Sulphur Creek Campground
4Heads up4 fires, nearest 18 mi
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- A night
- $27–$54Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 2220 on recreation.gov
- Season
- May 1 – September 30Open May 1 through September 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 8 notices
In the agency’s own words
Sulphur Creek Campground is a primitive site in a beautiful forest along the banks of the scenic Suiattle River and Sulpher Creek. It is a remote haven set amongst towering old growth Douglas fir trees in the Mt. Baker-Snoquamie National Forest. Hikers frequently camp here to explore the many trails surrounding the facility. It has moderate, enjoyable summer temperatures throughout the camping season. Keep reading
Recreation
The biggest draw to Sulphur Creek Campground is hiking. The well-known Suiattle Trail and numerous others begin within a few miles of the campground. The area is part of the North Cascades range.
Facilities
This primitive site provides no drinking water, though there is a pit toilet. There are 20 individual campsites, each with a picnic table and fire ring. Campers may purchase supplies in the nearby town of Darrington.
Natural Features
The Suiattle River is a federally designated National Wild and Scenic River. Though the glacier-fed water is too cold and the current too strong to swim in, the river creates a beautiful backdrop and soothing sounds for campers. Tall, old growth forest provide abundant shade for campers and habitat for black bears and other wildlife. 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. Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation
Everything else this campground posts · 5
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.
This is a NO WATER facility so campers will need to bring their own supply.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 22
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 40 ft
- Accessible sites
- 2
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Pit Toilets
- “…no drinking water, though there is a pit toilet. There are 20 individual campsites, each with a…”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…Facilities This primitive site provides no drinking water, though there is a pit toilet. There are 20…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Biking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Picnicking
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 157th darkest of 400 in WA
- Bortle 3
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 20 of the 22 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 · 14
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, $27–$54 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
22 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 15 mapped sitesAll 22 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. 20 of the 22 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA SULPHUR | 001 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 80 ft | 184 ft | $27–$54 | |
| AREA SULPHUR | 002 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 73 ft | 188 ft | $27–$54 | |
| AREA SULPHUR | 003 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 109 ft | 99 ft | $27–$54 | |
| AREA SULPHUR | 004 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 73 ft | 214 ft | $27–$54 | |
| AREA SULPHUR | 005 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 86 ft | 230 ft | $27–$54 | |
| AREA SULPHUR | 006 WALK-IN | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 99 ft | 85 ft | $27–$54 | |
| AREA SULPHUR | 007 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 86 ft | 251 ft | $27–$54 | |
| AREA SULPHUR | 008 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 91 ft | 245 ft | $27–$54 | |
| AREA SULPHUR | 009 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 120 ft | 283 ft | $27–$54 | |
| AREA SULPHUR | 010 | standard nonelectric | 15 ft | 74 ft | 250 ft | $27–$54 | |
| AREA SULPHUR | 011 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | 74 ft | 186 ft | $27–$54 | |
| AREA SULPHUR | 012 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | yes | 141 ft | 100 ft | $27–$54 |
| AREA SULPHUR | 013 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 99 ft | 149 ft | $27–$54 | |
| AREA SULPHUR | 018 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 103 ft | 178 ftSulphur Creek | $27–$54 | |
| AREA SULPHUR | 11A | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $27–$54 | |||
| AREA SULPHUR | 14 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $27–$54 | |||
| AREA SULPHUR | 14-15 | type not stated | 40 ft | 184 ftSulphur Creek | |||
| AREA SULPHUR | 15 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $27–$54 | |||
| AREA SULPHUR | 16-17 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | yes | 103 ft | 112 ftSulphur Creek | $27–$54 |
| AREA SULPHUR | 19 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $27–$54 | |||
| AREA SULPHUR | 19-20 | type not stated | 38 ft | 162 ftSulphur Creek | |||
| AREA SULPHUR | 20 WALK-IN | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $27–$54 |
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
Suiattle Guard StationMt. Baker National Forest · 5.8 mi
Buck Creek CampgroundMt. Baker National Forest · 6.3 mi
Bedal CampgroundMt. Baker National Forest · 14 mi
Mineral Park CampgroundMt. Baker National Forest · 15 mi
Clear Creek CampgroundMt. Baker National Forest · 18 miHolden Ballpark CampgroundWenatchee National Forest · 19 miFrom Darrington travel north on State Route 530 approximately seven miles to the Suiattle River Road/Forest Road 26. Drive this road for approximately 22 miles to the campground, which located on the right (south) side of the road.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Darrington, WA
Typical weather
Typical May night 44°F, day 69°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical May night 44°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
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.
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
Sulphur Creek Campground 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 →