Ohanapecosh Campground — Mount Rainier National Park

Absolutely lovely place to stay in Mt Rainier National Park. I love that it is right on the river and there is a trailhead right out of the campground. The only thing to note is that this is located right outside the entrance to the park so if it’s a busy day then the line to get in might be long!

Loved having the silver falls trail right next to our site!! The river going through the campground was so pretty. Definitely a long drive to this campground compared to the others in the park.

We enjoyed camping amongst the trees. Despite heavy usage, it was quiet and peaceful most of the time. Campers were generally pretty considerate of each other which was a relief.

As others mentioned, there are several hikes nearby and you can take a cold plunge in the river afterwards. We enjoyed Silver Falls, and will come back to do Grove of Patriarchs.

Sites have bear boxes, fire rings and picnic tables. The sites in our area (F loop) didn’t have clear delineated boundaries and it was hard to tell here the tent was supposed to go but we figured it out. We didn’t have a neighbor our first night, a Friday in July.

The bathrooms in our loop were old/rustic and in need of a deep cleaning, but served our purposes fine.

Great location, so close to the park entrance. An hour or so away from Paradise Inn and Sunrise Lodge. Hiked Silver Falls Trail which was right across from our campsite (E10). Clean bathrooms overall. The river running through the campground was elite. People were jumping off the rock, swimming, etc. Absolutely no cell service and the campground host was seen driving a truck full of firewoods for sale ($8/bundle i think)

Star taken because there was no shower (although we washed all the sweat and grimes off at the river) and MOSQUITOES.

The earliest day I could make reservations, I hopped online with my list of preferred sites but in the end, grabbed the ONLY one that was available; such is life trying to camp in a national park in August! Loop F is one of the smaller loops; aside from the sites that back up to the river, the sites on the outside of the loop are more desirable than the ones on the inside as these do not have clear boundary delineation (and there were several annoying kids who wanted to spend more time in our site than in theirs!) Fortunately, on my walk around the campground the next morning, I spied an empty site (H18), and we were able to move; our second night was much more peaceful. 

The bathhouse is what I’ve come to expect in national parks – very basic, no showers or hot water. I was perplexed, however, to find a urinal in the women’s room (at first, I thought I went in the wrong door!). The light also did not work consistently – in bright daylight, it was often on but at night, it went on as I was leaving so I got in the habit of bringing a headlamp with me every time I went! There is a camper sink, however, a nice amenity, especially as there were many tent campers, and it is bear country. Roads are paved but individual sites are dirt. Most sites are very shaded due to the abundance of trees. 

The visitor center was closed due to Covid, but rangers were available to answer questions between 10 am and 4 pm. The trail to Silver Falls and Grove of the Patriarchs is accessible directly from the campground and is definitely worth doing. Cell service is non-existent in this entire area of the park. 

It is possible to camp here and not pay the entrance fee, however, you would be limited to what you could see in the park. You really cannot complain about the nightly fee of $20 ($10 for seniors).

Very large campground but amazingly quiet!! Hiking trails leaving right from the camp ground. Bathrooms are clean and well maintained with running water.

Plenty of hiking trails and beautiful river access all around the campground.

The Ohanapecosh campground is on the southeast side of Mount Rainier NP in old growth forest.  There are a streams and a river running through the campground, so a lot of sites are on water.  Its fairly standard for a NP campground, with a fair amount of privacy for each camp, but also with facilities which are getting older.

While the campground is a long way from the "main" areas of the park, I really like camping here.  You are away from a lot of the crowds that you find at the other two campgrounds within the park, and Ohanapecosh takes reservations.  You can also do some pretty nice hikes right from your site, including Silver Falls, which are very nice.

Pros:

* Quiet (well, quiet with stream/river background noise)

* Large sites w/privacy

* Hiking from the park

Cons:

* Facilities are showing their age

* Sites are rustic, often not very level, and sometimes difficult to get into

* You have to drive ~1 hour to Longmire or Paradise

NOTE: you cannot bring larger trailers into this campground.  The roads are very tight!

One of our favorite places to visit! Mt. Rainer is a must for anyone living in the PNW and this campground allows you to stay in the park but gives you access to plenty of trails, waterfalls and is just a short distance from entrance to the Wonderland Trial (93 mile train around mountain, also requires a permit to hike).  Although you do have to drive a bit to get to the other entrances, it is still worth the visit! The Ohanapechosh creek runs through the campground and campsites along it allow you to wander down and stick your feet in some glacier frigid water while exploring the driftwood piles accumulated over the years.

We were very pleasantly surprised when we got to our campsite. We were super close to the river, which is beautiful and had nice privacy provided by trees. the only downside of our campsite would be that we were very close to the restrooms and so every time someone opened the door we could smell it, unless the wind blew the opposite direction at that moment. Overall, great experience tho.

We reserved a spot in advance thankfully, this campground was very busy. A lot of spots are closed this summer, so we actually lucked out and had a whole loop to ourselves with no neighbors. Facilities are great, there’s a beautiful river running through it and a nice visitors center. Only downside for me is it’s kind of on the outskirts of the park, so going to any location in Rainier takes a little while to get there.

a lot of sites are blocked off for tree dangers. stayed at A025 which is a large site due to being near a septic meter. bathrooms are clean, water is easily accessible. very busy campground will visitors during the day and especially on weekend. trails are crowed.

Stayed in this campground on the last part of my first solo trip. I was a little anxious due to not having this site reserved ahead of time but I made it to the campground early and picked a suitable enough site for one night. The Rangers in the visitor center at the campground were super great. The site I ended up choosing was okay, but the site next to it kind of over run into my site, and the couple next to me too full advantage of that, so it left me slightly uncomfortable. Otherwise, the campground itself was clean and well maintained. The trails that lead out of the campground were great and branched off in every direct so I hiked in the area for an entire afternoon. I would potentially try to fins another campground in this area if I'm ever out that way again, but if nothing presented itself I would stay here again. The river being just down the bank from the campsite provided fantastic ambiance and white noise when bedtime rolled around, especially considering the other people in the sites next to mine were in very close proximity.

We loved camping at Ohanapecosh! We got lots of helpful information at the visitor center. Even though it was a weekday off-season, the campground was totally full 30 minutes after check-in. Walk up only after Labor Day. You circle the campground looking for an open spot, then pay your fee at an electronic kiosk outside the visitor center.

An interpretive nature trail to hot springs leaves from directly behind the visitor center. Camp host sells firewood from a truck, $7 per bundle. Sites were all beautiful and private... sites closest to the creek seemed coveted. Marvelous night sky! 

We were glad this was our destination. Takes 45 minutes to drive to Paradise from here.

This is absolutely my favorite campground at Mt. Rainier. The spacing is great, the bathrooms are adequate (no showers) and the forest is absolutely amazing. This entire campground is wooded so no need to worry about shade but it will probably rain. This is a rather large campground but you should still get reservations. The only complaint I have is the fire ring is odd.

This campground is by far my favorite in the Mt Rainier region. The spots are level and spaced out nicely. Each site has a fire pit and picnic table. This campground is a great place to base camp for the park. The rangers were friendly. Great campground.

Ohanapecosh, has lots of great trails for most all ages. We took our kids up to Grove of the Patriarchs which crosses a suspended bridge. It does get a bit busy on this trail though. If you keep hiking further it become a bit more secluded.

Well maintained campground in the national park. It is pretty large and the spots are not super private. Some of them are next to the river which is nice. I thought it was a little loud because there were so many people and it’s relatively open in the forest. Had decent bathrooms and good access to easy trails and small swimming spot on the river.

This was our favorite campground over the course of 40 days on the road. Our site was right next to the river – the sound of the water was super peaceful! We were early in the season, so it was very quiet. Lots of tree coverage!

It's very hard to get a reservation anywhere near Mount Rainier. We got one Thursday night in August! The campgound is very nice. Visitor center, restrooms, nature trail. The river behind our site was beautiful! Lots of logs and boulders. Close to hiking. Our neighbors were close, but the site was very deep so it gave the illusion of more privacy that there really was.

This campground is perfect for one person, up to a whole family of six or whatever have you. Super close to the Silver Falls and the Ohanapecosh hot springs. Our camp site was very spacious with a good fire pit and close to bathrooms as well. The amphitheater was right next door and they hold ranger stories and other activities for all ages. If you’re planning on camping in the Mt. Rainier National Park, take a peak at what Ohanapecosh has to offer because you won’t leave upset or empty handed.

This is a family favorite that we visit every year. Very family friendly with large and small camp sites. Great for multiple family outings. Very full in the summer time. Only a 45 minute drive up to Paradise or White river for amazing hikes on the mountain. Greats hikes from the campground too! Visitor center in the campground, fun ranger programs

Amazing campground right in the Ohanapecosh River. Beautiful trees plenty of space and amazing ranger led activities for the kids.

I like this campground a lot. The sites are spread out, so that you don’t feel like you’re on top of your neighbor. As someone who often camps alone, it was nice to know others were close, but not too close!

We’ve stayed here a few times and it has been great. There are some sights that are better for kids than others. But we’ve had good luck most of the time.

The group campground is in its own separate area. We had more than enough space for our training retreat. The rangers were extremely helpful in getting everything set up and figured out for our ever-changing list of RSVPs. For groups, you can have the rangers do a special program just for your group---highly recommended!! They do a good job keeping up with cleaning. Lots of great information about the natural features and Native American history. Make sure you follow all the regulations regarding bears...we saw paw prints out on hikes. This is pretty far away from any stores, so make sure you have everything you need before entering the park. Excellent basecamp for long hikes in the area.

Incredible area, heavily wooded, clear waterways, endless mountain views. This is a fairly large and busy campground but the sites still feel private thanks to the PNW forests. They do a good job keeping up with cleaning. Lots of great information about the natural features and Native American history. Make sure you follow all the regulations regarding bears...we saw paw prints out on hikes. This is pretty far away from any stores, so make sure you have everything you need before entering the park. Excellent basecamp for long hikes in the area.

Campsite Review: This campground is really in a nice area of the old growth forest but it's camping amongst crowds when we went in the high season, the entire 188 sites were filled. There were very few walk-up sites and the rest of the campsites themselves are a decent size but not spaced far enough away from other campers and there is no underbrush to separate you from each other at all. We stayed at site 54 in loop A and had people constantly walking through/by both sides of our campsite to get to the toilets which were located on the next level higher than us. People literally walked right by our fire ring and through our chairs at one point to then hike up the hill instead of traversing around to the right for some stairs. If you can go off season by all means try and do it, but avoid this particular site at all costs…

The toilet facilities weren’t the nicest ones I’ve been to and could have used a little TLC. The facilities right by us were dirty and a bit rusty. They also had no soap or hand drying instrument what-so-ever (neither paper towels or hand dryer). Thankfully we had these things ourselves, but usually in NP campgrounds you don’t have to bring them yourself to the restroom.

Amenities: not sure if every site had one, but lots of bear boxes (you’re in bear and cougar (mountain lion) territory), your standard picnic tables, fire rings, plus flush toilets, potable water, & dump station for you RVers |Prohibited: pets off-leash, & firewood gathering (The camp host drives around selling wood if you haven’t already gotten some at a store) we came right during a fire ban, but as soon as it was removed they drove around letting everyone know. There then seemed to be a truck driving around with firewood for sale, I wasn’t able to confirm though as we were headed off to Paradise and then the Olympic peninsula.

Nearby Hikes: Grove of the Patriarchs, & Silver Falls and not too far from Paradise which is a must do if you happen to come in wild flower season

Gear Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt I sometimes get the opportunity to test out products and the saving grace for this particular camp site was my testing of the Leatherman Signal (Designed for adventure!!). This is a truly fantastic Leatherman and even if you’ve had them for years you should really check out the newer lines of specialized gear. I had an old PST (pocket survival tool) as a boy scout and had upgraded to the original WAVE, but hadn’t checked them out in years as I still have them and thought what could be better than what I already have. I was wrong. This tool and many of the other lines (skateboarding, surfing, skiing, hunting) are also really worth checking out.

• This is designed specifically with camping in mind.
• Really impressed with the new ability to change out components from this and other tools are you wear them down.
• The hammer is great for knocking in tent stakes into some stubborn ground or breaking up that giant block of ice into some manageable pieces.
• Great locking functions on the blade, saw and hammer section - nothing comes loose as you’re cutting/hammering away
• It’s really all the little touches that make this an awesome tool. Like having a sharpener, a built-in fire starter and emergency whistle. These are things that might end up saving your life if you happen to get stranded while out in the woods.

I give the Leatherman Signal 4.5/5 Stars!

The sites by the river are great with direct access from the site. It was also nice to have a truck driving around selling firewood. We mainly booked here to see the wildflowers, but were very disappointed that we didn't see much even though we went during the season. Lots of hikes nearby though.

Camping at Ohanapecosh is an enjoyable experience, particularly if your spot backs right up to the river. Arrive early to secure a spot. Neighbors will be close by, but in my experience were respectful and quiet. This would be an excellent campground for big groups if you are able to secure side by side camp sites. Park rangers are friendly and helpful. Silver Falls is beautiful and only a short 2.2 mile loop from the grounds.