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Lake Sylvia State Park

4.5 (22 reviews)

Lake Sylvia State Park Photos

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Swimming area
Centralbe. C.

This is a nice little swimming hole. There are camping and restrooms. It's not very big but it is pretty. We went on a Saturday in May and it wasn't crowded. Next time we're going to bring a fishing poles.

Wooded trail and campsite

This is nice small park. It's very wooded, there are some trails, nice camp sites, good bathrooms and lots of parking.

Elizabeth D.

VIsited the park last weekend. This place is GREAT! There are tons of hiking trails. You can fish here, you can swim. Camping available year round. I could spend all day here. Great place to bring your dogs. Heading back out! Loved it!

One of many perspectives of the lake.
Ed P.

My family and I converged on Lake Sylvia shortly after Labor Day for four days of camping in sites 25 and 26, which were reserved months in advance. We set up our tents shortly after checking in and managed to get organized. The weather was warm during the day (approx. 80 deg F) and a bit chilly at night (mid-40s). The park rangers were very helpful, a consistent pleasure to interact with, and I appreciated their advice when I asked where they suggested I photograph and fish. The restroom facilities were clean and well serviced. My children are adults (ages 28 and 23) and arrived with their canines to share this time with us. Thankfully, all four dogs got on well. My son lives in Washington State and had a valid fishing license, so he used his fishing tackle in an area of the lake (near the dam) that was recommended by the park rangers. My wife and I explored the Lake Trail, roughly 1.5 miles that circled the lake. The west side was rated "easy" and the west side was "moderate", and aptly rated. Having arrived on a Thursday, we had relatively quiet campsites. Noise levels increased very noticeably as the weekend arrivals filled every available campsite. Should you forget any groceries or need additional supplies, the town of Montesano is convenietly located nearby. Briefly, we enjoyed our stay and appreciated the quality time together, the photo opportunities, the environment itself. This is not a vast campsite; it's small enough to explore on foot and large enough to enjoy walking about top find the quiet corners. We're planning to return, and I recommend it to others.

Megan O.

This was my first camping trip of 2010 and I can say it was successful! I was a little bit wary of booking a trip 4 days before departure, I mean, all the good spots would be taken by this time right? I also wanted to find a place where we didn't have to drive 5 hours to get there. Lake Sylvia showed up as having availability and was only 2 hours from Seattle... decision made! Booking a spot without having seen the park has definitely bitten me in the ass before but this place was great! Most of the spots are right on the edge of the lake. We got one that was inland but you could still see the lake. Throughout the next day I noticed tons of people fishing and kayaking. If you have a spot right on the lake it's super easy to tie up your kayak right there! They also have a spot roped off for swimming. My husband and I decided to go on a hike the next day (a couple of trails are noted on the map they give you at the park). The scenery was so beautiful and as an inexperienced hiker I'd say the difficulty was easy to moderate. One tip though, all the trails are not listed on the park map. We went off on some and were gone for 2.5 hours. After a while I was like 'when the hell is this gonna end!'. Probably a good thing though, I needed to work off that extra beer and vodka I was drinking. There are stores and a small downtown area about 5 minutes from the park. I liked this because it was very easy for us to get more ice and things we had forgotten the next day. If you're looking for some far out place with a lot of privacy this isn't it. I will definitely be back and try to book further in advance so we can get a full on lake view from our site.

Mog V.

Quiet and quaint old school. Great hike around the lake bring your camera and your kayak

If a picture is worth a thousand words then read away.

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4 years ago

Love walking the trail. Just make sure you follow the signs or else you will get lost!

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8 years ago

Great walking trails and quiet peaceful surroundings we enjoyed going to this park as a family and will soon visit again!

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Ask the Community - Lake Sylvia State Park

Is there playground equipment for children?

Yes

Are dogs allowed?

Yes. On leash.

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Review Highlights - Lake Sylvia State Park

Fishing is aloud (no motor I believe) Dogs on leash Swim at your own risk Drinks aloud (I think ...

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Schafer State Park

Schafer State Park

4.3(12 reviews)
9.3 mi

We stayed and camped here for 4 nights total leading up to the 4th of July. The park was mostly…read moreempty when we were there and overall was not too noisy. Most of the noise were children playing around during the day but most got very quiet once dark. The park is nice and well kept, this is a newer section that I stayed at. They do have an older side that is a bit more rugged and off grid. The new side spots have power and water. They do provide a sewer dump station which is out off the street. The power hookups had both 30 and 50 amp and it had 2 normal 120 plugs which is what I used to run things. Most of the sites are decent size, not all of them are leveled though, the one I was in was a bit steep and the one next to me even steeper and they had a trailer they had to fight to level. Some of the sites are easy pull thrus but only a few. I noticed at least one ADA site that also has concrete around the pit for those with disabilities. They also had several first come first serve sites. The new side also has a brand new bathroom which is pretty nice and it has multiple bathrooms multiple showers available all newer and upgraded. I am missing those as I am in the grayland state park now where nothing is very new and there seems to always be a line to use one of 2 toilets in the loop. The park is along the river and you can get to it very easy with a couple of trails they have. There is also a trail you can enjoy that goes along the river between it and the campground that is very green. As for staying connected to the world at this park.... you cant unless you bring Starlink, I was able to get pretty decent speeds with my starlink but it can be a challenge depending which site you get and how many trees are in line of site. I was in 2 different sites during my stay and one was easier than the other. None of the cellular networks were working from what I was able to see, T-Mobile was a dud for sure with SOS the whole time, the park wifi allows you to load a page or two for checkin but nothing other than that if you can even get it to connect. Overall it was a pleasant stay and a campground I would possibly consider again in the future. Its a bit more remote for those who need to be connected.

Clean restrooms and plenty of water faucets with camp ground areas. Park staff was courteous and…read morehelpful. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate but we enjoyed our four day visit. The adjoining stream was refreshing. Would recommend!

Photos
Schafer State Park - Family floating down stream next to park.

Family floating down stream next to park.

Schafer State Park - Gathering around the camp fire!

Gathering around the camp fire!

Schafer State Park

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Chehalis River Surge Plain Natural Area Preserve - Blue Slough Road parking lot.

Chehalis River Surge Plain Natural Area Preserve

5.0(1 review)
4.3 mi

Chehalis River Surge Plain Natural Area Preserve is a Washington State Department of Natural…read moreResources managed land. It has two parking lots and an interpretive trail that connects those two parking lots. The distance between the lots/length of the interpretive trail in one direction is approximately 3.5 miles (so about 7 miles roundtrip). There is another shoreline access trail from the Preachers Slough parking lot that is 1/4 mile each way, so 1/2 mile roundtrip. If you hike all of the foot trails the total is a little over 7.5 miles. A Discover Pass is required for this site, and I found signage that provided instructions on how to purchase one if you forgot to buy one in advance of your visit. I chose to purchase my pass online which was $11.50 including the $1.50 processing fee. The nice thing about a one day Discover Pass is that the pass is good for the whole day, so you can use it to visit more than one park if you so desire. I chose to park my car at the parking lot on Preachers Slough Road while I hiked the trail out and back. I encountered a total of four other groups during the four hours I spent hiking and exploring this location. Blue Slough Road and Highway 107 run alongside the interpretive trail meaning I could hear vehicles on the road while I was hiking. The trail runs along the winding Chehalis River and there are occasional look-outs over the river. The parking lot on Blue Slough Road is the larger of the two. There was a picnic area and boat ramp in addition to a restroom (port-a-potti). A few fallen trees were in the water at the bend in the river not far from the boat ramp. About half a mile from the trailhead at Preachers Slough Road is a viewing platform. I stopped on my way back to the car and encountered two geese with their two goslings. At first I only saw one goose and one gosling. Then the other gosling and goose came out and they slowly waddled and foraged their way along the river bank. I saw a few other groups of geese/geese and goslings on my hike. They are so precious! An hour of my time was absorbed watching geese and their goslings foraging and swimming about. It would have taken me less than four hours to hike the interpretive trail if I hadn't stopped very often to take pictures or watch the wildlife. The trail path is flat and well maintained, so I found it arduous in the sense of not getting so distracted by the wildlife and vegetation as to not complete the trail. There were parts of the trail I would stop every 3 inches to 15 feet just to take a few pictures, I took just shy of 400 photos and videos total. This place is amazing and the plants and animals you can see are diverse and abundant. At one of the informational signs about birds and their songs, I read the sign, turned left and there was a wren near the sign. Talk about perfect timing! Mosquitos were not a problem and I didn't get any bug bites on my visit. In reading the Department of Natural Resources' website however, I learned of some cougar and bear potential sightings/appearances. The site provided some guidance on what to do to ward them off or if you encountered them in person. I incorporated some of the tips like making myself larger and speaking loudly as part of my hike to be safe. I was just one person, so this meant everyone once in a while I would stop, spread my arms, make myself tall and shout things like 'I love you cougars! I love you cougars! I love you cougars!'. So far as I know no one else on the trail saw me... Signs posted along the interpretive trail tell about the history of the area and the wildlife. I thoroughly enjoyed these fun tidbits that helped give context for how the land has changed over and through time. Little tidbits like a railroad used to run through here help bring history to life.

Photos
Chehalis River Surge Plain Natural Area Preserve - Pacific bleeding heart.

Pacific bleeding heart.

Chehalis River Surge Plain Natural Area Preserve - The restroom.

The restroom.

Chehalis River Surge Plain Natural Area Preserve - A bridge over one the stream crossings.

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A bridge over one the stream crossings.

Satsop Business Park

Satsop Business Park

4.8(13 reviews)
6.4 mi

How bizarre to review a business park, huh? Except that this business park contains the remains of…read morea never-completed nuclear power plant, most notably the two massive cooling towers associated with a traditional power plant. While the Hanford Site in Eastern Washington was instrumental to the Manhattan Project, there is a noticeable lack of nuclear energy projects in the Pacific Northwest (with only two active reactors that I know of- at said Hanford Site, and the student run reactor at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.) Trojan Nuclear Power Plant in Oregon has been closed for many years and it's distinctive cooling tower was demolished back in 2006- so where can you go for some photo shoots and pseudo-urban exploration? Well, Satsop is within daily driving distance from Seattle and Portland and considering the price (free,) it is well worth stopping by.

A short 13 minute detour off the highway on our way to Ocean Shores. Pretty cool to see the…read moreabandoned (unfinished) nuclear power plants up close - even though they are a gentle reminder of the government wasting more of our hard earned money. A few side items to note - the business park has hundreds (I mean hundreds) of brand new Volkswagens waiting for their forever home, so feel free to look around. BUT don't look too closely because there is a security guard with a lead foot who loves to mad-dog you from the comfort of the front seat of his Ford Focus (1989 - 92 model). There is also a huge boring machine on site which begs the question - are there tunnels below these nuclear structures and if so did the forgiving tax payers of the beautiful Pacific Northwest pay for this rusting eye sore? In any event - the power plants are pretty cool to see.

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Satsop Business Park
Satsop Business Park
Satsop Business Park

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Kurt Cobain's Childhood Home

Kurt Cobain's Childhood Home

4.7(3 reviews)
10.0 mi

I have seen a couple of Nirvana documentaries of Kurt Cobain's earlier life that show his childhood…read morewhen he lived in this house. While passing through Aberdeen, I decided to do a mini Nirvana pilgrimage and check out the town that Kurt Cobain grew up in. After spending time at Kurt Cobain Memorial Park near Young Street Bridge, I walked over to his childhood home. The house is just around the corner. It has been refurbished and it is gated off. Someone else currently lives here, so all that you can do is take photos from the sidewalk. Cool historic place to check out, especially if you grew up a Nirvana fan like me. But there is not much else to see or do.

Kurt Cobain was born and grew up in the Washington coast harbor town of Aberdeen WA. This is where…read morehe lived from 1968 to 1984. It was purchased by Lee and Danielle Bacon in 2018 from the Cobain family. They paid $225,000...a bargain considering that the cardigan Cobain wore in 1993 on the set of "MTV Unplugged" sold at auction for $334,000. The Bacons have restored the home to appear as it would have while Cobain lived there. At the time of this review, you cannot go inside, but plans are in the works to make private tours available in the near future. Tours will begin about 1.5 miles away at a soon to be opened Nirvana tribute lounge and gallery cafe as zoning does not allow the home to operate as a traditional museum. It's great to see Aberdeen finally beginning to embrace Cobain's contribution to music history. Fans travel great distances from all around the world to find Cobain's beginnings and pay tribute in the town that helped to shape him. Just a few days prior to writing this review, the Aberdeen City Council unanimously voted to make February 20th (Cobain's birthday) Kurt Cobain Day.

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Kurt Cobain's Childhood Home - Where Kurt Cobain lived from 1968 to 1984

Where Kurt Cobain lived from 1968 to 1984

Kurt Cobain's Childhood Home - Plaques noting the historical and cultural significance of this home

Plaques noting the historical and cultural significance of this home

Kurt Cobain's Childhood Home

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Lake Sylvia State Park - parks - Updated May 2026

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