$15 / night

Camper submitted image from Big Pines Campground - Yakima River Canyon - 1

Camper submitted image from Big Pines Campground - Yakima River Canyon - 2

Nature

Camper submitted image from Big Pines Campground - Yakima River Canyon - 3

People

Camper submitted image from Big Pines Campground - Yakima River Canyon - 4

Roads

Camper submitted image from Big Pines Campground - Yakima River Canyon - 5

Camping

Established Camping

Big Pines Campground - Yakima River Canyon

10 Reviews

About

Bureau of Land Management

The gentle Yakima River winds for 27 miles through massive basalt cliffs and rolling desert hills between Ellensburg and Yakima, Washington. This area is popular for wildlife viewing, fishing, and floating the river.

Recreation The Yakima River Canyon is a popular destination for plant and wildlife viewing, including bighorn sheep, various birds of prey, and mule deer. This section of the river is classified as a Blue Ribbon trout stream, but is catch and release only. One of the most popular summer activities is floating the river, which is a family friendly Class 1 river with no rapids. Rafters often put in at Umtanum and take out at Roza.

Facilities All four BLM-managed recreation sites offer picnic tables, fire rings, nearby dumpsters and vault toilets. Hookups and potable water are not provided. Big Pines campground is where the majority of the campsites are located, and contains two group campsites. Umtanum, Lmuma Creek, and Roza also offer campsites. Umtanum and Roza receive high day-use visitation during the summer months. Roza offers a concrete boat launch. Motorboats are prohibited upstream from Roza.

Reservation Info

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/250985?tab=seasons

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Location

Big Pines Campground - Yakima River Canyon is located in Washington

Directions

From Ellensburg, Washington, take Hwy 821 (Canyon Road) south through the Yakima River Canyon. Big Pines is located at milepost 10.

Coordinates

46.79359257476418 N
120.45616629604979 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.
Boat-In
Sites accessible by watercraft.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group

Features

For Campers

ADA Access
Trash
Picnic Table
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Pull-Through Sites
Big Rig Friendly

$15

/ night

For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

First Come - First Served

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Contact

General Info

Jessica D.

Traveler

Reviewed Oct. 10, 2023

Big Pines

First time there and it was pretty, but completely without any way of communication, which is ok but not when you are with a 99 year old camping fanatic.

Sitewe were right by the boat launch I can’t remember the site number

Month of VisitNovember

JP C.

Ranger

Reviewed Sep. 20, 2022

Yakima River Canyon Campgrounds (Umtanum, Lmuma Creek, Big Pines, Roza)

Yakima River Canyon Campgrounds offer 4 options to choose from, each of them a few miles apart. The other 3 options are quite small with only about 6 sites each, and Big Pines about 40 sites. All of them have vault toilets and NONE OF THEM HAVE WATER. We spend a weekend at Big Pines in September and really enjoyed our stay. The campground was quiet, many campers leaving during the day to go hiking or spend time on the river boating and/or fishing. We rode our bicycle on Canyon Road which at this time of the year was not busy. At 15$ per night or 7.50$ if you have the senior discount there is not much you can complain about. We plan in going back.

Some reviews mentioned the train waking them during the night. With that in mind we did bring ear plug and did hear any in our small trailer.

(7) View All

Dave B.

Guide

Reviewed Oct. 24, 2021

The best CG in the area

Pleasantly surprised. Lots of sites, reasonably priced, paved roads, near the Yakima River. The train on the other side of the river will wake you once or twice during the night. A great stop from Bend to North Cascades.

Month of VisitOctober

Christine D.

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 18, 2021

Great, quiet spot.

Stopped at Big Pines for a quick one night. Beautiful sunset scene in the middle of the canyon! Near a river where a lot of the other campers were kayaking and fishing. It got really windy at night. Quiet stay, not too crowded (but my stay was in the middle of the week in September)

Site23

Month of VisitOctober

Emma A.

Legend

Reviewed Nov. 26, 2020

Great stop-over on the way to Bend!

We stayed here one night on our way to Bend traveling from Seattle in the late afternoon. We stayed at the campsite #1 which is adjacent to the boat launch. Given that was winter season, part of the campground is closed yet there were several RVs and a couple of tents in the one open loop. The site we stayed was right by the river and across from the one outhouse that was open. Big dumpster also available to deposit garbage. This looks like a really nice spot for warmer weather hanging out. Nice big fire pit. Picnic tables in the sites near the River were moved to a central location due to winter time flood hazard.

Tonya T.

Ranger

Reviewed Oct. 31, 2018

Great place to launch

Large Campground right on the river. very little shade. Vault toilets. Great place to stay for floating the river or fishing.located in the beautiful Ellensburg canyon on the Yakima river

Month of VisitAugust

Sasha W.

Legend

Reviewed Aug. 29, 2018

Close to hiking

One thing I love about Washington is that there are so many different places to hike. My husband and I stayed here, which is close to White Pass where there are tons of great hikes. This area is known for rattlesnakes, though so definitely be alert. There is also a really great place to go rock climbing nearby. We dont rock climb, but know that a lot of people love this place. We decided to get up early and do some hiking. We hiked Round Mountain one day and Bear Mountain the next. Round Mountain is about 4 miles roundtrip with lots of switch backs. Bear Mountain is 8 miles round trip, and is pretty flat until the last 1 mile. We liked the campground, and loved that it wasnt busy when we went which was surprising. I think we caught it at a good weekend. There were some RVs, and other tents while we were there. The weather was really warm. Bring sunscreen and lots of bug spray. There are areas with shade which is nice too.

Month of VisitJuly

(10) View All

Theresa S.

Scout

Reviewed Jun. 30, 2018

Riverside camping

One of our favorites. Right on the Yakima river, fishing. Boating, floating the river. Watching Elk, Bighorn Sheep, Eagles and Pelicans.

Month of VisitAugust

Ryan L.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 19, 2016

Desert winds, trout bites

This is the largest site in the lower Yakima Canyon and has mostly campsites for RVs, etc, but a couple of walk in tent sites. BLMused to let camping be free during the off season but now charges $15 per night, no matter the site type. And if your a tent camper like me, then you also get the short end of the stick because the walk in sites do not have any shade while most of the RV sites do. Additionally, 90+% are reservable from ~Memorial Day to Labor Day, so don't plan on trying to get lucky unless on a first come first serve sure unless you can get there before 5 pm on a Friday. There is no water here.

Ryan L.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 15, 2016

Rivers and chukar

It's pretty nice to wake up early and go for a quick hike up for a morning view. There is no water and unfortunately there aren't many first come first serve sites between memorial and Labor Day, so reserve ahead if you can.