La Wis Wis Campground
5Heads up5 fires, nearest 18 mi
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $27–$50Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 113107 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 6 notices
In the agency’s own words
Situated at the confluence of three waterways near Mount Rainier, La Wis Wis is nestled under a canopy of towering Douglas firs and red cedars. The handful of sites that dot the riverbank enjoy the most sunshine. With an abundance of activities nearby, La Wis Wis is a popular destination for long-stay camping. Its proximity to Mount Rainier National Park makes it an excellent base for exploring all of the area's natural wonders. Keep reading
Recreation
Hikers can easily access the Blue Hole Trail and Purcell Falls Trail from La Wis Wis. Anglers can fish for rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and whitefish at either Butter Creek or Skate Creek.
Facilities
La Wis Wis is ideal for tents, car campers and truck campers with a slide-in. The Hatchery Loop sites can accommodate RVs, but navigation through other parts of the campground may be difficult due to narrow roadways and large trees. The campground features 122 sites, including walk-in tent camping. Only vault toilets are available here. Picnic tables, picnic shelters and grills are provided. Drinking water is available on-site at the main part of the camp. Campers staying at the Hatchery Loop need to bring potable water or get water at the main site.
Natural Features
Located in southwest Washington State, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest encompasses 1.3 million acres and includes the 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, established by Congress in 1982. La Wis Wis is located in the Tatoosh Wilderness area of the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District. The campground sits where the Ohanapecosh River, Cowlitz River and Purcell Creek meet. The campground features old-growth forest and opportunities to observe a variety of wildlife. Contact Info This location has limited staffing. Please call (360) 686-3008 for general information.
Nearby Attractions
La Wis Wis is located near the entrance to Mount Rainier National Park. The popular Henry M Jackson Memorial Visitor Center at Paradise within Mount Rainier National Park is 28 miles away.
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. Group Sites Group Facility (including Cabins and Lookouts): A visitor who cancels a group overnight facility reservation less than 14 days before the arrival date will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use 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
There is NO WATER available at this campground. Please bring all the water you will need during your stay. This is an ongoing situation and will probably last the entire 2026 season. The camping fee has already been changed to reflect the discount..
Check in: 2 pm, Check out: 12 pm (noon)
Click here for more information about Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Everything else this campground posts · 3
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.
Firewood is available for sale at host site for $10.00/bundle.
Camping fee covers RV/trailer and tow vehicle or first 2 cars, additional vehicles are charged $8.00/night of stay each.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 113 · 28 tent-only, 4 walk-in, 1 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 60 ft
- Paved pads
- 112 of 113
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…including walk-in tent camping. Only vault toilets are available here. Picnic tables, picnic shelters…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Biking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Ranger programs
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 250th darkest of 400 in WA
- Bortle 3
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 107 of the 113 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 · 17
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–$50 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
113 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 100 mapped sites17 sites share one published coordinate and are left out of the rankings.
All 113 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 105 of the 113 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. 113 of the 113 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| A | 001 | type not stated | 20 ft | 588 ft | 296 ft | $20 | |
| A | 002 | type not stated | 20 ft | 427 ft | 221 ft | $20 | |
| A | 003 | type not stated | 18 ft | 449 ft | 278 ft | $20 | |
| A | 004 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 124 ft | 515 ft | 360 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 005 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 59 ft | 500 ft | 254 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 006 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 88 ft | 537 ft | 231 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 007 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 59 ft | 515 ft | 230 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 008 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 37 ft | 549 ft | 251 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 009 | tent only nonelectric | 37 ft | 540 ft | 251 ft | $27–$50 | |
| A | 010 | tent only nonelectric | 38 ft | 532 ft | 255 ft | $27–$50 | |
| A | 011 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 57 ft | 519 ft | 266 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 012 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 42 ft | 491 ft | 270 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 013M | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 42 ft | 466 ft | 275 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 014 | tent only nonelectric | 82 ft | 389 ft | 208 ft | $27–$50 | |
| A | 015 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 92 ft | 311 ft | 134 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 016 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 57 ft | 189 ft | 137 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 017 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 77 ft | 199 ft | 132 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 018 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 57 ft | 231 ft | 81 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 019M | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $27–$50 | |||
| A | 020 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $27–$50 | |||
| A | 021M | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 34 ft | 189 ft | 181 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 022 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 34 ft | 223 ft | 160 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 023M | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 38 ft | 217 ft | 284 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 024M | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 253 ft | 283 ft | $27–$50 | |
| A | 025 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 221 ft | 189 ft | $27–$50 | |
| A | 026 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 192 ft | 79 ft | $27–$50 | |
| A | 027 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 76 ft | 171 ft | 65 ft | $27–$50 |
| A | 028 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 203 ft | 106 ft | $27–$50 | |
| A | 029 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 82 ft | 284 ft | 98 ft | $27–$50 |
| B | 001 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 101 ft | 846 ft | 544 ft | $27–$50 |
| B | 002M | type not stated | 50 ft | $20 | |||
| B | 003 | type not stated | 30 ft | 1,004 ftPurcell Creek | 449 ft | $20 | |
| B | 004 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 21 ft | 685 ft | 398 ft | $27–$50 |
| B | 005 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 76 ft | 668 ft | 282 ft | $27–$50 |
| B | 006 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 76 ft | 736 ft | 222 ft | $27–$50 |
| B | 007 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 697 ft | 172 ft | $27–$50 | |
| B | 008 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 697 ft | 172 ft | $27–$50 | |
| B | 009 | tent only nonelectric | 175 ft | 507 ftPurcell Creek | 197 ft | $27–$50 | |
| B | 010 | tent only nonelectric | 126 ft | 763 ft | 458 ft | $27–$50 | |
| B | 011 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 119 ft | 648 ft | 114 ft | $27–$50 |
| B | 012 | tent only nonelectric | 730 ft | 437 ft | $27–$50 | ||
| B | 013 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 77 ft | 450 ft | 215 ft | $27–$50 |
| B | 014 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 60 ft | 634 ft | 376 ft | $27–$50 |
| B | 015 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 89 ft | 439 ft | 318 ft | $27–$50 |
| B | 016 | standard nonelectric | 15 ft | 46 ft | 408 ft | 312 ft | $27–$50 |
| B | 017 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 46 ft | 437 ft | 295 ft | $27–$50 |
| C | 001M | standard nonelectric | 1,073 ft | 606 ft | $27–$50 | ||
| C | 002 | standard nonelectric | 42 ft | 441 ftPurcell Creek | 232 ft | $27–$50 | |
| C | 003 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 42 ft | 438 ftPurcell Creek | 217 ft | $27–$50 |
| C | 004 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 94 ft | 347 ftPurcell Creek | 318 ft | $27–$50 |
| C | 005 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 739 ft | 509 ft | $27–$50 | |
| C | 006 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 112 ft | 256 ftPurcell Creek | 387 ft | $27–$50 |
| C | 007 | tent only nonelectric | 101 ft | 749 ft | 459 ft | $27–$50 | |
| C | 008 | tent only nonelectric | 68 ft | 237 ftPurcell Creek | 104 ft | $27–$50 | |
| C | 009 | tent only nonelectric | 79 ft | 310 ftPurcell Creek | 51 ft | $27–$50 | |
| C | 010 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 72 ft | 439 ftPurcell Creek | 143 ft | $27–$50 |
| C | 011 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 72 ft | 496 ft | 197 ft | $27–$50 |
| C | 012 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 730 ft | 437 ft | $27–$50 | |
| C | 013 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 67 ft | 630 ft | 198 ft | $27–$50 |
| C | 014 | tent only nonelectric | 55 ft | 295 ft | 283 ft | $27–$50 | |
| C | 015M | tent only nonelectric | 71 ft | 392 ft | 203 ft | $27–$50 | |
| C | 016 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 55 ft | 340 ft | 231 ft | $27–$50 |
| C | 017 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 62 ft | 396 ft | 189 ft | $27–$50 |
| C | 018C | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 62 ft | 457 ft | 145 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 001 | tent only nonelectric | 18 ft | 68 ft | 187 ftPurcell Creek | 120 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 002 | tent only nonelectric | 24 ft | 82 ft | 261 ftPurcell Creek | 102 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 003 | tent only nonelectric | 18 ft | 70 ft | 282 ftPurcell Creek | 178 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 004 | tent only nonelectric | 70 ft | 281 ftPurcell Creek | 228 ft | $27–$50 | |
| D | 005 | tent only nonelectric | 18 ft | 739 ft | 509 ft | $27–$50 | |
| D | 006 | tent only nonelectric | 18 ft | 73 ft | 180 ftPurcell Creek | 193 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 007 | tent only nonelectric | 22 ft | 697 ft | 172 ft | $27–$50 | |
| D | 008 | tent only nonelectric | 73 ft | 145 ftPurcell Creek | 127 ft | $27–$50 | |
| D | 009 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 141 ft | 155 ft | 133 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 010 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | 141 ft | 136 ft | 135 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 011 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 149 ft | 162 ft | 235 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 012 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 149 ft | 157 ft | 113 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 013 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 149 ft | 179 ft | 106 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 014 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 139 ft | 198 ft | 230 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 015 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 1817 ft | 1,039 ftClear Fork Cowlitz River | 2,154 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 016M | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 63 ft | 201 ft | 394 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 017 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 21 ft | 700 ft | 405 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 018M | tent only nonelectric | 126 ft | 173 ft | 409 ft | $27–$50 | |
| D | 019 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 63 ft | 245 ft | 340 ft | $27–$50 |
| D | 020M | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $27–$50 | |||
| D | 021 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | $27–$50 | |||
| D | 022M | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | $27–$50 | |||
| D | 023 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $27–$50 | |||
| D | 024M | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 253 ft | 283 ft | $27–$50 | |
| D | 025 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 221 ft | 189 ft | $27–$50 | |
| D | 026 | tent only nonelectric | 192 ft | 79 ft | $27–$50 | ||
| D | 027M | tent only nonelectric | $27–$50 | ||||
| D | 028 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 203 ft | 106 ft | $27–$50 | |
| E | 001M | tent only nonelectric | 1,073 ft | 606 ft | $27–$50 | ||
| E | 002 | tent only nonelectric | 95 ft | 119 ftPurcell Creek | 130 ft | $27–$50 | |
| E | 003 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 95 ft | 92 ftPurcell Creek | 71 ft | $27–$50 |
| E | 004 | tent only nonelectric | 44 ft | 66 ftPurcell Creek | 126 ft | $27–$50 | |
| E | 005 | tent only nonelectric | 44 ft | 48 ftPurcell Creek | 146 ft | $27–$50 | |
| E | 006 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 56 ft | 81 ftPurcell Creek | 201 ft | $27–$50 |
| E | Coho | group standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 166 ft | 31 ftPurcell Creek | 354 ft | $115 |
| H | 001 | standard nonelectric | 60 ft | 78 ft | 250 ftClear Fork Cowlitz River | 522 ft | $27–$50 |
| H | 002 | standard nonelectric | 60 ft | 91 ft | 341 ftClear Fork Cowlitz River | 501 ft | $27–$50 |
| H | 003 | type not stated | 422 ftClear Fork Cowlitz River | 449 ft | $20 | ||
| H | 007 | walk to | 115 ft | 165 ftOhanapecosh River | 345 ft | $27 | |
| H | 008 | walk to | 72 ft | 163 ftOhanapecosh River | 240 ft | $27 | |
| H | 009 | walk to | 72 ft | 184 ftOhanapecosh River | 175 ft | $27 | |
| H | 010 | walk to | 53 ft | 215 ftOhanapecosh River | 94 ft | $27 | |
| H | 011 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 53 ft | 237 ftOhanapecosh River | 75 ft | $27–$50 |
| H | 012 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 54 ft | 238 ftClear Fork Cowlitz River | 17 ft | $27–$50 |
| H | 013 | tent only nonelectric | 54 ft | 210 ftClear Fork Cowlitz River | 69 ft | $27–$50 | |
| H | 014M | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 63 ft | 184 ftClear Fork Cowlitz River | 131 ft | $27–$50 |
| H | 015 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 164 ft | 97 ftClear Fork Cowlitz River | 300 ft | $27–$50 |
| H | 016 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 113 ft | 155 ftClear Fork Cowlitz River | 422 ft | $27–$50 |
| H | 017 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 78 ft | 178 ftClear Fork Cowlitz River | 514 ft | $27–$50 |
25 of 113 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Ohanapecosh CampgroundMount Rainier National Park · 4.0 mi
Ohanapecosh Group CampgroundMount Rainier National Park · 4.0 miWhite Pass Lake (Leech Lake) CampgroundSnoqualmie National Forest · 9.9 miDog Lake CampgroundSnoqualmie National Forest · 11 mi
Cougar Rock CampgroundMount Rainier National Park · 12 miFrom Packwood, Washington, go 5 miles east on State Route 12 to Campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Packwood, WA
Typical weather
Typical October night 40°F, day 61°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January 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
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
La Wis Wis Campground 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 →