Established Camping
Hoh Campground — Olympic National Park
About
National Park Service
Olympic National Park
Overview
The reservation season for the 2024 summer season for the Hoh campground is May 23, 2024 - September 23, 2024. Important changes to booking windows: To better serve visitors, Hoh Campground will be releasing campsites in a series of three staggered block releases by loop. These block releases will be 6 months in advance, two weeks in advance, and 4 days in advance.__ ___ A loop campsites will be available for reservation 6 months in advance. ___ C loop campsites will be available for reservations two weeks in advance. ___ B loop campsites will be available for reservations 4 days in advance. __ Outside the reservation season, Hoh Campground is open for camping on a first-come, first-served basis. Some campsites may be closed during winter.____ The Hoh Rain Forest, pronounced "Hoe", earns its name from the ever-flowing Hoh River that carves its way from Mount Olympus towards the Pacific Coast. However, where the name originates, is up for debate. The word "Hoh" undoubtedly comes from Native American languages; possibly the Quileute word "Ohalet" which means "fast moving water" or "snow water." Since the river itself forms from glacial runoff, that origin seems straightforward. Other explanations state that the Quinault word "Qu," meaning "boundary," could be the root of the name as a river as massive as the Hoh certainly forms a formidable boundary across the landscape. A third consideration claims that the word "Hoh" translates to "man with quarreling wives." What the actual history behind the name is, appears to be lost to time.__ Regardless of the name, there's no question as to the allure that draws visitors back to the rainforest year after year. Throughout the winter season, rain falls frequently in the Hoh Rain Forest, contributing to the yearly average of 140 inches (3.55 meters) of precipitation each year. The result is a lush, green canopy of both coniferous and deciduous species. Mosses and ferns that blanket the surfaces add another dimension to the enchantment of the rainforest.__
Recreation
The trailhead for this area is located next to the Hoh Rainforest Visitor Center, which is a great place for more information. The staff there can give you ideas for your visit and exhibits will help explain what makes this area so special. The visitor center is open daily during the summer, closed January through early March, and generally open Friday through Sunday during the spring and fall seasons (hours may vary according to season).____ The area offers two short loop trails as well as an out-and-back trail through the forest near the Visitor Center.____ The Hall of Mosses Trail (.8 miles/ 1.2 km) is an iconic loop that takes you through old growth forest and features a grove of maples trees draped with abundant club moss.____ The Spruce Nature Trail (1.2 miles/ 1.9 km) is a diverse trail that loops through both old and new growth forest as you walk alongside Taft Creek and the Hoh River.____ The Hoh River trail is the area's main hiking trail. This out-and-back trail can be taken as far as one desires. Taken all the way, it leads past multiple camping areas, the last being Glacier Meadows at 17.3 miles (27.8 km), and ultimately ends 18.5 miles/ 30 km out at the Blue Glacier moraine looking up at Mt. Olympus. The Hoh Lake trail branches off from the Hoh River trail just after the ranger station and ascends to Bogachiel Peak between the Hoh and the Sol Duc Valley. For those wanting to explore this area as a day hike, there are additional popular turn-around points along the trail.____ First River access (0.9 miles/ 2.9 km one way)____ Mineral Creek Falls (2.7 miles/ 4.3 one way)____ Cedar Grove (4.0 miles/ 6.4 km one way)____ 5 mile Island (5.0 miles/ 8.0 km one way)____ All backcountry permits must be reserved online. To get permits and more information on backpacking along the Hoh River Trail and throughout Olympic National Park, visit the Wilderness (Backcountry) Reservations page: https://www.recreation.gov/permits/4098362\_\_\_\_ __ Pets are not allowed on trails in the Hoh Rain Forest. Pets are allowed on leash in developed areas such as the campground, picnic areas, and parking lots. Visit our Pets page for more information on where you can take your pet in the park: https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/pets.htm
Facilities
Hoh Campground is a large facility with 72 campsites, including one group site and one ADA accessible site. Each site has a campfire ring and picnic table. Food lockers and drinking water are available at campground loop restrooms. There are no RV hookups at this facility. The dump station and fill station are closed indefinitely. The nearest shower facility is Bogachiel State Park (23 miles one way) and payment is required. The nearest dump and fill stations are Bogachiel State Park (23 miles north) or Kalaloch campground (33 miles south), and payment is required. Campers can purchase firewood in the B-loop near the campground host sites (May through September), however firewood supplies are limited and are first-come, first-serve.__
Natural Features
The Hoh Rain Forest is located in the stretch of the Pacific Northwest rainforest which once spanned the Pacific coast from southeastern Alaska to the central coast of California. The Hoh is one of the finest remaining examples of temperate rainforest in the United States and is one of the park's most popular destinations.____
Nearby Attractions
Olympic National Park has much to explore, including temperate rain forests, ocean shores, sub-alpine mountains, lakes and more. Kalaloch, Quinault, and Forks are within a 45 minute to a 90 minute drive.__
Fee Info
Location
Hoh Campground — Olympic National Park is located in Washington
Directions
Access the Upper Hoh Road from Highway 101.__
Address
18113 Upper Hoh Rd
Forks, WA 98331
Coordinates
47.8583525 N
123.9355401 W
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
- Hike-InBackcountry sites.
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonUnknown
- AT&TUnknown
- T-MobileUnknown
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
Features
For Campers
- Trash
- Firewood Available
- Phone Service
- Drinking Water
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Sanitary Dump
- Water Hookups
- Big Rig Friendly
Steps away from rainforest trail heads
Loved this campground! Steps away from the rainforest trailhead, so a great one night stay to hike the trails. It's a rainy place as you can imagine. Washington State itself sure is.
Spots were level, there were a couples of loops with spots to choose from. It was open overall and your typical national park camping. Clean bathrooms, no cellphone reception. Small visitor center, one cafe halfway between it and hwy 101, so bring plenty of food. 47 minutes from Forks and a decent grocery store.
Good national park family campground
Elk came through the campsite, which was cool. But also a lot of foot traffic through campsites instead of using the roads. Not super private and no showers. Overall a good stay for what it is.
Early Fall Fun
Arrived the day after reserved camping ended for the summer. First come, first serve for fall! Our site was on the river with a path down. Highly recommend-we we’re able to walk right next to some salmon, and spotted what was either a bobcat or cougar track in the mud bank. -Bathroom was fine, there is also a family room. Bring your own soap. -No firewood available in off season. Site had metal ring and grate to cook. -Picnic table at site -On busy days, the parking lot is managed so no cars are allowed in until a spot is open. -Head out early on the great hikes that start here to avoid crowds.
Convenient Location but a Family Campground primarily
This campground had such a good location, it was very close to Hoh Rainforest, the visitor center, Hoh River, and many trails. I would’ve given this campsite a 5 if it weren’t for the screaming kids, zero privacy, and no showers. It is very much a family campground, which isn’t terrible just not my style. The sites were small also. I guess I just set my standards too high for this campground, I’m sure many people enjoy it. The bathrooms are clean and there is a sink with potable water for drinking and cleaning dishes. There is lots of wildlife to see, a deer and her fawns even walked into our campsite. The River was beautiful but ice cold. Overall a good experience, just underwhelmed.
Beautiful, my favorite campsite!
Huge, mossy trees give lots of privacy. I almost don't want to give a good review because then everyone will take up reservations! The site used to have FF spots, but now everything has to be reserved way way in advance for the summer because they get taken up FAST. I have been trying to reserve since February and only got to place reservations for September. The bathrooms are very clean and are flushing toilets. Water is easy to get from the spigots. The river is beautiful and we saw otter tracks. The closest place to get any supplies is halfway to Forks, so make sure to have what you need, it is a big, deep forest and a really long drive.
Beautiful park that needs some tlc
Campground has decent sites. Loop A will get you the most sun while loops B and C are mostly shaded (loops b and c were closed when we visited). We haven’t seen a single park employee in the campground for three nights so far. No one has cleaned the bathrooms in this amount of time either and they are pretty gross. We had to break out the poop bucket in case the bathrooms become unbearable.
Great for families
Watch for elk on the way in.. the elk frequent the hoh river right behind the campground. Great campground.. obviously prepare for rain.
Hoh rainforest campground
Wet rainy night in the rainforest. We just used tarps and made it fun. 20 Elk came into the site after 6. A little far from the bathroom. Site is a short hike to the visitor center that Is closed for the week. Open Friday thru Sunday. Good short distance from the river too. Good stay.
Unforgettable
Super convenient to camp inside the park boundary to avoid all of the car traffic in and out of the park. The campground is a few minutes walk to all of the trailheads. Campsites are reservable at the visitors center (campground desk hours in intervals of 10am-6pm). We drove in around 4pm on a Saturday with hopes of getting a site and we got pretty lucky because some people cancelled reservations due to rain the next day…in a rainforest lol. I would 100% stay here again. Easy access to clean water, clean flushable toilets and beautiful old growth trees on the campground and some in the A loop back up to the hoh river.
- (4) View All
Excellent location, seasonal challenges
Such a prime location! Walking distance to the Hoh rainforest hikes. Campground is peaceful, filled with huge trees. Nice clean bathrooms, no showers. RV dump station out of function as of Aug 2021 - disappointing. Biggest challenge is the LONG wait to get into the park in morning or early afternoon- waited over an hour at the entry booth, even mid-week.
One of the Best!
Loved, loved, loved the hiking here. A bit crowded on the trails, but the old growth and rainforest are the reason why. We snagged a great campsite, close to the clean bathrooms. Dipped in the river.
We hiked 7 miles along the trail, but it goes on much further. Was a bit muggy and hazy from forest fires in Oregon. A really lovely place.
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Breathtaking beauty
I used to live near here and spent many hours here. The river is beautiful and there are swimming holes. Don't be surprised if you see deer elk bears etc. Hiking and camping is great.
Excellent Experience
The road getting there is long and worth the trip. Campsites are a bit smaller than advertised. Ours Site 25 was a tight fit for our 28ft trailer and F 250. Loved hiking, remember it is a rainforest so be ready for rain and mud on the trains. Overall great time.
Wet but worth it.
This is a very wet campground(you are in the Hoh Rainforest afterall), so bring some extra tarps to stay dry. There are 3 loops, with a few riverside sites in Loops A and C. There were a lot of downed trees that were in various states of being cleared when I was there, which did close some sites to campers. Some sites had some privacy and others did not, but all were level. I was comfortable on my site, but preferred more privacy. None of the sites that I looked at had dedicated tent pads, but all had the usual picnic table and fire pit. It's a short walk to the visitors center and lots of hiking trails are nearby, including one that cuts through the campground. It was very quiet at night, and even though I was not on a site on the river, you could hear the river at night.
- (10) View All
Very nice with great trail access
This campground has new, clean restroom facilities and the camp sites were very tidy. The sites seemed well spaced, but was only 1/2 full during our two night stay in the middle of the week. Great access to the Hall of Mosses, Spruce Nature and Hoh River Trails. Special treat was having a half-dozen elk wander through loop A one evening.
Great place!
My family and I came from Seattle to stay here and we were not disappointed! The ride there was easy and the pretty direct. The park was beautiful with trails and bathrooms and camping was offered just outside the visitor building. Plenty of spots and nicely spaced out so you’re not disturbing your neighbors. They had bathrooms around the sites, every so often so you will never be far from one. Overall we loved it here! Not far from Ruby Beach, too!
2nd time here
This was my second time staying here. It’s convenient for waking up early to get out on the trail before the crowd. Flushing toilets, heated bathrooms. Nice campground.
Amazing campground!!
This is our favorite campsite ever - and we’ve been a lot of places!! It’s deep in the forest, prepare for a long drive. We listened to Jurassic park music the whole way there. You’ll see lots of wildlife and cross over some incredibly high bridges to get there.
The campground is very secluded and hidden in the trees. Sites are spaced out far apart and quiet.
It felt like we were camping alone even though there were plenty of other people there.
Bathrooms are vault toilets and even though they’re relatively clean you won’t want to spend much time in them!
There is no cell phone service but there are plenty of hikes to do from the campground.
My only real warning is to be prepared for precipitation! It was very humid and everything was covered in a layer of dew in the morning.
Fun
We enjoyed staying here. Only stayed one night so we could wake up early and hike out on the Hoh River Trail. You could hear the river from our spot, it was very nice
- (5) View All
Wonderful.
The trails aren’t stroller friendly but easily walkable with toddlers and a backpack. Feels safe. Busy but not like a mall. Beautiful tree views and a great pit stop at Peak 6 on the way up.
Beautiful!
We were there on a Tuesday in October and there were lots of spots open at 4pm but it was more crowded than I would have imagined. So I bet weekends are packed. Great camping spots and very close to the trails. Some of the spots get very wet even if it’s not raining due to the humidity of the rainforest so I’d recommend being prepared for that.
Rainforest campings on the Olympic Peninsula
Pretty much what you'd expect in a national park. Amazing scenery and a very well kept location. Lots of site options....from sunny to shady, river front, deep forrest, and everything between. We drove in around 11am on a very busy weekend and got one of the last available spots (and there are over a 100).....camper turnover seems lower than normal during the pandemic...all of our neighbors were staying longer than I'm used to. Cars were driving around looking for spots as early as 7am with some saying that they had to sleep in their cars on forrest roads the night before as all sites were taken and all nearby options were full. Sites were very goo sized and bathrooms were relatively clean. Lots of mask wearing too. Downside here is the same in most big campgrounds....noise. RVs running generators and the occasional loud group that were not going to be getting up early. Good access to all hiking in the Hoh and it's just over an hour and a bit to the ocean beaches.
Great Park and busy
Well maintained park and trail. The Hoh river is a special place regardless of where you on it. This park is popular Tao on the weekends it is usually full during the summer but thins out on the weekdays. When I was there it was a first come first served. It was full by early afternoon on Friday so I did a day hike and drove back down the road outside the park and found a spot on the river that was public access. It was a discover pass area. I did note that several camp sites where going to be available the next day as you can see when people are going to leave the sites. I went back Sunday at 1100hrs and had my pick of riverside sites. The trail is popular so expect lots of foot traffic in the summer. I’ve been here in the fall, winter and spring and it’s close to vacant. The toilets were clean and a good water source. There are a few other trails to do not listed by the park but on AllTrails.
- (10) View All
Close to trails
We enjoyed hiking part of the Hoh River trail from our campsite. This trail is much less busy than the other short loop sites, it’s a nice getaway from the crowds of Thai National Park site. We ended up here since we didn’t realize some smaller first come sites weren’t open yet. We never love paying the price for these larger sites, but the bathrooms were nice and campground well maintained. Access to trails right from sites is always a nice perk too.
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Gorgeous
One of my absolute favorites. Relatively small and quiet campground. 4-5 sites on the hoh river. Gorgeous. I have seen elk multiple times and exploring the river is tons of fun. The information center next door has a short hike to experience the rain forest, and is the starting point for many backpacking trips.
Pacific Northwest Perfection
This is possibly the most beautiful National Park I have visited. Perfect campground along a river populated with deer, elk, and bears. Use your bear box! This is a rain forest so expect everything to be moist in the morning. There are still working pay phones here and fantastic interpretative center. There is a little town 15-20 minute drive away that has a supermarket, a large general store, and WiFi. The very best spot is Loop C, spot 78.
Heaven on Earth
Rainforest…. lush green moss hanging from the trees.. elk.. fog settling on the ground.. bluest river ever. Fishing is amazing…. campground is clean and spacious. Hiking trails everywhere
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favorites
hands down my favorite campground ever. pretty busy, but the sites are huge. lots of wildlife. get there early cause sites fill up quick!
Lush Green
awesome time hiking and hammocking. Lush Green Everywhere! Woke up surrounded by a herd of Red Elk.
Mossy Rainforest of other-worldly greens
Hoh Campground at Olympic National Park has 78 first-come-first-served campsites located deep within the rainforest on the westernsidof the park. There are more shades of green than there are names for them- and the moss that grows everywhere makes you feel like you have entered a fairy tale forest. P The campground has flush toilets and potable water, but no shower facilities.