Shannon Creek Campground
4Heads up4 fires, nearest 10 mi
- Right now
- Listed not openA database flag with no reason and no date
- A night
- $32–$64Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 1918 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 8 notices
In the agency’s own words
Shannon Creek Campground is nestled along the western shore of Baker Lake in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on the west side of the Cascades. The area is one of the most spectacular in the country, showcasing glacier-covered peaks, broad mountain meadows and old-growth forests. Keep reading
Recreation
The surrounding area is a prime location for hiking, climbing, boating, fishing, picnicking and horseback riding in summer and early fall, and snowmobiling in the winter months. Baker Lake is a popular destination for boating, water skiing, canoeing, fishing and swimming. Anglers cast for a number of fish species. The nearby Baker Lake and Baker River Trails are family friendly hikes that wind through majestic old growth Douglas Fir and western red cedar trees. The Baker Lake trail contours above the eastern shoreline of Baker Lake. The Baker River Trail leads to North Cascades National Park.
Facilities
Shannon Creek Campground offers single and double-family sites for both tent and RV camping. Picnic tables, campfire rings, vault toilets and drinking water are provided. No electrical hookups are available.
Natural Features
Rugged peaks, scenic rivers and abundant wildlife define the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and surrounding designated wilderness areas. On a clear day visitors can see Mt. Baker, which rises to an elevation of 10,781 feet. The active volcano is perpetually snow-capped. Mt. Baker's summit, Grant Peak, is actually a 1,300-foot-deep mound of ice, which hides a massive volcanic crater. Wildlife in the area ranges from mountain goats in the higher elevations to pine marten and porcupine on the forest floor. Migratory birds and native fish find ample habitat in the varied ecosystems as well.
Nearby Attractions
Hike in the mountains above the lake in the Mt. Baker National Recreation Area or Mt. Baker Wilderness, or take some time to visit North Cascades National Park. This unique park is like no other place on earth. It features a deep blue lake surrounded by sheer, 2,000' cliffs, two picturesque islands and a violent volcanic past. Hiking trails, a visitor center and educational programs are available. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (530) 932-0242.
Charges & Cancellations
Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.
What the agency tells you
Extra Vehicles: One RV with tow vehicle per single site or one vehicle per single tent site. Two RVs with tow vehicle per double site or two vehicles per double tent site. Most sites can accommodate 1 extra vehicle that is not included with the reservation fee. A fee of $12/extra vehicle per night must be paid for upon arrival by cash or check only.
Fire Restrictions: Fire restrictions may be imposed at any time due to hot, dry weather conditions, at which time campfires and charcoal fires may not be allowed.
Reserved Sites will be held until check out time (NOON) the day following your arrival date. Sites must be occupied by the checkout time of that following day to hold a reservation or the site may be forfeited and released to other guests.
Everything else this campground posts · 5
Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.
Refunds: Refund requests made through www.recreation.gov will be charged a $10 processing fee. This fee is retained by the reservation service contractor along with the non-refundable reservation fee. All requests for the return of the non-refundable reservation fee and the cancellation fee will be declined by the campground concessionaire as they did not receive these fees (these are the fees retained by the reservation contractor, a different entity).
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.
The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest has a Food Storage Order in effect. All food and refuse must be acceptably stored (in a hard sided vehicle or trailer, food storage locker, or certified bear resistant container) or acceptably possessed (attended to by a person who is physically present).
Click here for more information about Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 19 · 4 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 70 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…camping. Picnic tables, campfire rings, vault toilets and drinking water are provided. No electrical…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…campfire rings, vault toilets and drinking water are provided. No electrical hookups are available.…”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Creek, Beach, Meadow
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Water sports
- Night sky · 292nd darkest of 400 in WA
- Bortle 3
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 18 of the 19 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 · 16
What you actually pay
“A fee of $12/extra vehicle per night must be paid for upon arrival by cash or check only.” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $32–$64 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.
“Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.” · this campground’s own 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
20 records · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 18 mapped sitesAll 20 records
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 20 of the 20 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. 18 of the 20 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Loop 2 | 020 | type not stated | 36 ft | 121 ftBaker Lake | 153 ft | ||
| SHANNON | 001 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 83 ft | 201 ft | 776 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 002 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 60 ft | 184 ft | 750 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 003 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 60 ft | 242 ft | 694 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 004 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 126 ft | 186 ft | 701 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 005 HOST | host pad | 36 ft | 178 ftBaker Lake | 612 ft | ||
| SHANNON | 006 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 88 ft | 263 ftBaker Lake | 516 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 007 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 88 ft | 277 ftBaker Lake | 434 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 008 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | 107 ft | 419 ftBaker Lake | 327 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 009 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 93 ft | 436 ftBaker Lake | 413 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 010 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 93 ft | 515 ftBaker Lake | 444 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 011 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 96 ft | 519 ftBaker Lake | 509 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 012 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 108 ft | 409 ft | 616 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 013 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 101 ft | 302 ft | 703 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 014 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 111 ft | 227 ft | 820 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 015 | standard nonelectric | 34 ft | 122 ft | 110 ft | 934 ft | $32 |
| SHANNON | 016 | tent only nonelectric | 36 ft | 75 ft | 189 ftBaker Lake | 87 ft | $32–$64 |
| SHANNON | 017 | tent only nonelectric | 34 ft | 97 ft | 157 ftBaker Lake | 78 ft | $32–$64 |
| SHANNON | 018 | tent only nonelectric | 30 ft | 122 ft | 43 ftBaker Lake | 132 ft | $32–$64 |
| SHANNON | 019/020 | tent only nonelectric | 70 ft | 75 ft | 140 ftBaker Lake | 97 ft | $32–$64 |
The agency files 1 more record here that isn’t a site for the night. It names it a host pad. It’s in the table above, marked for what it is, and it isn’t counted as a site.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Swift Creek CampgroundMt. Baker National Forest · 2.8 mi
Park Creek CampgroundMt. Baker National Forest · 3.1 mi
Panorama Point CampgroundMt. Baker National Forest · 3.5 mi
Boulder Creek CampgroundMt. Baker National Forest · 4.6 mi
Bayview CampgroundMt. Baker National Forest · 5.7 mi
Bayview Campground (Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, WA)Mt. Baker National Forest · 5.7 miFrom Seattle, go north on I-5 to Burlington. Take Exit 230 on State Highway 20. Go past the Mt. Baker Ranger District Office in Sedro-Woolley and follow State Route 20 east for 16 miles to milepost 82. Turn left (north) on the Baker Lake Highway (Forest Service Road 11). Continue for 23.3 miles to the sign for Shannon Creek Campground on the right.
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 41°F, day 56°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
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Shannon Creek 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 →