Govt Mineral Springs Guard Sta
3Heads up3 fires, nearest 6 mi
- Right now
- OpenThe agency lists it open
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
- Season
- Year-roundOpen year-round
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices
In the agency’s own words
Nestled in a grove of towering old-growth conifer trees, the Government Mineral Springs Guard Station is a delightful setting for guests seeking relaxation and recreation in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The Government Mineral Springs area has been a draw to recreation enthusiasts since the early 1900's. In 1910, S.D. Fox and the Star Brewing Company of Portland began construction of a hotel near Trapper Creek, which eventually became known as Government Mineral Springs. Keep reading
The popular resort boasted bath houses, Iron Mike Bubbling Springs, a dance pavilion, store, ice cream parlor, goldfish ponds and flower gardens. Early advertisements for the resort claimed the mineral water spas were capable of curing physical ailments. In 1935, the hotel burned to the ground. Camping remained popular at the site, and in 1937, the Civilian Conservation Corps significantly expanded and developed the public campground and built the guard station, which was used for Forest Service administration of the campground and other local recreational use. Today, the cabin provides a unique lodging opportunity. Guests should be aware that during the winter season, the cabin is only accessible via a half-mile trek on skis, snowshoes or snowmobiles from the parking area. There is no motor vehicle access from the road that leads to the cabin when snow is present on the road. Parking at the snow park is required, and requires a snow park pass. This pass can be purchased at local vendors.
Recreation
Many recreational opportunities are within close proximity of the Guard Station, including fishing, hiking, biking, mushroom and huckleberry picking, hunting, skiing and snowshoeing. Nearby fishing opportunities include spring chinook fishing on the Wind River and lake fishing for brown and brook trout in Soda Peaks Lake, in Trapper Creek Wilderness. A short drive from the cabin is the Falls Creek Falls Trail, a 3.5-mile round-trip hike for the whole family. Accessible year round, the trail follows a forested creek before crossing a suspension bridge, then traverses a side slope which offers views of the creek and interesting rock formations. At the end of the trail is lower Falls Creek Falls, a three-tiered waterfall which drops nearly 250 feet into a pool below the viewpoint.
Facilities
The two-story cabin can accommodate up to nine guests. The lower floor has a large kitchen with a propane stove, dining room and living room with a table and chairs, fireplace and two futon couches that fold out into double beds. Two upstairs bedrooms can accommodate five guests, with two single beds in one bedroom, and one bunk-bed that sleeps three in a second bedroom. Propane heat, lights and a cooking stove are provided along with wood for the fireplace. Pots, pans, dishes and cooking utensils are provided. A vault toilet is located on site. There is no potable water at the cabin, and guests are encouraged to bring plenty for drinking, cooking and washing. A stream within 300 feet of the guard station may be used as a water source; however, the water must be treated or boiled before drinking. Melted snow can be used for washing, but is not safe for drinking. Although the cabin has several amenities, guests do need to provide their own sleeping bags, linens, towels, dish soap, matches, first aid kit, toilet paper and garbage bags. Bringing an additional light source in case of emergencies is also advised.
Natural Features
Trapper Creek Wilderness is within walking distance of the guard station, boasting 6,050 acres of diverse habitat. Cascading streams and waterfalls are plentiful throughout the steep slopes at the lower elevations, while huckleberry fields occur higher near Observation Peak. Wildlife abounds in the area. Animals commonly seen include black tail deer, Roosevelt elk and black bear. The more elusive cougar, bobcat and pine marten are seen occasionally. Spotted owls, barred owls, pileated woodpeckers and goshawks inhabit the forest treetops.
Nearby Attractions
The guard station is located between Mt. St Helens National Volcanic Monument and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, convenient for day trips.
What the agency tells you
No potable water at this site
Entry to the cabin is by a key stored in a lock box; the combination to the lock box is given in your confirmation letter CHECK IN TIME IS 2PM. CHECK OUT TIME IS 11AM.
Please contact the Ranger District at (509) 395-3400 prior to arriving at the cabin to check on any restrictions or conditions, such as fire or road closures, weather or storms that may affect the quality of your visit
Everything else this campground posts · 9
In the event of a heavy snowfall, guests may not be able to access the Sno-Park or could get stranded; the Forest Service does not plow the road to the Sno-Park; those with existing reservations are advised to check weather conditions close to their reservation date and plan accordingly; refund requests will be honored if the Sno-Park is inaccessible.
The Sno-Park parking is not the turnaround at the end of Forest Road 3065; it is on the sides of the road leading up to the turnaround; tickets will be issued to visitors who park in the turn-around
Pets are not allowed at this facility
Camping is prohibited at the guard station
Pack out all food and garbage and clean the facility before you leave
Doors and windows should be locked and all personal items removed upon departure
The guard station is a non-smoking facility
Learn more about Gifford-Pinchot 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.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- ACCESSIBLE VAULT TOILETS on 1 of 1 campsite records
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…A vault toilet is located on site. There is no potable water at the cabin, and guests are encouraged to bring…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, Lake, River, Creek
- Biking
- Boating
- Fish Hatchery
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Swimming
- Water sports
- Wildlife viewing
- Winter sports
2 of 2 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:41 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
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 · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 16:41 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA GOVT MINERAL SPRINGS GUARD STA | GMS | cabin nonelectric | 323 ft | $100 |
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
Beaver CampgroundGifford Pinchot National Forest · 2.5 mi
Paradise Creek campgroundGifford Pinchot National Forest · 5.5 mi
Panther Creek campgroundGifford Pinchot National Forest · 6.9 miCat Creek CampgroundGifford Pinchot National Forest · 12 miCody HorsecampGifford Pinchot National Forest · 12 mi
Forlorn Lakes CG (WA) Gifford Pinchot NFGifford Pinchot National Forest · 12 miFrom Portland take Interstate 84 east, take Cascade Locks Exit 44 and cross the Bridge of the Gods (toll bridge) to Highway 14 in Washington State. Turn east (right) on Highway 14 and drive 5 miles to the Carson junction with the Wind River Highway. Follow the Wind River Highway through Carson and northwest approximately 14 miles to the Carson National Fish Hatchery. Continue northwest for 1 mile on Forest Road 3065 to the entrance for Government Mineral Springs recreation site.
From approximately April 15 to November 1, the cabin is usually accessible by vehicle. During the winter season, the cabin is a half-mile trek by skis, snowshoes or snowmobiles from the parking area.
Sno-Park permits are required from December 1 through April 1 for each vehicle. Washington Sno-Park passes are required for Washington State vehicles.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Carson, WA
Typical weather
Typical October night 38°F, day 60°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 29°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
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Govt Mineral Springs Guard Sta is in Washington’s 3rd congressional district. Its representative, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: C. See every public-lands vote →