Cardinal RV Club

I asked a similar question a few months ago, but now we are getting down to the nitty gritty and have to start planning our itinerary. We are going to spend some time going around the Olympia Penninsula starting around the end of Sept. I have searched internet, RV books, maps, etc., and am having problems finding "Nice" RV campgrounds that are also scenic, either by ocean view, lake view or mountain view. Several have been recommended, but when I read Woodall and Trailer LIfe reviews and individual reviews of the parks, there just isn't a lot of good reviews. Yes, we are picky-or maybe I am picky, but we like to spend our time in a park that is clean, not too tight, with nice views and all the hookups, etc. We will be taking side trips to places like Sequim, Port Angeles, Hoh Rainforest, Hurrican Ridge, Olympic Game Farm, maybe La Push, and then down the west side on 101 if it is safe enough for the RVs. The area around Kalaloch looks like 101 is right out next to the water, but not sure of the quality of the hwy. Probably go down to Hoquiam/Aberdeen. We'd like to make a side trip to Ocean Shores area, but that's just one of our hopes. We are open for suggestions on both RV parks in those areas and places to visit. There may be 3 rigs traveling together, but for sure there will be 2. We might even stay in Astoria area on the way down. We've stayed in several parks on Oregon Coast. We loved Camp Stevens, but we were litterly bombarded with mosquitos when we were there last. So bad that we could not breath with our mouth open and they'd swarm into the RV the second the door was opened. Couldn't be outside at all. Made it hard to even take the dog out to potty. lol I know there's always that possibility, but would love to enjoy the outdoor where we are camping. According to the sources both here on Cardinal sight and the camping books, it sure doesn't look like there are too many newer, more modern campgrounds. Your suggestions will really be appreciated.

Have you tried RVPARKREVIEW.COM ? I use this site a lot , review the park and the reviews from fellow campers, I stick with parks with overall 7 to 10 ratings and so far have not been disappointed.

Tom

Hi Mike and Marge, have you checked out Fort Worden State Park. It has to two full hooks locations one at the beach and one in the forest. If you want to see what it looks like just watch Officer And A Gentleman.

Rob

Rob,
Is it an easy drive off 101 to Port Townsend-Fort Worden State Park? I know it's out on a peninsula and wasn't sure how accessible it is. Also noticed one near there called Hudson Point Resort and Marina. We want to find a park that we can use as a starting point for drives to see the other sights. But we'd also like the place we stay to be scenic and have amenities. Fort Worden looks pretty good in the book, but do you know of any further west that would be closer to Hoh Rain Forest or the far western tip of the peninsula? Thanks for the suggestion.

mikenmarge wrote:Is it an easy drive off 101 to Port Townsend-Fort Worden State Park?

Very easy drive to Port Townsend. In fact you won't have any problems driving around the pennisula.

Another place I would highly recommend is Salt Creek County Park. The park has a great view across the Straites of Juan de Fuca to Vancouver Island B.C. the rub is it does not have sewer hook ups only a dump station but does have water and electric.

Rob

Thanks, I'll pull the site up tomorrow and check it out. If we only stayed a couple of days, the sewer isn't a real issue. However, one of our friends joining us on the trip just bought their first RV. It's a trailer and is very nice, but I have a feeling they will not remember to keep the showers short. ha. Thanks again.
Marge

We've stayed in both sections of Fort Worden State Park. Those in the woods are nice sites but you don't have the ocean view. The ocean sites are more open but the view is great. We've stayed in a lot of places over the years, but Port Townsend is a go back place for us.

Marge, have you checked out this site for camping around the Olympic National Park? http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm

Also, here's some pictures I took on the Washington coast at Kalaloch around February 2006:

This gives you an idea of the amount and size of driftwood we get on the Washington Coast.

Here's Cathy among some of the driftwood:


And a father and daughter on the beach:


Rob

Wow, that some major driftwood. We do get some on our northern coast where the weather is rougher than here in central and southern Cal. I don't know if I've tried that site for RV campgrounds, but I saved it to my favorites and will check it out. Thanks for the help and the great pictures. I'm a picture nut, so I always LOVE pictures.
Marge

It looks like all the National parks up there have a 21 ft. limit on RV's except the two parks that have privately owned parks. Have you used any of these parks?
Marge

I'm still running around in circles trying to decide on where we will stay as we go up around the Olympic Peninsula. Almost all of the National parks have a 21 ft limit. Even some of the private parks have limits on size. So I am listing below some RV parks that I've read about and can't really find much in the way of pictures. None have really high ratings, but sometimes those are not accurate. Could anyone that has stayed at any of the parks I list below let us know what you thought about them or what you may have heard? Thanks so much. We'd really appreciate it. During the time of year we are going, we may not need a reservation, but since there may be 3 rigs and some of the parks are small, we want to have the res. to be safe. Here is the list. (I'm also starting a new post and title it differently, hoping to get more responses. Thanks Marge & Mike

Near Port Townsand:
Fort Worden State Campground
Hudson Pt/National Landing

Near Port Angeles:
KOA of Pt. Angeles
Crescent Beach (looks like you park on dead grass and gravel?) But nice view?
Shadow Mountain

Near Sequim:
Sequim Bay Resort
Rainbows Edge
Gilgal Oasis RV

Crescent Beach RV Park

Near LaPush
Quileute Lonesome Creek RV Park

Here's a link to the Olympic National Forest Campgrounds:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/olympic/recreat ... ap_1.shtml

This is their Links Page:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/olympic/contact/links.shtml

I hope this can help out. When I was actively visiting the Peninsula it was in my cabin cruiser, camping, fishing and hunting was always on the other side of the Sound. There just so much to do outdoors when you live there. I've always wanted to go RV'ing on the Peninsula. One of these days...

Please keep us informed.