First time camping here for 2 nights, and we were at site #33. It's an easy camp site outside of Seattle, really easy to get to from the freeway too. Camp host was friendly and easy to check in; they also sell firewood. The grounds have a mix of "first come, first serve" camp sites as well as sites that you can reserve as well.
Our campsite was nice with a place to pitch your tent, an electrical hook up, a picnic table, park BBQ grills, and a fire ring. The fire ring even had a metal grill on it that you could swing above the fire, in case you wanted to try cooking anything on it. We were even next to the potable drinking water. I recommend checking the website or asking about the different amenities of the camp site, because not all of them had BBQ grills or electric hook ups from what I saw. Even in the hot summers in Seattle, it still gets chilly at night so recommend layering up once the sun goes down!
The best part of the campsite is that you don't have to fight for parking to access some of the best trails in North Bend. One goes to Franklin Falls and is an easy hike to get up close to the falls. There are stops along the way to explore the creek. The other goes to the Denny Creek with a smaller water falls, but they also have natural rock water slides that kids like to go down on. Both hikes are easily accessible from the camp site, so there's quite a bit to do in the area if you're just doing a 1 or 2 night trip.
There are a few cons - I do wish folks would pick up after their dogs though... or at least move the poop with a stick to the side. When I first inspected the area around the camp site, I noticed a lot of dog poop that I had to move to the side with a stick.
Overall bathrooms were clean and are flush toilets. No showers though, but if you're camping overnight it shouldn't be a big deal. NO SOAP - we brought our own. I did get annoyed because some folks would leave the bathroom door open at night, but this would cause lots of moths to drop dead around the sink from hitting the light. It was really gross walking in the morning after and seeing dead moths around the sink.
My biggest gripe with the campsite is the freeway noise... it's surprisingly loud at night! My idea of camping is to just hear the wilderness - I really underestimated how loud the highway can be. If you can get a camp site closer to the creek or one of the group campsites, I think the creek will wash out some of the highway noise.
Overall I'd give it 3.5 stars, but bumping it to 4 stars because the accessibility to hikes and overall convenience is a big plus. read more