Goodell Creek Campground — Ross Lake National Recreation Area

Went in May. Free camping before the season starts and lots of free spots. Very pretty spot and toilet were fine

I was able to score site 19 right on the river because of a no-show.. The scenery is stunning. The river is a beautiful shade of green because of the glacial “milk”. This is a primitive campground with no hook-ups, but there is potable water located in the loops. There are bear containers, picnic tables, and fire pits. There are vault toilets located in the loops, but they are not in great condition. Fair Verizon signal so I was able to get online. Too many trees for Starlink. I was awakened at 5:50 a.m. because the flood evacuation siren went off– apparently a false alarm. It was a bit unnerving. I spent the next night in Newhalem Creek Campground which is right“next door”. This has better infrastructure.

A very nice NP campground that felt spacious. I loved the river loop trail in the campground- it was great to be able to hop out of the car and stretch my legs after a long drive day. The walk in sites looked super cool, but I’m not sure I would want to make that trek to the bathroom every time and it would be a pain to lug the chemical toilet out there!

I only ended up camping here for one night since it was booked, but would have liked to stay another. I think it may have just been the campground I stayed at, but mine was very very small. Like, picnic table almost on top of the campfire small. I went solo, but if I had my family with me all 4 of us wouldn’t have been able to sit all around the camp fire. Again, I think it was just my spot, but maybe do your research before to find a bigger site

The camp site we got had a nice shade. This is really nice because it was a very hot week. I recommend it. Clean facilities.

Great experience camping here. Sites are large and allow some privacy from neighbors with the dense trees. Lots of shade. Bathrooms not the cleanest, but luxurious to have flush toilets, sink and mirrors. Books up quickly during busy summer months. Recommend visiting the town of Newhalem and checking out Ladder Creek Falls Trail. **For an extra special treat, go on this trail after sunset when the falls lights up with energy generated by the power plant :)

My first ever solo trip and of course, I chose as far away from home in the US I could. This campground was the first I visited, I loved the fact I could reserve it only months in advance through recreation.gov, which eased my anxiety of traveling alone. No worries about getting there and not having a site to stay on. I chose the hike to site because I wanted a challenge and I’d never stayed at a campground that offered hike to sites before. It was a pleasantly short walk to my site. Upon arrival I noticed the platform for my tent, a picnic table and a fire pit. The site was divided from he nearby sites with trees and bushes which was really nice. The trails around the campground were amazing, some went into the forest and some went into the small “vintage” town of Newhalem which I thought was very quaint and neat. Another path from the hike to sites was to the river which I could fairly hear from my tent. This campground was super nice and clean and if I ever go back to North Cascades again, I’ll more than like stay here again.

Located directly in front of the North Cascades Visitor Center. The campground is as described. We tent camped in loop A near the hike-in sites. Of course it was rainy but we were still very happy with this campground. The bathrooms were clean and had one electric outlet. The water spigot was in front of the restrooms. The bear box was excellent and there were plenty of trees for privacy. There is one general store nearby but no restaurants so I’d recommend coming prepared. The NP Rangers are lovely and pointed us in the right direction for hikes. We drove into Newhalem to hike the Ladder Creek Falls Trail behind the Gorge Powerhouse. It is beautiful! Then we drove up Lake Diablo - Gorgeous!

This is a nice campground away from the large mass of people up the road toward diablo lake. It’s right off the hi-way and next to a river and easily accessible. They have put toilets and a nice set up with decent to large spacing between spots. It was actually astounding for this type of campground how spaced out you are. The big draw for me were the massive old growth trees here. I would definitely stay here again.

Camped here for two days and have to say it was a great experience. I’m a solo hiker so I didn’t stay at my actual site for super long but it was nice coming back each night to a site that was good sized and beautifully lush. Also, having the river so close is a definite plus

Had a really great time camping here. The campground is located right next to the North Cascades NP visitor center, and about 1/2 a mile from a general store with fire wood, ice, and food. We camped in Loop B which is nicely forested. Loop C sustained some damage from a wildfire a few years ago so it has more dead/burnt trees than compared to Loop A and B. Most of the campsites are pretty well spaced out and have a good amount of privacy. Campsites are equipped with bear boxes, a table, fire pit, and a tent pad (or 2, depending on the site). The campground overall was really well maintained and nice clean bathrooms, with water spigots located outside.

There are a few nice nature trails that start in the campground that lead to the Skagit River and the visitor center. Definitely worth the short trek to see the river! Diablo Lake is about a 12 mile drive east of the campground, making this a good base to explore North Cascades and beyond.

This campground is right next to the visitors center. Overall it's a good campground, but has smaller sites with less privacy than others nearby. Also, this campground is pretty far from most hiking trails which can tack on to your travel time.

Right off the beaten path, very popular. Big sites but prefer it more secluded.

I am a full time employeed engineer. I believe my 30 years of materials and process engineering combined with OEM manufacturing experience of aerospace and automotive platforms combined with my love of camping makes me ideally suited to be a Dyrt Ranger. In my career I do alot of failure analysis and know what goes into a product that delights the customer. Especially, critical gear like a camp stove that needs to light when you want it to, or not become a flaming disaster due to a fuel leak, or a tent that keeps solid during the most violent of wind storms. I have not written a formal campground review but have done a significant amount of camping with my daughter and son throughout the years. My last trip was with my son of 25 years last summer in Northern Cascades National Park. We stayed at Newhalem campground. I live in Wisconsin and he lives in Tacoma, so my usual method is to fill two large army duffles with the camping gear and check it on the plane. I have done it this way for 25 years. I get everything I need in those two bags and they still work. We throw the bags in the truck, stop by the grocery store for provisions, and pitch camp. The problem with Newhalem was that I specifically selected a walk in site to get away from as much noise as possible. Unbeknownst to me there were two other single walk in sites on either side of ours. So the reward for hauling our gear and water into the site was one of our neighbors didn't understand what a single site was nor why people go through the trouble of using them. They turned it into a group site, which unfortunately was highly distracting from the crackling of our campfire. This is so unfortuate, because this is why I like to camp and backpack, to get away from the work pressures and enjoy nature, the fire, the conversation, the quite. Others enjoy the party opportunity and have little regard for anyone who is next to them. Other than that I found the campground very clean, easy to get around and centrally located to the hikes we wanted to complete. Namely, Hidden Lake, Sourdough Mnt.and I believe Blue Lake Trail, but I think I am wrong on the latter. In my 25 years of camping with my kids and my wife, the Northern Cascades are brutal. I have climbed Long's Peak, Sky Pond, Loch Lake, Flat Top Mnt, Hallett Peak, etc. Angles Landing, Observation Point (I one day - just through I would mention it), Hidden Canyon, the Narrows, etc.in Zion National Park, Mt. Washburn in Yellowstone, Yosemite Falls Hike, etc. Been caught in a wind storm in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park that bent the poles of my Eureka Timberline 4 man tent. Withstood a tornado in Minacqu, WI where I witnessed a electrical transformer explode from a lightning strike. And had the incredible experience of watching a storm come into Badlands National Park and by evening take over our site with a perpetual lightning storm. But what is different with all of these an many others that doesn't exist in the Northern Cascades is you can actually see your final destination. The destination in the Norther Cascades is typically hidden by trees, and when you think you are making great progress on the incessant switchbacks that climb 1 verticle foot for each step you take, a passing hiker will say, when asked; "oh you are maybe 1/4 of the way there", your heart and mind drop and in the dense forest, coping with the heat you ask where is the end. The Northern Cascades are brutal in the mental and physical games they play with a hiker. But ultimately it was an awesome experience with my son, I flew back to Wisconsin with a lot of great memories. Not a campground review, but the ramblings of an outdoor enthusiast, that loves looking up from the fire to see the stars, and the best mornings are those dry in the sleeping bag listening to rain fall on the tent fly. I have been blessed and love what you guys are doing. Thank you. Sincerely, Rob Hathaway, Oshkosh, WI

We stayed at this camp site at the end of August, 2018. There was a burn ban in effect due to wildfires all over the state. it was very smokey which blocked most views but we had no issues breathing and hiking. the trails around the camp site are great. awesome visitor center near by and river access. we camp in our RV and our friends bring tents. our two sites (30 and 32) mentioned they hold three tents each. we had 4 tents and there was NOT enough space! very small camp sites! but we made it work and had fun! there are waterfalls near by at the power plant that lights up at night! Everyone in our group who has Verizon had cell service.

There were very few other campers while I was visiting Goddell Creek. This would have been ideal but there had been recent mountain lion and bear sightings in the area and I was camping alone. I decided to set up a few sites down from another group but still right along the river. Had the weather been a little hotter I might have changed a dip in the water. The sites are all relatively separated but an easy walking distance from outhouses. The North Cascades are incredible and well worth a visit even just for the drive in and out. I will most certainly be back again soon. Unfortunately I have no photos of the actual campsite.

The sound of the river and richness of the forests, along with the proximity to the Visitor Center and some easier hikes, combine to make Newhalem a convenient stopping point for me as I crossed the North Cascades. It's located along the Western side of the park, so I made sure to stop as I drove East to West, checking out the sites, stops, and hikes that are more "in" the mountains.

The site was roomy, felt private, and led me easily to the trail behind it. Some of the walk-in sites I saw as I took the trail looked really nice: close to the glacier-blue river and slotted into densely forested pockets.

I spent the morning taking trails that criss-cross the campground, leading along the river, up the Visitor Center, and back to the historical "town" of Newhalem.

I recently stayed at Newhalem in the North Cascades. The facilities where limited but very clean. They have an amazing visitors center with very helpful staff. This is the perfect location to start to explore the North Cascades. It is situated very close to the river, with fly fishing access. The sites are good sized and plentiful. The park staff was very helpful with changing our reservation and knowledge about the surrounding area.

We stayed at a walk-in site. The site was only a 4 minute walk from the parking area and it was very private and peaceful. The site was a good size and well separated from the other sides. We could hear the river going by and that's it. The North cascades visitors center is close by with good information about hikes.

Because we were visiting North Cascades in the early season -- actually, the day the main park road reopened! -- we had a limited number of campgrounds to choose from within the low-country area of the park.

Newhalem was a nice base camp for our four days of hiking and driving our way through the park. The sites were spacious and scenic, and there were flush toilets and running water nearby. Since it was late April, there was maybe only one or two other campers in the campground, so that added to our sense of solitude.

In any other case, we would choose to visit North Cascades much later in the season. We love to hike, and only were able to hike low-elevation trails like Fourth of July Pass and Thunder Knob. We also had the Diablo Lake Overlook all to ourselves, which is a jaw-dropping view.

You can read much more about our five days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (North Cascades)

Visited the campground 10/21/16-10/23/16. With it being this late in the season to camp, the grounds were free. There were no services, so you need to bring your own water, and pack out your trash. Pit toilets, decently clean, definitely smelly. We camped on site 20 and 21, right on the river. It was a great spot!

We had to navigate out of the campground in the rain, which isn't so far out of the way that it was difficult. we were happy with the facilities and the proximity to the town.

Diablo Lake....Incredible. Great hiking trails around the lake with incredible vistas to be seen. Go! Check out the dam powerplant in town too.

Beautiful wooded campground right next to the North Cascades Visitor’s Center. Plenty of spots for larger trailers and campers. Water spigots and flush toilets. Historic Newhalem is right next door, so make sure you visit for a walking tour that takes you back to the time that the hydroelectric project was being built. Town is still owned and run by Seattle City Light, the public utility that built and runs the hydro project. Easy walking trails nearby. Cost=$16. Half of the campground is reservable via the National Park Service and half is first come, first served.

Sweet little spot on the Skagit River, just west of Newhalem, run by the National Park Service. Water spigots, picnic area, boat launch for kayaks/rafts, and pit toilets (a bit stinky, but cleanish). Very wooded with private sites. Some spots are close enough to Hwy 20 to hear the road, but others that are deeper into the campground are quieter. Close to the North Cascades National Park Visitor’s Center and some easy hiking trails. A few spots for larger trailers/campers. Cost=$16. First come, first served, iron ranger.

This is a beautiful campground nestled within tall pine trees. The extensive fern undergrowth adds to the comfortable feeling. The Northern Cascades are beautiful and you are in the middle of it here. It's right off route 20. Riding here on my bicycle was a tough but rewarding trip.

This campground was my absolute favorite from our two-week-long road trip in the summer of 2015. (You can look up the hashtag #ERT_2015 on Instagram to see photos of the whole trip!) We were on a goal to visit as many national parks as we could, and even though North Cascades was slightly out of our way (coming from Whistler and heading down the coast to the Olympic Peninsula) I'm so glad we stopped, just for the campground alone! It was a genuinely magical campground. We stayed in loop C, which unfortunately has been closed for the entirety of 2016 due to wildfire damage (it broke my heart to hear about that). So disclaimer if you stay in loop C in 2017 and beyond and it's nothing like what I've described here, I'm very sorry that you missed out on the magic one of my favorite campgrounds I've ever stayed in. We stayed in campsites 99 and 101, which were right next to each other, but separate enough that if we had not known the campers in the other site it wouldn't have been awkward. My husband and I got campsite 99 to ourselves, and it was gorgeous. The tent area was sunken slightly lower than the parking area, and it was right up against a gully packed with trees and ferns. The campground was very quiet and the site felt incredibly secluded, even though we were reasonably close to the bathrooms and water spigot. The bathrooms were amazingly clean, well-lit, and well-stocked. There was a nice fire ring that we didn't use, but would have loved to had we spent more time there. We were there for just one night and I could easily spend a week there relaxing and exploring. Our friends loved how many trees there were for excellent hammock set up!

Camping here is great. You are right by the creek, right in the mountains, close to hiking trails, and still close to civilization. Bathrooms are accessible. Good camping here and stunning scenery the whole way on the drive there!