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

River Bend Campground

4Heads up4 fires, nearest 20 mi
Wildfire
Ptarmigan fire · 20 mi away · 25,566 acres · 90% contained · updated Oct 8, 2026
Wildfire
Sisi fire · 25 mi away · 4,615 acres · 34% contained · updated Oct 14, 2026
Wildfire
Luna fire · 32 mi away · 8,553 acres · 42% contained · updated Sep 23, 2026
Wildfire
Border 2 fire · 32 mi away · 9,108 acres · 74% contained · updated Oct 12, 2026
First come, first servedNo reservation, and none to be had: the sites go to whoever pulls in first.

This is how it should work.

Right now
OpenInside the published season, our reading
A night
$10From, per site
Season
May 1Opens May 1. No closing date published.
2,610 ftElevation
277 ftWater · Methow River
27.4 miNW of Twisp, WA
62%Tree cover
Bortle 2Night sky · 8th darkest of 400 in WA
Opens May 1. No closing date published.Today

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there

In the agency’s own words

This forested campground is located along West Fork Methow River and gives access to nearby trails: West Fork Methow Trail , Robinson Creek Trail and Monument Creek /Lost River trail.

Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
River, Creek
Fall color · reported 13 days ago, 15 km away
Peak color
Source: Stated in the agency description
Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (15 km) · Oct 3, 2026

Nothing to book, just show up

One of 1,623 federal campgrounds where the site still goes to whoever pulls in first, and a night costs $10 with nothing added. Get there before noon on a summer weekend.

recreation.gov publishes no availability for a campground you can’t reserve, so there’s no thirty-night reading to draw here. The season bar above is what the agency does publish.

BookingNo reservationsNothing to book, and no release date to wait forthe record
A night$10Per site, fromthe agency’s fee record
A weekend$20DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above
Runs itRocky Mountain Recreation CompanyA private concessionaire under permit from U.S. Forest Service (parent: ExplorUS)the operator link
Every line of the receipt · 5

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
A night, from$10
The booking feerecreation.gov
Nothing. This campground takes no bookings, so there’s no reservation fee to pay.
What this campground addsits own record
Extra vehicleSee the note

“$10/Night for single unit plus $5 per additional vehicle. (2 vehicles per site maximum)” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record

What a stay costs
One night, fromDerived$10
A weekend, Friday and Saturday, fromDerived$20

Derived by CAMPANAC: the lowest per-night amount the agency’s fee record states ($10), and no booking fee, because this campground takes no reservations. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

How we know this receipt · 6
Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

record Aug 24, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

Getting there

the map and the coordinate

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Overnight39°Partly Cloudy2% rain
Friday62°Mostly Sunny1% rain
Friday Night43°Mostly Cloudy then Rain Showers Likely70% rain
Saturday50°Rain Showers Likely then Partly Sunny70% rain

NWS forecast for Winthrop, WA

Typical weather

Typical May night 41°F, day 68°F.

Coldest night of the open season: typical May night 41°F. Bring the bag rated for it.

90°32°10°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season

A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: MAZAMA, WA (USC00455133), 7 miles away and 469 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
Pasayten Rim17,074 acres · 9 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Liberty Bell108,495 acres · 9 mi · inventoried roadless area

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

Who answers for this land

Dan Newhouse, official portrait

River Bend Campground is in Washington’s 4th congressional district. Its representative, Dan Newhouse (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. 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: Today falls inside the season the agency publishes, and it has posted nothing else. That reading is ours.
Season: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026
Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (15 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.
Nearest place of any size: Winthrop, WA, 20.4 mi NW. Straight line.