We stayed here as a base to climb Mt St Helens. Owners were very friendly and even let us move over…read moreto a sight we liked better. We have a 43' fifth wheel and a bit tight but definitely manageable if you can drive your rig.

Stayed here for a long weekend and thought it was just ok. It's a handy location, right in Cougar,…read morebut it's not the most scenic campground. There are some trees, but also lots of gravel and dirt. There are a few bathrooms, but they smelled pretty rank and the stench wafted throughout the campground. There's wifi that comes and goes, and there's a basketball hoop for some entertainment. The sites each have a fit pit. My site was lacking a regular 120 v connection but we borrowed a cord. For more than $60 per night, I guess we just expected a bit nicer ambiance.

Merrill Lake Campground is a pretty awesome spot. Awesome enough that I honestly hemmed and hawed…read moreover whether to even add it to Yelp. Although my better Yelp humanitarian judgment has won out here, I still hope you read this, enjoy it, and camp somewhere else. Why? This little campground only has about 9 sites. It's free but you need a discovery pass. There is a camp host and there are surprisingly clean pit toilets on-site, but no potable water. The sites fill up fast in the summer time, but have a 3-day limit that's enforced by the friendly but vigilant camp host. I don't want it to fill up even faster now that I'm sharing this, since I do plan to hit this spot at least one more time before summer is over. There are no reservations (first-come, first-served) and the campsites are designed to work for larger groups - some of them could easily fit 7-10 tents. Each site is spaced decently well away from the others, and offers a picnic table, fire ring and places to pitch. The sites don't really offer views of the lake, they're set back in the trees, but there's plenty of shade Not too dusty, but some sites are heavy with gravel. While it's car camping, you don't drive right in to your site but park in a common lot, then walk in (the farthest you'll have to walk is about 50 yards). So no car noise up close to your site. This little campground sits just by Merrill Lake, a nice smaller lake that does not (thankfully) allow motorized boats and fishing is restricted to fly only, catch + release. For these reasons the water is calmer, cleaner, and dotted with fly fishermen and specific times of the day. At the mid-July mark the lake was warm and clear... perfect for swimming and canoeing. There are some excellent trout holes around the edges of the lake, however I'm not a fly fisherman and don't believe in torturing anything I'm not able to then eat (so catch + release is not for me). However I can see how this would be an attractive spot for a fly fisherman. This campsite is a great place to get away from PDX. Only about 1h 35m in no traffic, and the drive (especially if you come up the 503) is a nice one. Very pastoral, windy road. Get out of your house this summer and sleep under the stars. Just do it at some other campsite since this one is mine.

We stayed for two nights-three days last weekend for my niece's birthday. We usually stay at a…read morecampsite at Lake Berryessa in California, but most of my family now lives in Vancouver so we opted for somewhere near there. Plus, the lakes in California don't even amount to the lakes in Washington/Oregon. My parents went to Merrill Lake Campground on Thursday to secure us a spot which was first come first serve. They managed to get a campsite (#4) that had a direct path to the lake (not the day use where most of the guests would walk to)! It was really big, the only downside was the hill which isn't ideal with little kiddos. Also, that we couldn't have a campfire due to Washington's high alert for fires. It just wasn't the same. You do need a discovery pass which we got at a store that was twelve minutes from the campsite- Lakeside Deli. It was $11 for a day use. The scenery was amazing. It wasn't hot at all where the campsite was. It was surrounded by trees. The water was so clear and clean. The weather was perfect once we made it out of the campsite, through the trail, and to shore. Oh god, and the drive. The drive up the mountain was the scariest I've ever seen. It was beautiful, but so scary. It was a great stay (for free at that!). I recommend this lake!

The facility does a great job of making things fun and engaging for tourists. Before you even enter…read moreyou are greeted by a Bigfoot that will read you your fortune for a dollar which is pretty cute. Their gift shop is stocked well with items that folks might actually need while going into ape caves or summiting Mt st Helen's. The restaurant portion here has one of the juiciest most flavorful burgers I've had- no joke. It came with shoe string fries that had seasoning (I believe it was rosemary). I also had the huckleberry lemonade and a hot coco and both were excellent. The staff were all very kind, welcoming, quick, and helpful. They even helped us find the weather report for Mt. St. Helens summit the next day and gave us some tips for having a successful hike. We stayed one night in a two twin room. The room was well decorated and clean as well as the beds being decently comfortable. Unfortunately the restroom had some things get missed during the clean. There were baby spiders all over the ceiling and climbing down the walls, it smelled strongly of urine, and there were globs of hair on the floor and in the shower- we had to use a hand towel to tidy up the floor and kill as many of the spiders as we could. This wasn't my first time staying here, so I know the bathroom being like that is not the norm- must have just been missed by accident. If I need to stay in Cougar in the future I would definitely still stay here again.

This is a good place to stop on the way to or from Ape Cave, one of the only places to stop for…read morefood. It's overpriced for the quality, but that's what you get in the middle of nowhere. I was disappointed wi-fi wasn't free for customers you have to pay to use it. The have a ton of gluten-free options! Gluten free pizza and chicken tenders yes please! So I was excited to find many options for me.

This is The cutest Back country store you will ever see. Attractive decor, Beautiful live plants…read moreand flowers And picnic tables with umbrellas. This is also an RV Campground

Stopped by for a bathroom break on our way to the Lewis River and SO glad we did. Turns out it was…read morejust before 11am and we were already hungry. We were the first at the window and ordered a couple pizzas. They were ready in 15 minutes and were delicious. The sausage and mama lil's was outstanding, and the pepperoni with black olives was also delicious. The price was reasonable ($22-ish for a pizza) and we ate all of it between the 6 of us. We ate at a nice picnic table outside under an umbrella. We'll definitely be back.

I had a great experience at this campground. It's a short walk from the day use park and the Falls…read more The campground offers potable water, bathrooms with showers and has a map of all nearby trails. I typically prefer more privacy in my site than what most of the campsites offered but it wasn't horrible. It did get loud at times from cars speeding by on the main road. Cell service was fair. I could send and receive texts but that was about it. Overall, it really depends on the kind of camper you are, but it still was a great experience.

Pretty nice camp spot, this is a small step up from dry camping as the site only has vault toilets…read moreand campsites, no amenities other then that. Bring all the water you need, no onsite that we found. First come first serve only.

Host staff warm and welcoming. We stayed one night for July…read more4th. It was a last minute decision but I was able to find one ada spot available but it was right next to the restroom. People walking through the campsite at all hours of the night thinking it wasn't a site as it isn't clearly visible that it is. So if you don't want that don't get one directly next to the restrooms, but if you are a people person and enjoy talking that would be a great spot if you're disabled. This year for July 4th we found a better site a bit farther away because of my dog. There are lots of trees and great water access for fishing and swimming. A very family friendly place! On the day after July 4th, the local fire department goes through the campground and hands out stuff for the children. It was fun watching before we had to leave . This was a great place to camp to get away from the noise of fireworks too. I definitely will be camping here in the future! Cons: no showers and bring a roll of toilet paper with you in case there isn't any in the restroom in the middle of the night

Great campground. Lots of trees. Has a beach spot for swimming. Huge parking loar for boat access…read moreor extra parking. No showers though.

Came up here after seeing all the beautiful pictures and our experience did not disappoint. We…read moreweren't quite sure what to expect so I budgeted a whole day for the visit. We got a parking pass for the upper parking lot (just above the upper falls) and then we proceeded to hike from there all the way down to the lower falls, stopping at the upper and middle falls to check everything out. The scenery is beautiful and the falls were great. Our favorite were the lower falls, which the kids loved to play in. It's definitely a long drive from Cougar and the road has lots of twists, turns, and dips, but so glad we finally did it.

The falls can't be beat, the forest and trails fabulous. We have been coming once a year in the…read morefall right after the campground season ends. And although we adore the area, I'm not so sure we will be returning the campground again unfortunately. Night one I awoke to the sounds of a LOT of critters scrambling up and down all sides of our van. It was funny (and of course a sound we've heard in forests before), until one found it's way in and joined me in my bed. What would be considered a cute mouse outside is not so adorable next to my face. It is the forest, it's their home...but of the many times we've stayed here the sounds of countless tiny feet scurrying all over our rig hasn't occurred. New issue at the campground? I duno. Can't deny the beauty and draw of the area though...it will always deserve 5 stars...just wanted to give a heads up to anyone else who isn't a fan of unwelcome nighttime visitors in their sleeping quarters. :)

Back in WA for a wedding and the kids and I HAVE to visit La Wis Wis!! We moved to NC in 2018 and…read moreNOTHING comes close to the beauty of this campground!

In August 2019, our family stopped by La Wis Wis Campground, which is about 4 miles east of…read morePackwood, WA on U.S. Route 12. We were searching for the Blue Hole Swimming Area, based on a spectacular picture I found in a Washington state travel magazine. Inside La Wis Wis Campground, the blue swimming hole has a cliff where bold teenagers can jump into the deep, glacially cold water below. The campground is somewhat difficult to find, but once you enter the complex, it's best to ask campers where the Blue Hole Swimming Area is located. When we arrived, the rocky area on the beach felt a bit painful on the feet - if you have water slippers, it might be more comfortable. The river is pristine but frigid (the water comes from a glacier) and has a pretty indigo (light aqua color) from above. My 14 year old son and 12 year old son jumped from the cliff into the blue swimming hole and were cheered by.a crowd of families on the opposite shore! This is a fun and memorable activity if you're visiting Mt. Rainier National Park and would like to do something fun on a hot afternoon with teenage kids. But it's not for the faint of heart. We stayed for about 45 minutes before continuing on to Packwood.

I was here during the warm season and usually stay in the A section but since no spaces were…read moreavailable, I stayed in the B section. Our neighbors were up all night. I wish the host would walk around and remind them about quiet time. Overall, there's a lot to do if you have the right toys. We had our bikes and they have a paved road so it was easy to ride on it. We also took our kayaks so that was our other option.

Rude unprofessional camp hosts, there are other better camping spots, don't waste your time and…read moremoney here

Very nice and clean campsite! The host was very friendly and accommodating! Restrooms were clean…read moreand the office has all the basic stuff that you'll need! We highly recommend it and will be back again!

We recently rented a sprinter van and toured around Oregon. We stayed at Timberlake while we were…read morein the Columbia River Gorge area. It was a nice property but the sites were close together and you have to have a roll of quarters to shower. One quarter buys you 1.5 min of hot water. Otherwise it was centrally located for all the things we wanted to see such as Multnomah Falls and the Sunshine Mill Winery in the Dalles. Since we stayed at several other campgrounds which allowed free hot showers we were a little disappointed about this setup.