Cayuse Horse Camp
3Heads up3 fires, nearest 8 mi
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $27–$54Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 1413 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 13 notices
In the agency’s own words
Cayuse Horse Campground sits in the foothills of the Cascade mountains in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. A favorite among horse enthusiasts, the campground is nestled in a mixed-conifer forest. In close proximity to snow-capped peaks, high elevation lakes, scenic rivers and several wilderness areas, this campground offers visitors opportunities to experience both the serene and wild aspects of the area. Keep reading
Recreation
The Cayuse Horse Camp provides visitors access to a wide variety of trails. Rugged peaks, sparkling lakes and forested area provide the backdrop for many of these rides. Equestrians may want to traverse at least a portion of the spectacular Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), one of America's premier National Scenic Trails. The PCT showcases some of North America's most fantastic scenery as it winds its way its way from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington. Wilderness passes (available at the trailhead) are required for this trail.
Facilities
This campground is open to stock users only and offers 14 large equestrian sites. There is a single corral for each site, with a maximum of 3 horses per single site and 4 horses per double site. The corrals are not near the campsites, but located in a common area with two water troughs on opposite sides of the corrals. Picnic tables, campfire rings with grills and ample room for parking vehicles and trailers are available at each site. Drinking water is also available, and there is access to vault toilets. This horse camp is open after snow levels recede, and access to trails is available.
Natural Features
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest offers stunning scenic views, with high, glaciated alpine peaks, valleys of old growth forest and rugged shrub-steppe country making up the diverse landscape. Elevations range from below 1,000 feet to over 9,000 feet. Visitors to the area can expect many days of warm, sunny weather in the summer, and winters with clear skies and plenty of snow. The surrounding undeveloped wilderness, clean streams and diverse forests support an abundance of wildlife, including deer, porcupine, native fish and migratory birds. Contact Info This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (661) 702-1420.
Nearby Attractions
Visitors enjoy farmers markets and antique shops in the nearby communities of Roslyn, Cle Elum, and Ellensburg. Popular events in the town of Ellensburg over Labor Day weekend include the Kittitas County Fair and Ellensburg Rodeo.
Charges & Cancellations
Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee. A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a campsite. Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-Shows A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite. Refunds Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended. Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay. For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive. In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.
What the agency tells you
Water is available in this location via a handpump and/or water spigot. Please DO NOT attach your RV hoses to the water systems we provide. These are made available to you to fill your water jugs/buckets and take back to your site to use. If you need to fill your RV water tanks, please fill your tank before you come to the campground. Thank you! There is no separate water system to fill the troughs for the horses. Campers must use bucket to fill the troughs from the handpump.
Check in: 2 pm, Check out: 12 pm (noon)
Off-road vehicle use is prohibited in the campground
Everything else this campground posts · 10
First-come, first-served sites are available
Horses must be kept in corrals; no high-lining or hobbles permitted
Horses need to be sociable, as the corrals share common boundaries
A manure collection area is on site, and owners must clean up after their animals
The campground cannot accommodate the newer, larger horse trailers
Campsites have a max occupancy for vehicles and campers. Vehicles must fit in the designated parking spot. Tents must remain within campsite footprint. Single Site Max Occupancy - 6 People, 2 Vehicles (2nd Vehicle Charged $8.00). Double Site Max Occupancy - 12 People, 4 Vehicles (3rd and 4th Vehicles Charged $8.00 each Daily). Extra Vehicle Fee will be collected at the campground
Pets must be leashed in the campground at all times
Click here for more information about Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
Don't Move Firewood: Please protect Pacific Northwest forests by preventing the spread of invasive species. Firewood can carry insects and diseases that can threaten the health of our western forests. You can make a difference by obtaining and burning your firewood near your camping destination. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.
No host onsite presently, contact area manager for questions or concerns. The contact information is posted on the fee board.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 14 · 13 equestrian
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 65 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…also available, and there is access to vault toilets. This horse camp is open after snow levels recede,…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…and trailers are available at each site. Drinking water is also available, and there is access to vault…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Creek
- Berry Picking
- Birding
- Hiking
- Horse Camping
- Horseback riding
- Night sky · 296th darkest of 400 in WA
- Bortle 3
- Fall color · reported 12 days ago, 14 km away
- Peak color
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 13 of the 14 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 14
What you actually pay
“Extra Vehicle Fee $8.00” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $27–$54 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
“Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee. A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a cam…” · this campground’s own no-show terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 7
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
14 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 13 mapped sitesAll 14 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 14 of the 14 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 13 of the 14 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 001 | equestrian nonelectric | 40 ft | 115 ft | 184 ftSalmon la Sac Creek | 201 ft | $27–$54 |
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 002 | equestrian nonelectric | 30 ft | 102 ft | 266 ft | 135 ft | $27–$54 |
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 003 | type not stated | 40 ft | 155 ft | 110 ft | ||
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 004 | equestrian nonelectric | 40 ft | 87 ft | 97 ft | 84 ft | $27–$54 |
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 005 | equestrian nonelectric | 40 ft | 87 ft | 87 ft | 128 ft | $27–$54 |
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 006 | equestrian nonelectric | 65 ft | 104 ft | 217 ft | 39 ft | $27–$54 |
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 007 | equestrian nonelectric | 50 ft | 88 ft | 285 ft | 123 ft | $27–$54 |
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 008 | equestrian nonelectric | 50 ft | 86 ft | 372 ft | 210 ft | $27–$54 |
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 009 | equestrian nonelectric | 50 ft | 86 ft | 401 ft | 224 ft | $27–$54 |
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 010 | equestrian nonelectric | 50 ft | 95 ft | 494 ft | 319 ft | $27–$54 |
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 011 | equestrian nonelectric | 50 ft | 93 ft | 534 ft | 356 ft | $27–$54 |
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 012 | equestrian nonelectric | 40 ft | 91 ft | 531 ft | 361 ft | $27–$54 |
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 013 | equestrian nonelectric | 40 ft | 91 ft | 449 ft | 276 ft | $27–$54 |
| AREA CAYUSE HORSE CAMP | 014 | equestrian nonelectric | 40 ft | 102 ft | 367 ft | 217 ft | $27–$54 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Salmon La SacWenatchee National Forest · 0.3 miRed Mountain CampgroundWenatchee National Forest · 2.4 miFrench Cabin Creek Recreation AreaWenatchee National Forest · 3.3 mi
Cle Elum River Group SiteWenatchee National Forest · 3.4 miOwhi CampgroundWenatchee National Forest · 3.9 mi
KachessWenatchee National Forest · 7.6 miFrom Cle Elum, Washington, take State Hwy 903 north approximately 19 miles to the end of the paved road. The campground entrance is to the right before the Old Guard Station.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Roslyn, WA
Typical weather
Typical October night 41°F, day 54°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 31°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Cayuse Horse Camp is in Washington’s 8th congressional district. Its representative, Kim Schrier (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A+. See every public-lands vote →