U.S. Forest Service · Wenatchee National Forest · WA

Mineral Springs Group

3Heads up3 fires, nearest 28 mi
Wildfire
Three Queens fire · 28 mi away · 9,575 acres · 33% contained · updated Sep 29, 2026
Wildfire
King fire · 29 mi away · 3,427 acres · 36% contained · updated Sep 29, 2026
Wildfire
Ancient Lakes fire · 37 mi away · 15 acres · updated Oct 10, 2026
ReservableOut of season, no booking; November 21 opens May 21.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Listed not openA database flag with no reason and no date
Sites
1All of them booked ahead
35 ftLongest rig
2,730 ftElevation
25 ftWater · Swauk Creek
10.6 miNE of Cle Elum, WA
51%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 6 notices

In the agency’s own words

At an elevation of 2,500 feet, Mineral Springs Group Campground sits in the mountainous terrain of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in northern Washington. Nearby peaks and old-growth forests provide visitors with a variety of scenic landscapes. Keep reading

Recreation

The area around Mineral Springs is a prime location for hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking in summer and early fall, and offers opportunities for skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling in the winter months. The campground is a great base camp for day-hikers and overnight backpackers, and several access trails are available from the area.

Facilities

Mineral Spring Campground offers eight first-come first-serve single family sites and one reservable group site that can accommodate up to 50 guests. The sites are equipped with tables and campfire rings with grills. Vault toilets and drinking water are also available on site.

Natural Features

The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest features high, glaciated alpine peaks towering along the Cascade Crest. Lush valleys of old growth forest define its western boundary, and at its eastern edge, rugged shrub-steppe country comprises a more arid region. Mount Stuart, a towering mass of granite located in the nearby Alpine Lakes Wilderness area, is the second highest non-volcanic peak in Washington, perched at an elevation of 9,415 feet. 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 has limited staffing. Please call (661) 702-1420 for general information.

Nearby Attractions

Nearby Red Top Mountain is a popular excursion for those wanting to reach a vista point after a short hike. Perched atop a basalt outcrop is Red Top Fire Lookout, where on a clear day visitors are treated to spectacular views of Mt. Stuart, Mt. Rainier and the Teanaway Valley. July through mid-September the historic lookout is often open to visitors.

Charges & Cancellations

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

Rule

Check in: 2 pm, Check out: 12 pm (noon)

Rule

Standard first-come, first-serve sites may be available

Rule

Mineral Springs Groups Site is located immediately adjacent to Highway 97

Everything else this campground posts · 3
Rule

Click here for more information about Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Rule

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.

Rule

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!

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Tents and rigs

Sites
1 · 1 group
Hookups
None
Longest rig
35 ft
Accessible sites
None listed
Pets
Allowed
Campfires
Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade
Every site
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Vault Toilets
“…tables and campfire rings with grills. Vault toilets and drinking water are also available on site.…”
Drinking water
Yes
“…rings with grills. Vault toilets and drinking water are also available on site. Natural Features The…”

Around the campground

On the water
Lake, Creek
Birding
Hiking
Wildlife viewing
Night sky · 315th darkest of 400 in WA
Bortle 3
Fall color · reported 13 days ago, 22 km away
Peak color
Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026
Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (22 km) · Oct 3, 2026

No reading yet, book on recreation.gov

Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.

No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.

Booking windowOut of seasonOut of season, no booking. On November 21, 2026 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through May 21, 2027.recreation.govAdd to calendar (.ics)
Max stay14 nights2-night minimum on weekendsthe facility record
Sites, a night, from$125From the rate schedule matched to 1 of its 1 sites. U.S. Forest Service publishes no campground-level rate we can read.derived by CAMPANAC
If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservation; this campground publishes its own terms toorecreation.gov’s schedule
Runs itRocky Mountain Recreation CompanyA private concessionaire under permit from U.S. Forest Service (parent: ExplorUS)the operator link
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.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
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’ll write once, when the season that starts Fri, May 21 2027 is open for booking.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 12

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
Sites, a night, from$125
Derived by CAMPANAC from the rate schedule matched to 1 of its 1 sites. U.S. Forest Service publishes no campground-level rate for this campground that we can read, only per-site rate templates its own record matches to each site’s own type.
Group area, a night$125
These are next season’s rates, May 21, 2027 to Sep 18, 2027. The campground is between seasons now.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Reservation fee, booked online$8
One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.
Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.
What a stay costs
The agency publishes no nightly rate for this campground, so there’s nothing to add the $8 booking fee to. We won’t total a receipt with a number missing from it.
If your plans changerecreation.gov
Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10
Cancellation fee$10
Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night
No-show$20 + your first night

“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 are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes an…” · 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 · 6

rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

1 sites · the site map

All 1 sites

1 of 1 sites located
Group1
Aerial · Esri World Imagery
SleepsTakes aUp to

Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 1 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. 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.

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Coordinate47.29020, -120.69922
The phone509-852-1100
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Today66°Mostly Sunny
Tonight46°Partly Cloudy14% rain
Saturday56°Partly Sunny14% rain
Saturday Night35°Partly Cloudy

NWS forecast for Cle Elum, WA

Typical weather

Typical October night 37°F, day 62°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical December night 24°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

100°32°10°

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.

Measured at: ELLENSBURG BOWERS FLD, WA (USW00024220), 19 miles away and 964 ft lower

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

Roadless country, and what’s coming for it

Roadless
Lion Rock4,692 acres · 5 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Naneum4,508 acres · 9 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Devils Gulch24,419 acres · 10 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Who answers for this land

Kim Schrier, official portrait

Mineral Springs Group 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 →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: U.S. Forest Service’s own recreation database flags it not open and publishes no reason and no date. That’s a flag, not a notice: the number below is the only way to be sure.
Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (22 km) · Oct 3, 2026
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.