Troublesome Creek Campground
3Heads up3 fires, nearest 27 mi
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $32–$64Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 25All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices
In the agency’s own words
This campground is located approximately 20 miles east of Index, Washington in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. It offers guests a wonderful spot to take in the scenery and enjoy a multitude of recreational activities in the Northern Cascade Range. Sites are nestled in a mixed conifer forest on the banks of the scenic North Fork Skykomish River and its tributary, Troublesome Creek. Water is abundant in this area, offering visitors easy access to fishing, kayaking, and swimming. Guests will be lulled to sleep by its subtle, but ever-present gurgle. This campground is ideal for escaping the hustle of everyday life to enjoy time with friends and family. Keep reading
Recreation
At the campground, Troublesome Creek is a delight for exploring. A footbridge crosses the bubbling creek beneath towering pine and fir trees. For guests wanting to relax at the water's edge, or children searching for newness in nature, this is an ideal spot without even leaving the campground. The adjacent North Fork Skykomish River offers fishing for steelhead and salmon. For those wanting to venture further, the Beckler Peak Trail may be included on the agenda. Located 10 miles from the town of Skykomish, this trail is challenging, but worth the effort, offering hikers the opportunity to view the diverse landscapes of the area from a variety of perspectives. At the Jennifer Dunn Trailhead, the trail starts out on a decommissioned logging road, and climbs through young alder and vine maple to an expansive vista of the Skykomish Valley. The trail continues to switchback through huge trees and by the remains of a trapper's cabin. Climbing higher, and upon reaching the final ridge top through steep alpine forest, hikers will be in awe of the panoramic view of near and distant peaks.
Facilities
Troublesome Creek Campground offers standard sites, accommodating both tent and RV camping. Tent-only sites are available as well. The campground is equipped with picnic tables and vault toilets. No electrical hook-ups are available. Access to the Skykomish River is available from the campground, and several sites are near the river's edge.
Natural Features
The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest showcases rugged peaks, sparkling alpine lakes, and old-growth forests, providing visitors with unique and surprising landscapes. Mt. Baker, the most prominent feature of the Mt. Baker Wilderness Area, dominates the landscape on a clear day. Rising to an elevation of 10,781 feet, the active volcano from which the forest takes its name is perpetually snow-capped and mantled with an extensive network of creeping glaciers. Mt. Baker's summit, Grant Peak, is actually a mound of ice 1,300 feet deep, which hides a massive volcanic crater. Wildlife in the area includes mountain goats traversing the higher elevations, to coyotes and pine marten in the forests. Migratory birds and native fish find ample habitat in the varied ecosystems as well. These species, along with many others, depend on surrounding undeveloped wilderness, clean streams, and diverse forests to live. 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
Water is now available.
This facility is pet friendly so long as animals are picked up after and kept on their leashes.
Prevent the spread of invasive species by inspecting and cleaning packs, equipment and tires before using lake or trails
Everything else this campground posts · 9
Firewood not sold on site, firewood can be purchased at Beckler River Campground.
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.
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
- 25 · 7 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 30 ft
- Accessible sites
- 5
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…is equipped with picnic tables and vault toilets. No electrical hook-ups are available. Access to…”
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Creek
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 340th darkest of 400 in WA
- Bortle 4
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.
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
25 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 25 mapped sitesAll 25 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 25 of the 25 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. 25 of the 25 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| TROUBLESOME | 001 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | yes | 82 ft | 220 ftNorth Fork Skykomish River | 197 ft | $32–$64 |
| TROUBLESOME | 002 | standard nonelectric | 74 ft | 185 ftNorth Fork Skykomish River | 273 ft | $32–$64 | ||
| TROUBLESOME | 003 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | yes | 70 ft | 156 ftNorth Fork Skykomish River | 308 ft | $32–$64 |
| TROUBLESOME | 004 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | yes | 50 ft | 190 ftNorth Fork Skykomish River | 222 ft | $32–$64 |
| TROUBLESOME | 005 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 50 ft | 145 ftNorth Fork Skykomish River | 240 ft | $32–$64 | |
| TROUBLESOME | 006 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 58 ft | 144 ftNorth Fork Skykomish River | 181 ft | $32–$64 | |
| TROUBLESOME | 007 | tent only nonelectric | yes | 45 ft | 114 ftNorth Fork Skykomish River | 62 ft | $32–$64 | |
| TROUBLESOME | 008 | tent only nonelectric | 45 ft | 73 ftNorth Fork Skykomish River | 79 ft | $32–$64 | ||
| TROUBLESOME | 009 | tent only nonelectric | 45 ft | 87 ftNorth Fork Skykomish River | 57 ft | $32–$64 | ||
| TROUBLESOME | 010 | tent only nonelectric | 47 ft | 130 ftNorth Fork Skykomish River | 27 ft | $32–$64 | ||
| TROUBLESOME | 011 | standard nonelectric | 125 ft | 124 ft | 276 ft | $32–$64 | ||
| TROUBLESOME | 012 | standard nonelectric | 125 ft | 97 ft | 197 ft | $32–$64 | ||
| TROUBLESOME | 013 | standard nonelectric | 136 ft | 160 ft | 89 ft | $32–$64 | ||
| TROUBLESOME | 014 | standard nonelectric | 68 ft | 67 ft | 328 ft | $32–$64 | ||
| TROUBLESOME | 015 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 67 ft | 95 ft | 289 ft | $32–$64 | |
| TROUBLESOME | 016 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 67 ft | 101 ft | 246 ft | $32–$64 | |
| TROUBLESOME | 017 | tent only nonelectric | 68 ft | 152 ft | 126 ft | $32–$64 | ||
| TROUBLESOME | 018 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 51 ft | 160 ftNorth Fork Skykomish River | 110 ft | $32–$64 | |
| TROUBLESOME | 019 | tent only nonelectric | 51 ft | 127 ft | 60 ft | $32–$64 | ||
| TROUBLESOME | 020 | tent only nonelectric | 123 ft | 10 ft | 89 ft | $32–$64 | ||
| TROUBLESOME | 021 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 82 ft | 211 ftNorth Fork Skykomish River | 107 ft | $32–$64 | |
| TROUBLESOME | 022 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 43 ft | 286 ftNorth Fork Skykomish River | 158 ft | $32–$64 | |
| TROUBLESOME | 023 | standard nonelectric | 43 ft | 293 ft | 126 ft | $32–$64 | ||
| TROUBLESOME | 024 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | yes | 48 ft | 291 ft | 254 ft | $32–$64 |
| TROUBLESOME | 025 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 48 ft | 252 ft | 222 ft | $32–$64 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Evergreen Mountain LookoutSnoqualmie National Forest · 7.7 mi
Heybrook LookoutSnoqualmie National Forest · 8.7 mi
Money Creek CampgroundSnoqualmie National Forest · 12 mi
Beckler River CampgroundSnoqualmie National Forest · 12 miFrom Everett travel east on US-2. Pass through Monroe and continue another 21 miles then turn north (left) on Index – Galena Road. Continue for 11 Miles, arriving at Troublesome 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 Index, WA
Typical weather
Typical October night 42°F, day 58°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 32°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
Troublesome 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 →