Gorge Lake Campground
10Heads up5 park alerts · 5 fires, nearest 8 mi
- Right now
- OpenThe agency lists it open
- Sites
- 8All of them booked ahead
- Season
- Year-roundOpen year-round
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices
In the agency’s own words
Gorge Lake Campground requires reservations during the peak season, from late May through early September of each year. Important changes to booking windows: To better serve visitors, Gorge Lake Campground will release campsites in two staggered block releases. These block releases will be 6 months in advance and 7 days in advance. Campsites #1 and #2 are available for reservations 7 days in advance. Campsites #3 - #8 are available for reservations 6 months in advance. Keep reading
Any sites not reserved during the peak season are available same-day as first-come, first-served for 1 night only and can only be claimed in person at the campground. Gorge Lake Campground is open as first-come, first-served before and after the peak season, from January through late May, and early September through December of each year. Gorge Lake Campground is a small, primitive campground with 8 sites. The campground is set on a steep bank overlooking Gorge Lake. The sites are small and do not accommodate large RVs or trailers. There is an accessible boat ramp at the lower end of the campground.
Recreation
The campground has an accessible boat launch and small dock. This boat launch is not recommended for large powerboats. Ideal for canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, and small power boats. Practice boating safety while on the water. Fishing is allowed in Gorge Lake with a Washington State Fishing license. The nearest location to purchase a license is in the town of Marblemount, WA. Follow Washington State Fishing Regulations when recreating. Hiking and other recreation opportunities can be found across the park. Black bears are active in this campground and the surrounding trails. Be aware of your surroundings while hiking, picnicking, and camping. Use the provided bear boxes in your campsite to store coolers, cookware, and other odorants when not in use. If you encounter a bear around the campground or on a trail, inform campground staff or go to the North Cascades Visitor Center and fill out a bear report.
Facilities
Primitive camp with no water or services. Bring water and pack out all trash. Vault toilets. Gathering firewood is prohibited. Firewood is available outside the park. Each campsite includes a picnic table, fire ring, and some sites have tent pads.
Natural Features
Gorge Lake Campground is a minimally forested campground with surrounding views of the Gorge Lake. At an elevation of 900’ this campground experiences bouts of powerful winds from the Fraser Valley Outflow.
Nearby Attractions
Traveling west on State Route 20: The North Cascades Visitor Center is 7.5 miles (12 km) west on State Route 20 from Gorge Lake Campground, operating seasonally, typically from May to September. Campers can find the passport stamps, exhibits, park film, park store, and much more. Traveling east on State Route 20: Diablo Lake Overlook is 6.5 miles (10 km) east on State Route 20. There is ample day use parking and vault toilets. Ross Lake Overlook is 10 miles (16 km) east on State Route 20, this is a less developed vista point. There are two pull off areas with interpretive way sides and with views of the Ross Dam and the Ross Lake. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (360) 854-7200.
What the agency tells you
This campground is located within a hydroelectric project. A warning system is in place to notify campers of high water. See entrance area for specific information upon arrival.
Wildlife frequents the area. All food must be stored in animal-resistant food lockers or hard-sided vehicles until use.
No potable water. Water is available at Colonial Creek and Newhalem Creek Campgrounds, east and west along State Route 20 .
Everything else this campground posts · 6
Firewood, ice, gas, and other services are not available in the park complex. The nearest services are in the town of Marblemount, WA
Don't Move Firewood: Help protect our forests! Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. Moving firewood is illegal in some states. Visit dontmovefirewood.org to learn more.
Campground reservations are accepted during the specified season dates. Campgrounds may be open before or after the reservation season on a walk-up basis. For more information on camping in the North Cascades visit, www.nps.gov/noca.
Campsite occupancy is limited to eight people, three tents, and two vehicles per site.
No Show Policy: If you do not arrive at a campground or cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date, your reservation will be cancelled. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. Please cancel your reservation if you are unable to use it to make spaces available for others. You can contact the park at 360-854-7301 to assist with changes for a reservation or to notify about a late arrival.
Refund Policy Customers may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Customers may also initiate a refund request through the call center at any time after their reservation has ended. Fees: Applicable fees, such as reservation fees, service/cancellation fees, lottery application fees, and change fees, are non-refundable. Debit or Credit Card Purchases: Refunds for debit or credit card payments made after October 1, 2018 will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay. In the event that a customer has cancelled this card, they will need to contact their card company to have the funds released. We cannot issue refunds to any card other than the one used to pay. If a customer paid with a debit or credit card prior to October 1, 2018 their refund will be issued in the form of a Treasury check. 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. You may update the address at the time you request the refund. It may take up to 6-8 weeks for the Treasury check to arrive. Please make sure your address is up to date in your customer profile. Emergency Closures: 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 your Recreation.gov customer profile.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 8
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets - year round
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Bear boxes
- Yes
- Firewood
- Sold here
- Stay limit
- 30 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake
- Birding
- Boating
- Canoeing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Kayaking
- Water access
- Wildlife viewing
- Fall color · reported 14 days ago, 39 km away
- Peak color
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 15:21 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
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 · 10
What you actually pay
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 · 4
recreation.gov availability, read 15:21 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
8 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 8 mapped sitesAll 8 sites
| Gorge Lake | 1 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | 77 ft | |
| Gorge Lake | 2 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | 62 ft | |
| Gorge Lake | 3 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | 48 ft | |
| Gorge Lake | 4 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 43 ft | |
| Gorge Lake | 5 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 43 ft | |
| Gorge Lake | 6 | standard nonelectric | 86 ft | 62 ft | |
| Gorge Lake | 7 | standard nonelectric | 59 ft | 96 ft | |
| Gorge Lake | 8 | standard nonelectric | yes | 130 ft | 71 ft |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Colonial Creek North CampgroundRoss Lake National Recreation Area · 2.9 mi
Colonial Creek South CampgroundRoss Lake National Recreation Area · 3.1 mi
Newhalem Creek CampgroundRoss Lake National Recreation Area · 5.7 mi
Lower Goodell Group CampgroundRoss Lake National Recreation Area · 6.0 mi
Upper Goodell Group CampgroundRoss Lake National Recreation Area · 6.0 mi
Goodell Creek CampgroundRoss Lake National Recreation Area · 6.1 miLocated just outside the community of Diablo, north of SR 20 at mile post 126. 20 miles (32 km) east of Marblemount, 67 miles (108 km) west of Winthrop.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Marblemount, WA
Typical weather
Typical October night 42°F, day 58°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 30°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
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Gorge Lake Campground is in Washington’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Rick Larsen (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A. See every public-lands vote →