed some people put their TV dishes out on the side of the road to get a clear line of sight. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We'd certainly stay here again. Nice, private, back-in campsite with plenty of room for our 26' fifth wheel and slide out. Site #43. There is a wonderful nature walk that we enjoyed every morning and every evening with incredible views of Mt Adams. We didn't use the restrooms or showers so can't rate them. No Wi-Fi or TV and cell service is spotty, but that's OK. We can do without for a few days. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This is a great park. The sites are very large and private with good hiking trails and a stream that runs through the park that was very nice for swimming as the temps were in the 100s when we were here. Not much to do at this campground but it's a great base camp as you can go to Mt Saint Helens, rafting the White Salmon and visit many of the water falls in the area. They have friendly staff. This was our 2nd time here. We would like to see at least cable TV or Wi-Fi. Also: why the pay-for-showers? It seems like most parks in Washington are like this. Note: if you come in August the bees and horse flies are terrible, so be prepared. We would stay again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a very well maintained park with large private sites. It shows that the host's and owners are proud of the park based on the appearance The park is rustic and has awesome views of Mt. Adams. It has a small play area with swings and a walking nature trail along Trout Creek. We really enjoyed our stay, and my wife and I think this is the best park we have been too. This is worth the drive (around 2.5 hours out of Portland). We camped here in a Motorhome.
Wow. We loved this place. We camped here with 5 adults and 4 children under 8. The sites are large - it seems more like a state park than an RV park. We had plenty of room for our RV, my mom's car, a 3-man tent, fire pit, and picnic table in the busy part of the site. Then we had another 30' to the split-rail fence along Elk Meadow. Gorgeous view of Mt Adams (those are the luxury sites - $2 more per night, and well worth it). I mentioned I had 4 kids when making the reservation, and go a site very close to the playground and Trout Lake Creek. The playground is great, the creek was great for floating. It takes 50 minutes to go the half-mile to Trout Lake proper. The showers were okay - $1.25 for 5 minutes, good pressure but could use new showerheads. My RV shower is actually better. Other than that, the place is flawless. Beautiful, peaceful, lush and green. It's like camping without sleeping on the ground. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Hard to give a 10 to a place with no pool, store, cable, or Wi-Fi. But for only $24/night, I'm going to anyway. Absolutely one of the prettiest places in the west. The park is just outside the boundary of Gifford Pinchot Nat'l Forest, and sits at the base of Mt. Adams with breathtaking views of the mountain. $2 more a night gets you a premium site on the edge of the meadow with the mountain behind it. Literally hundreds of places to fish, swim, raft, or go sightseeing within 30 minutes in any direction. HUGE sites most of which have 20'-30" of forest separating them for excellent privacy. All completely level. Park is adjacent to Trout Creek/Trout Lake with walking/biking trail. Bring your canoe, bikes, fishing gear, and binoculars. Town (pop 300)is 3 miles by car or 1.5 miles by foot or bike and has groceries, gas, etc. Park staff is exceptional. After someone left, the camp host would personally rake the site to make sure it was PERFECT for the next person. Beautiful grassy common grounds with swings, horseshoe pits, tetherball, volleyball net, etc. This felt as close to "camping" as you can get in a motorhome. We are going to make Elk Meadows a yearly destination. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is one of my favorite places on Earth. The place is very spacious. The access roads are more like U.S. Forest Service roads, with private ‘’alcoves’’ in thick woods for campsites. You might forget there are other campers around. Maneuvering a 40 foot motorcoach here is easy, even though the highway leading in from White Salmon is almost not enough road for such a large rig. At the North end, the premium sites border a huge meadow. Mt. Adams can be seen from these sites, and is all of eight miles away. You all but look UP at its snowy peak. There is a beautiful nature trail that starts at the edge of the playground. It leads all the way to the town of Trout Lake. It follows Trout Creek. There are benches and a picnic table along its length. There’s also a lot to see and do nearby. Natural Bridges, Ice Cave, Langfield Falls, the Big Lava Beds, fishing at Goose Lake, picking huckleberries and blueberries in late Fall. There are also a LOT of lava caves in this area if you know where to look. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This park gets a big "WOW. This is probably the best park we've ever been in. Huge wooded sites. Or site backed up near the road and we could occasionally hear a vehicle but not see them due to the trees. In fact, we could barely see our neighbors. Don't plan on getting satellite tv, cell service, or internet. Don't expect large swimming pools, spas and the like. You will get peace, quiet, and natural beauty with a spectacular view of Mt. Adams. This park is on our repeat list for at least a week if not longer. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Great RV Park, clean and well taken care of, interior roads are wide. Wonderful staff. We were given the choice of 2 differant sites, took the 1 overlooking the meadow/wetland, saw Elk grazing, geese nesting, and other wildlife. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
A beautiful campground! Nice hosts. Very clean facilities. Caution - tents only allowed in conjunction with an RV. Great play area, large group facilities with huge BBQ pit. Great prices ours with water and electric was $17; WES $19; and WES and a wonderful unobstructed view of Mt. Adams is only $21. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
2002
$20
An excellent park in a wooded setting that backs up to national forest lands and wet land habitat. Owners and managers are extremely friendly and pleasant.Its well worth the drive from the columbia river up hwy. 141 to Trout Lake. A well maintained park with very large spaces. We camped here in a camper.
Great Forest Service CG located about 7 miles out of Trout Lake via SR 141 and FR 24 (paved all the way). Sites are generally well separated with dirt/gravel pads. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. Water spigots are located throughout the campground. A dump station can be found at the city park in Trout Lake. Campground is generally open from mid May through mid September. CG is close to Goose Lake (about 6 miles) and Forlorn Lakes for those who like fishing. Note that Goose Lake allows electric boat motors and has a boat launch while Forlorn Lakes is muscle power only and no launch site. The campground doesn't experience heavy usage except during the huckleberry season and during the early part of the fishing season. It can, however, be busy during any weekend so reservations for a weekend might be advisable. Peterson Prairie is near the Ice Caves and Natural Bridges. Both were formed when Mount Adams last erupted and are worth checking out. If you decide to explore the Ice Cave, wear warm clothing and adequate foot gear -- it's cold and slippery down there! We camped here in a Motorhome.