Willaby Campground
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- OpenInside the published season, our reading; a database flag says not open
- A night
- $25From, per site
- Sites
- 21All of them booked ahead
- Season
- April 1Opens April 1. No closing date published.
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 8 notices
In the agency’s own words
The forested slopes of Olympic National Park provide a scenic backdrop across Lake Quinault. Towering conifers including Sitka spruce, Douglas-fir, western hemlock and western red cedar provide dense shade for this beautiful setting. The forest floor is covered with lush rain forest plants including moss, ferns, false lily-of-the-valley and oxalis. Keep reading
Recreation
The forest features 10 miles of hiking trails and many waterfalls within walking distance of the campground. Lake Quinault is part of the Quinault Indian Nation As such,You must have a fishing permit and or boat permit through the Quinault Indian Nation. Both may be purchased through local merchants. Lake Quinault Lodge offers boat and kayak rentals as well as a number of interpretive tours.
Facilities
There are 21 campsites that can accommodate tents, trailers and RVs up to 16 feet in length, however no hook ups are provided. Some sites are in wooded areas and others are not; many of the sites have a view of the lake. The campground has a potable water system. The site also has a barrier-free flush toilet as well as several accessible camp and picnic sites.
Natural Features
The forested slopes of Olympic National Park provide a scenic backdrop across Lake Quinault. Towering conifers including Sitka spruce, Douglas-fir, western hemlock and western red cedar provide dense shade for this beautiful setting. The forest floor is covered with lush rain forest plants including moss, ferns, false lily-of-the-valley and oxalis. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (360) 288-2525.
Nearby Attractions
Nearby, Lake Quinault Lodge offers a restaurant and gift shop. Short trails in the area include the Big Spruce Tree Trail, Forest Service Nature Trail, Kestner Homestead Trail and the Maple Glade Trail. Explore the ocean beaches close-by as well as the National Fish Hatchery. For a more adventuresome day, drive up the valley to hike along the rivers or climb the 4,200 ft. Colonel Bob Peak for expansive views of the mountains and valleys on a clear day.
Charges & Cancellations
Reserved sites must be occupied within 24 hours or the site will be forfetied for remainder of reservation.
What the agency tells you
Most campsites can only accomodate 1 vehicle, no other parking within campground. Please keep this in mind while planning and book campsites accordingly. In the case of motorcycles, the first two are considered to be one vehicle and the third and fourth are also considered to be one vehicle. No additional vehicle fees are collected for bicycles.
Bears and other animals frequent the area; use appropriate food storage containers.
The Lake belongs to the Quinault Indian Nation and boat inspections must be completed by them before entering with your watercraft. Please keep boats clean, drained and dry, to avoid transport or introduction of aquatic invasive species.
Everything else this campground posts · 5
Pets must be on a leash 6' or less in length and under control within the campground and developed recreation sites.
Off-road vehicles are prohibited in the Olympic National Forest.
Chainsaw use and hunting are prohibited in the area's developed recreation sites.
Secure your items and valuables, even at night! Theft has been reported in area.
May encounter noise from occasional maintenance during your stay including but not limited to Chainsaws, brushcutters, construction work, etc.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 21 · 21 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 30 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…system. The site also has a barrier-free flush toilet as well as several accessible camp and picnic…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…a view of the lake. The campground has a potable water system. The site also has a barrier-free flush…”
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, Lake, River, Beach, Coast
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Night sky · 159th darkest of 400 in WA
- Bortle 3
Full this Saturdayread 14:37 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 17 sites on offer is taken this Saturday, and on four midweek nights after it as well. read 14:37 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
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 · 13
What you actually pay
“Extra vehicle fee $5 per vehicle per night.” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $25 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.
“Reserved sites must be occupied within 24 hours or the site will be forfetied for remainder of 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
recreation.gov availability, read 14:37 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
21 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 20 mapped sitesAll 21 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 20 of the 21 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. 21 of the 21 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Willaby | 001 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 67 ft | 291 ftLake Quinault | 14 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 002 | tent only nonelectric | 7 ft | 67 ft | 229 ftLake Quinault | 54 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 003 | tent only nonelectric | 25 ft | 100 ft | 168 ftLake Quinault | 152 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 004 | tent only nonelectric | 7 ft | 46 ft | 181 ftLake Quinault | 235 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 005 | tent only nonelectric | 7 ft | 46 ft | 136 ftLake Quinault | 263 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 006 | tent only nonelectric | 7 ft | 99 ft | 66 ftLake Quinault | 233 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 007 | tent only nonelectric | 7 ft | 84 ft | 48 ftLake Quinault | 231 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 008 | tent only nonelectric | 7 ft | 84 ft | 64 ftLake Quinault | 238 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 009 | tent only nonelectric | 7 ft | 79 ft | 39 ftLake Quinault | 296 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 010 | tent only nonelectric | 7 ft | 79 ft | 26 ftLake Quinault | 349 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 011 | tent only nonelectric | 30 ft | 96 ft | 10 ftLake Quinault | 367 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 012 | tent only nonelectric | 25 ft | 69 ft | under 10 ftLake Quinault | 273 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 013 | tent only nonelectric | 25 ft | 69 ft | under 10 ftLake Quinault | 207 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 014 | tent only nonelectric | 30 ft | 59 ft | 27 ftLake Quinault | 131 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 015 | tent only nonelectric | 30 ft | 59 ft | 48 ftLake Quinault | 97 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 016 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $25 | |||
| Willaby | 017 | tent only nonelectric | 7 ft | 154 ft | 181 ftLake Quinault | 90 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 018 | tent only nonelectric | 7 ft | 89 ft | 121 ftLake Quinault | 219 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 019 | tent only nonelectric | 7 ft | 89 ft | 120 ftLake Quinault | 306 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 020 | tent only nonelectric | 25 ft | 112 ft | 151 ftLake Quinault | 310 ft | $25 |
| Willaby | 021 | tent only nonelectric | 7 ft | 148 ft | 208 ftLake Quinault | 164 ft | $25 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Falls Creek CampgroundOlympic National Forest · 0.9 miGatton Creek Campground/Day Use AreaOlympic National Forest · 1.3 mi
Campbell Tree Grove CampgroundOlympic National Forest · 8.3 mi
North Fork CampgroundOlympic National Park · 12 mi
Coho CampgroundOlympic National Forest · 13 miWynoochee Lake Shore Trailhead - Coho CampgroundOlympic National Forest · 13 miFrom Seattle Travel on 1-5 south to Olympia, take highway 101 N toward Aberdeen. Take state highway 8, this turns into highway 12 which will get you to Aberdeen. From Aberdeen, WA travel 40 miles north on Highway 101 to South Shore Road. Take South Shore road 1.5 miles to Willaby Campground. Entrance to campground is from the South Shore Road just beyond the Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trailhead.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Amanda Park, WA
Typical weather
Typical April night 39°F, day 56°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical April night 39°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 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 · a letter you can send
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
Willaby Campground is in Washington’s 6th congressional district. Its representative, Emily Randall (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyEmily RandallU.S. Representative · Washington’s 6th district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationMaria CantwellU.S. Senator · Washington
- Your senator, on the same appropriationPatty MurrayU.S. Senator · Washington
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Willaby Campground, Olympic National Forest, Washington
Dear Emily Randall, I’m a constituent in Washington’s 6th district. I tried to camp at Willaby Campground, Olympic National Forest, Washington, and couldn’t. All 21 sites at Willaby Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 17 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Willaby Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Willaby Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Willaby Campground (Olympic National Forest, Washington) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Willaby Campground, Olympic National Forest, Washington
Dear Maria Cantwell, I’m a constituent in Washington. I tried to camp at Willaby Campground, Olympic National Forest, Washington, and couldn’t. All 21 sites at Willaby Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 17 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Willaby Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Willaby Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Willaby Campground (Olympic National Forest, Washington) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Willaby Campground, Olympic National Forest, Washington
Dear Patty Murray, I’m a constituent in Washington. I tried to camp at Willaby Campground, Olympic National Forest, Washington, and couldn’t. All 21 sites at Willaby Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 17 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Willaby Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Willaby Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Willaby Campground (Olympic National Forest, Washington) via campanac.com