Established Camping
Salmon La Sac
About
National Forest
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
Overview
Salmon La Sac Campground is bordered by the Cle Elum and Cooper Rivers in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. This campground is a popular gathering place for individuals and families wanting to enjoy the mountains and a multitude of recreational activities at an elevation of 2,300 feet.
Recreation
In addition to being a prime location for hiking, fishing, swimming, horseback riding and mountain biking in summer and early fall, the area offers excellent cross country skiing and snowmobiling in the winter months. Snowmobiles are not allowed in the campground.__ Salmon la Sac is closed to camping October through April. Nearby Salmon la Sac Sno-Park offiers access to groomed ski trails through the campground December through March. Salmon la Sac Campground is also popular among anglers, with rainbow and cutthroat trout and kokanee salmon available in abundance. Hikers will enjoy traversing rugged terrain from the Waptus River Trail, located within walking distance of the campground. Forested and lined with an underbrush of blueberries, hikers reach Hour Creek after strolling 3 miles. Take your lunch next to this clear mountain stream and return to camp or continue another 6 miles along the Waptus River to stunning views of Waptus Lake and craggy peaks of Summit Chief Mountain.__
Facilities
Salmon la Sac Campground offers drinking water, trash collection and vault toilets. There are 67 sites for both tent and RV camping, 40 of these are reservable.Sites are equipped with picnic tables and campfire rings with grills.
Natural Features
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest offers stunning scenic views, with high, glaciated alpine peaks, valleys of old growth forest and rugged shrub-steppe country making up the diverse landscape. Elevations range from below 1,000 feet to over 9,000 feet. Visitors to the area can expect many days of warm, sunny weather in the summer, and winters with clear skies and plenty of snow. The surrounding undeveloped wilderness, clean streams and diverse forests support an abundance of wildlife, including deer, porcupine, native fish and migratory birds.
contact_info
This location has limited staffing. Please call (661) 702-1420 for general information.
Nearby Attractions
The spectacular Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is accessible near the campground. The PCT is one of the world's premier National Scenic Trails, showcasing some of North America's most fantastic scenery as it winds its way its way from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington.
Charges & Cancellations
Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee.__ A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a campsite. Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-Shows A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite.____ Refunds Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended. Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay. For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive.__ In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.
Fee Info
Location
Salmon La Sac is located in Washington
Directions
From Seattle, take I-90 east for nearly 80 miles. Take exit 80 toward Salmon La Sac and turn left on Bullfrog Road. Continue to the 2nd traffic circle and take the second exit onto WA-903 north. Continue onto Salmon La Sac road. The campground is on the left, just past Cayuse Campground. From Cle Elum, WA travel north on Highway 903 / Salmon la Sac Road for 19 miles. Stay left on Salmon La Sac road to the campground. The campground is on the left, just past Cayuse Campground.
Address
30160 Salmon La Sac Rd
Ronald, WA 98940
Coordinates
47.403564 N
121.098554 W
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
- Hike-InBackcountry sites.
- Boat-InSites accessible by watercraft.
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonUnknown
- AT&TUnknown
- T-MobileUnknown
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
Features
For Campers
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Firewood Available
- Drinking Water
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Pull-Through Sites
- Big Rig Friendly
Good campgrouy
Really nice location next to the river and creek. Trailer spaces are pull thru and back up. Some camps are in the tree pockets and some are in open areas . We enjoyed the quiet there. Camp hosts we nice.
First time here but we will be back
This was a last-minute reservation in August and I am quite sure that we just got lucky and grab a reservation that had just been cancelled. All sites look nice but we probably get one of the nicest, just next to the river(#46). Many options of hikes are available close to the campground but we opted for a nice bike ride to Roslyn and back.
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One Day camp w/ Chihuahua
Although finding a suitable spot took a few minutes, all the spots looked terrific and had great spacing from other spots. Restrooms were in order and worked great, and the creek next to some sites was a treat to visit. My lil pup Jalapeño and I enjoyed the trip and hope to come back soon!!
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Wonderful location
Stayed 3 nights and it was breathtaking. Stayed on a river site.
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Great rustic campground
I had wanted to visit this campground for years and it was worth it. The feel of this campground is very different than those just down the road towards Cle Elum. Much closer to an alpine feel than the lower pine forests. It’s a very peaceful campground with a lot of large private sites and also sites along the river. In fact the river runs down two sides of the campground.
It is a more primitive campground. There are only pit toilets and water that must be hand pumped. There is also a picnic area for day use.
We arrived here Wednesday evening and found a site pretty easily (we had no reservation). There were sites available until Friday mid-day.
Activities include hiking, biking, playing in the river and visits to Roslyn.
The good:
- well maintained
- paved roads and driveways
- a lot of sites on the river and access for those not
- large private sites
- double sites
- a lot of nearby activities
The bad:
- nothing comes to mind
The OK:
- decent smelling pit toilets
- limited potable water (all hand pumps and only 1 or 2 were working during our visit)
Peaceful and Quiet
Great campground! The sites were really well spaced out and felt quite private. Close to lots of of great hikes as well.
Great access for snowmobiling
We rented a snowmobile for our family of 4 and had a beautiful sunny day in the snow. We stayed in our truck and camper in the parking lot after all the snowmobile rigs left. No facilities but secluded and scenic.
Large, busy NFS campground
Summer weekends are packed and if you don't have a reservation and want to stay for the weekend you'll need to arrive Wednesday morning. They have a few sites that are walk in and they definitely aren't as choice, waterfront sites, but it was close enough. We came in with a hybrid travel trailer and large SUV and had lots of room. Some sites are more suited to tents. The usual vault toilets and dispersed water spigots throughout the park. The water is crank and it took about 300 turns to fill a 5 gallon can. Garbage on site and the host sells firewood.
Spacious
Old growth forests abound, camp sites were spacious and private. Fishing is available from two rivers the Cooper and the Cle-Elum both within walking distance from the site. I decided to go car camping last week in my SUV. The site I found was large enough for 3 cars, like mine, I chose a pass through that I did not really need, but was great for me. Parked the car on the flat asphalt siding and unloaded. Yes everything had to come out, my bed was underneath it all. I Picked up firewood at the general store in the last town prior to arriving. Weather was great during my stay. Everybody I ran into along the road was friendly. I had a very pleasant time reading a novel for the first time in a long time.
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Remotely Close
Salmon La Sac campground feels remote but is within two hours of Seattle. You will not hear the hum of freeway noise or cars swooshing by at high speed, as this camper’s haven is at the end of a paved road and sits smack in the middle of the Cle Elum and Cooper rivers. The growl of water flowing quickly downstream over huge granite boulders can be heard from most sites, with some sites nicely placed adjacent to river’s edge. The sites are decent in size, some with adequate tree coverage and others with plenty of sun. There are restrooms dotted throughout but some were lacking hand sanitizer which in the midst of a pandemic was baffling. There also didn’t seem to be enough trash bins for the number of sites, but there weren’t any overflowing with refuse. Just plan to walk a decent clip to dispose of your spent items. With that said, the bathrooms were clean and the camp host greeted new arrivals with a smile and useful information. The weather and time of year was not ideal for playing in the water without a wet suit but is a great spot for whitewater kayakers to put in. There are many off-road adventure opportunities in the area for ATV, UTV, and other 4x4 enthusiasts. Fly fishing from the shore is also popular and if you have a boat, Cle Elum Lake is not far from the campground but be warned later in the summer the water level gets extremely low. Lastly, there are so many hiking trailheads in the area, no one could be disappointed. Salmon La Sac campground has no electric or water hookups but does have potable water available from hand-cranked pumps (well water). Sadly, the spigot on the pump doesn’t fit a standard hose, so we weren’t able to get much water into our travel trailer this made for a less than ideal experience but we managed for our short stay. Many RV and trailer campers love this place. We sure do!
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Dispersed Camping Haven
I stayed at the regular salmon la sac campground and loved the beautiful area and proximity to Seattle. The next week I went again but scouted around for dispersed (free) camping spots on this road up to the lake. There are so many of them with river access I lost count. For safety reasons me and my friend wanted one out of sight of the road, not a lot of those but we found a great one. Got chased by a female mule deer on the way to the lake and had to run back to the campsite but other than that a great trip!
Watch out though with the elevation increase it can be really cold at night.
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Super fun campground
This campground was very well maintained. It had nice bathrooms and well laid out camp spots. Some are more private and forested and some are more open and on the River. We staid in a forested spot and it was private and very quiet. Also super easy to walk to the river and play.
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Large, popular
It's big, it's relatively close to Seattle, great access point for local trails, close enough in to local towns for quick runs to the store if you need to. Sites vary with privacy and shade. River access between some sites. A little something for everyone.
Camping Paradise
This place is my favorite campsite! It’s very isolated from other campsites and you have the river right by you to enjoy and to beat the heat! The water may be cold, but it’s perfect for those hot 90 degree and up days.
Crowded
Show up early to get a good spot because things get crowded fast. Plenty of space for setting up tents and beautiful views along the river, but my preference is for fewer people.
Awesome
It’s got access to lake hiking trails at horses. Everything.
My favorite
I've gone to Salmon la Sac (aka Fish Bag) almost every year for the past 10 years. It is my favorite! The campground itself is light on amenities so it's good if you like to rough it, but the beauty and quietness make up for it spades.
Views!
Such great views, tons of wild life, beautiful water.
Fun place to explore with amazing Lake views.
Beautiful, tranquil and relaxing. Lots of hiking and as for amenities, they've got water pumps and vault toilets. On the site, there's a fire pit and picnic table. The campsites are large. While there make sure to stop in Roslyn, WA and have a beverage at the Brick. Roslyn, WA is where Northern exposure was shot.