We stayed for two nights at Pothole Camp, and from the very first morning (Saturday), the entire trip was just horrible. First issue: Someone thought it was a genius idea to hang a wasp/hornet trap right in the middle of two campsites -- ours and our neighbors'. Saturday morning, we woke up to wasps swarming all over our tents. At first, we couldn't figure out why until we spotted the trap in a tree, literally buzzing with activity. My husband went to the ranger station to report it, but no one was there. About an hour later, a ranger finally showed up and moved the trap -- by that point, our kids hadn't even been able to leave their tents. Once that was dealt with, I started cleaning up all the trash left behind by the previous campers at our site. Later that evening, while we were having dinner, our older daughter was stung by a bee. Speaking of trash -- let's talk about the lakes. We visited multiple spots around the lakes, and honestly, it felt like flashbacks to dirty California beaches. Everywhere we went: trash, broken glass, diapers, beer cans, baby wipes. Floating in the water. Tangled in plants. Scattered across the shore. My daughter was in the water for maybe 45 seconds before she cut her foot open on a shard of glass, and we had to go back to camp to pull it out. None of us even got to swim. And this wasn't just one spot -- we tried three different lakes and five different locations, hoping for a safe place for the kids. Nothing. We are never coming back. People can say what they want about western Washington coasts and lakes (the weather, the crowds, whatever), but what we do right is keeping our beaches, parks, and wildlife refuges clean. We respect our nature and our wildlife. We don't like people coming into our homes and leaving trash everywhere, so we don't do that to other places. This place could be a gem. It could be beautiful and worth returning to every year. But that won't happen. This was our first -- and our last -- time visiting. read more

Potholes State Park - Glass was everywhere on the beach sands and rocks - Parks Near Me - Othello, Washington

love camping herre use park as base camp and go fishing in the many many lakes within 25 miles. love the fishing in eastern washington read more

Potholes State Park - Parks Near Me - Othello, Washington

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Beautiful state park, with clean bathrooms. I recommend avoiding holiday times as it's very crowded, and some neighbors can be a bit disrespectful. read more

Potholes State Park - Parks Near Me - Othello, Washington

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Needed a weekend getaway and decided to visit Central Washington. Potholes seemed like an interesting place to visit. Stayed in the campsite area. While the description said three tents I'd be wary unless they were all small. All campsites near me had large fire rings with built in adjustable grills. A few amenities, but pretty low key. I stayed next to the water not far from the boat launch. Not too noisy, pretty quiet most of the time. There are vault toilets not far away. Stayed two nights and did not use the showers. There is a nice trail at the edge of the camping area that runs along the water. This was a nice jumping point to several scenic attractions nearby. There is a country store nearby to pick up firewood, drinks, snacks, last minute supplies, and large portions of biscuits and gravy or other hot food. Nothing else was that close by. read more

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Nice and clean but no cleared out swimming area. Kids have to swim and float by the boat ramp and that is very dangerous

Stayed at Cabin C62 11/23/2018-11/24/2018 Booked cabin through: http://www.parks.wa.gov/ Cost: $50/night for off-season price + $15 pet fee (Since we brought our dog) Cody and I pulled into the state park right after the sun had set and followed signs and found our cabin pretty easily. There were 3 in a row next to each other. The cabin was unlocked when we got there around 4:30 PM on Friday. Basic cabin with heat, a bench, a small counter space, 1 big bed, and 2 beds on the bunk bed. The cabin was warm and clean. They had pit toilets not too far from the cabin. The cabin also had a nice view of the water. Outside the cabin was a picnic table and a fire pit. Overall, Cody and I really enjoyed staying at the cabin, wish we had more time to explore the state park! read more

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We stayed in a cabin. It was the same cost as the cabins at Steamboat Rock but they had microwave, fridge, table and chairs and a nice restroom nearby. This cabin had no place to sit for a meal unless you went outside and it was too cold. Not well insulated the heater came on and off all night keeping us awake. Appreciate that we could have our dogs. It is a good place to stay the night if you want to explore the nearby Columbia National Wildlife Refuge or the White Bluffs at Hanford Reach. The restroom with showers was not close to the cabin and the outhouse was a bit of a walk if you have to get up and night. Large, green well-maintained day use area near the boat launch and there is a little trail to walk. It is pretty quiet on a weekday in April. read more

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This area is a lot busier than you might think, and Potholes SP is beautiful place to stay. But remember two things: weekends in warm weather are very, very busy with revelers, and you have to keep an eye out for the young ones--because they are not paying attention to anything other than what they're doing, and their parents aren't paying attention at all. And thing two: the office for check-in doesn't open until 2:30PM, so if you are early, you're getting in a long line on peak days. In the shoulder seasons, and mid-week, that's not an issue and it's an amazing place. There are off site dining options, a nearby golf course, a great convenience store, and the whole area around the dam is really clean. Rare will be the day when it's not windy, but in Jul/Aug that's not necessarily a bad thing. Full-hook-up sites are darned nice, and we didn't even need to level up/down. A staple in Central WA, so book online months in advance for weekends and all summertime. The westsiders flock here for fishing, boating, and oppressive heat... read more

This place is a hidden gem, no doubt. The RV sites are set in a circular pattern, which provides just enough privacy (though none are super private) amongst trailers. The tent sites are nestled within the trees, a short walk from the reservoir. The sunsets are absolutely spectacular! The place is pretty quiet and most campers respect the quiet hours. The Potholes Reservoir is great for boaters, but I didn't care to kayak there (the water is mucky and there is lots of boating traffic /noise) . There are many other lakes to enjoy quiet kayaking and swimming. Make sure to drive around and explore all the other surrounding lakes! I can't help but laugh at the previous reviews. Some people really think the world revolves around them. When you camp (especially at a state park), you are a GUEST. That means you follow the rules which include being respectful. You don't let your dog wander off leash, you don't blast your lame teeny-bopper music, and you don't disrespect the rangers. I never did meet the super racist ranger people have complained about. I even looked for him. Maybe I lucked out because I followed the park rules. I had a great experience here, and I recommend this place! read more

Well maintained camp grounds with many different accommodations and great amenities!! This state park is a perfect place to spend some time away from the busy daily grind. It's an oasis located in the middle of nowhere, high desert, western Washington....on the magnanimous O'Sullivan Reservoir. You can chose to spend your time there in a tent camping site, RV hookup slot or a rustic cabin. We opted for a basic cabin with one queen bed and one bunk bed. Perfect for a small family. The cabins have electricity and AC, which was a nice surprise for being "rustic." Tent camp sites and cabin sites all had large picnic tables and fire rings with built-in, adjustable height grill racks. None-flushing bathrooms are available within short walking distance from most sites. Plumbed bathrooms and shower facilities are located near the boat ramp and RV camp sites. Water faucets are located throughout the campground. Firewood bundles and shower tokens can be purchased from the park hosts....so bring cash!! Park hosts and staff were super friendly and very responsive if anyone had any issues. I LOVE fishing and was super excited to be situated on the waterfront. They have a spacious boat ramp with a dock for easy loading/unloading. There is also a very clean fish cleaning station. Unfortunately most of the shoreline on the state park were extremely shallow and not ideal for landing a lot of fish. FORTUNATELY you can leave the state park and find amazing shore access across the lake. Have fun hunting for Walleye, Crappie, Bass, Trout and the crazy jumping Carp. The lake is a fisherman's paradise! Nice park with picnic tables and soft green grass that is shaded by beautiful willows. Cute playground and open grass fields for kids to enjoy. The small beach is a bit rough on the feet so be sure to bring water shoes/sandals because you'll want to take a dip! This trip was our first stay at Potholes. We will DEFINITELY be back! ***Located just a short distance from Potholes*** -The Country Store in case you forgot or need any camping/fishing supplies. -Watercraft rentals. read more

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Nice open state park for RV'ers and many places to camp. Water is not far from any camping area and boat ramp is close. read more

Decent park if you are just wanting to sit at your campsite and relax. Most campsites have great shade throughout the hot Eastern WA summer days. All employees we came in contact with were very friendly and helpful. The water pressure in the showers wasn't great, but showers were free (with three little kids, I'll take free hot showers any day!). However, if you are looking to swim, this is not the state park for you. The water access from the park is muddy, has water weeds, and full of huge bugs. We have three young kids who love the water and we had to pack up each day and head to Moses Lake (a few great city parks that have water access and a fun water park with water slides) in search of water time fun. We won't be back to this park only because of the lack of swimming; however, if you are looking to fish or just for relaxation, this park is a great find. read more

We have stayed at this park twice. Both times in our RV. This first time was a few years ago in the summer, and it was very hot outside. Despite a very full campground it was very quiet. This trip. We arrived on a Sunday and stayed for a few days, so after most folks left on Sunday there we few other campers so of course it was quiet. What I'm really hear to tell you is how nice one of the rangers was to us. I don't how much detail I should go into, but the gist of it is we arrived early on a Sunday and had a problem that was going to effect / possibly ruin our first days plans. Because of the kindness of one of the rangers, who helped us with a solution to our problem and we were soon on our way to enjoying the day! I can not say enough how helpful this gentleman was! More about the park. There are 6 loops with 10 sites in each little loop, each site is a back in site, but has plenty of room for our 30' RV and tow vehicle. Site was level enough that no additional leveling was needed. We are with T-mobile and had 5 bars of 4G LTE (No 5G phone so no idea if that is there) Park offers WIFI we had no problem getting on to it and it worked fine and loaded webpages quickly, but we did not try to stream anything this time. read more

I'm going to say this is a very beautiful park. Amazing service. It is a place to stay at the Ranger was amazing. He was very helpful very knowledgeable. They have a cleaning crew so if there's any problems with your sewage, they're ready to help amazing place. Very clean. Also, I want to say that the sewers have metal tops and the electrical is labeled. They have a dump station. Each site is very well clean. It's like a park atmosphere lots of trees highly recommend. read more

Very nice state park. Tons of green grass. Lots of room to play. Very well maintained and the camping spots while not very private so have a good distance between them. It doesn't look like it when you pull in to your spot though... but with so much grassy area, it is easy to spread our. Plenty of parking especially for boaters. Of course it is right on the reservoir so easy water access. For day users, there are quite a few picnic tables to use. read more

Terrible management. No rule or quiet time enforcement. Camping spaces crammed on top of one another, no privacy or peace. Lots of loud music at all hours. I asked our neighbors to keep it down at 3 am and the neighbor girl wanted me to come out of my tent so he could fight me... (!?) No on site ranger, camp host doesn't leave their site. Unbearably hot in the summer with very little shade. Rude people. Go somewhere else. We left a day early despite having paid in full. We'll never come back. read more

The park is nice. Yes, the spots are close together but atleast they aren't just in the open like a lot of places. We came with 3 kids and 3 adults and everyone had a great time. I really enjoyed taking the kids fishing and playing on the playground. My problem with this park is the park rangers are VERY!!! rude. I had locked my keys in the trunk of our brand new car so we didn't know how to get them out. Our car has a security feature that doesn't allow the trunk to open. So we had to call our roadside assistance. Well they got there and we ended up having 3 vehicles at our site for a few hours. Yes it took HOURS for them to unlock our car. (We had to take the whole back seat off) Well this stuck up little man shows up and starts talking to us like we are idiots asking if the roadside assistance guys is actual roadside assistance or just a friend. I honestly believe he was treating us that way because my husband, his friend and the roadside assistance guy are all Mexican and Samoan. I was so sick after that. He treated us like we were trash and we are from that. Hopefully I won't be back to this place and I can warn people about it! read more

This is a nice place to go camping. It's about 20 minutes away from Othello and Moses Lake. The sites don't have much privacy, and you can easily see the next few sites over. The sites next to the lake have absolutely no shade, choose one in the central area. The bathrooms are clean and well maintained, and to shower it's fifty cents for one hot water token. Just be sure to come earlier or the hot water will run out. At night, the stars are very visible, and you can see the milky way. There are many hidden lakes nearby which are amazing, just drive around the lake and have a look. Overall, great hidden gem to just spend a weekend at. read more

This used to be my favorite spot for camping, but after this year incident no more. We booked 4 sites all close to each other because group site wasn't open yet when I made the reservation. The other people in another site was hanging out at my site also when a park ranger made his rounds. My niece's chihuahua happen to jump loose from her lap at that moment, and this white ranger stopped to ask whose site this was. I quickly went to talk to him, and explain right away that we weren't all from just one site, we were just hanging out together. He said that was fine, but that the dog need to be on leash at all time, and the music can only be heard within our site. I told him, well we have 4 sites next to each other, and he goes "doesn't matter." Mind you this was like 7pm. And then he goes if he have to come back, we will all get kick out. Really!!! And the condescending way he spoke with us is unbelievable! As he was getting ready to leave he kept asking me if I have any questions for him, like I didn't understand English. Why, because we're all Asian? We're all college educated, so yeah I understand him perfectly well; I also know he got a stick up his butt. I almost asked him if we were all white and not Asian, would he had stop his vehicle and spoke to us in such a condescending way? I guess this ranger feels the need to exercise his power. Probably couldn't pass a cop exams and end up being a park ranger instead. Which is fine, imagine what he could do with a gun and badge, probably some unjust minority murder by him. And that's not the end of it, later that night while most adults went to sleep, and only the young people in their 20's were still up, he came back. Wanted to make sure there were no under age drinking and make them separate their drinks in case the one under 21 couldn't tell which is beers, and which is waters. I don't know about him, or how dumb his family is, but even my 3 year old nephew can tell water bottles from other drinks. My family and I have been camping 2-3 times every year close to 20 years, and this is the first time a ranger comes around and harassed us late into the night like this. My niece and nephew in their mid 20's even have to show their IDs!! NOPE, WE WILL NOT BE BACK. Wish I had taken a pic of him or at least get his name. read more

Well, what I like about Potholes State Park is that it gives you access to the Potholes Reservoir. Which is basically a sand dune area that has been flooded. Which means it is a lake dotted with tons of mini sand islands. So, get in your boat, kayak, canoe and carefully explore and find yourself a weekend deserted island. Watch out for submerged logs and sand dunes that are just barely covered with water. Which mean if you are in a motor boat don't go too fast. People bass fish here. Mostly big mouth but my Dad sure was proud the day he caught a smallmouth bass. I just like to find a little island to call my own and pretend that I and whoever I am with are the only folks in the world. (Ok, this does get interrupted by people coming by in boats but sometimes you can find a relatively secluded place to be.) You have to pack in your own water and food of course do remember to pack it out! Also, it gets very windy and hot so bring something to make both shade and a windbreak. Also, bring a snake bite kit as this is rattlesnake country. Lots of birds to see too so bring your binoculars if you are into birding. Informational Links: http://www.stateparks.com/potholes.html http://birdweb.org/birdweb/birding_site_details.aspx?id=50&ecoregion=10 Some photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11092301@N00/161258389/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/11092301@N00/161258387/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/rideyourbike/151739865/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/nightjar/30158673/ read more

The state park is absolutely amazing. Lots of greenery with a ton of space for numerous activities. They have two volleyball courts (over grass) and a pretty large play structure for the little ones. The camp sites are very large and fairly private. The reason why it got only 3 stars is due to water access. There is only one area that we were able to access the lake with out standing in thick mud. You have to walk through ankle high bushes and fairly large rocks, which was very difficult with a stroller. We were told by some of the locals that we were lucky the lake was so low otherwise there would be no "beach" at all. The water did not seem that clean compared to most other Washington waters. There was a subtle odor that was still apparent on our life jackets after we got home. I would recommend going in August (water level will be low) and less apparent mosquitos and understand that access to the water may be difficult. read more

Potholes State Park has breathtaking sunrises, sunsets, and nighttime views of the stars. My family and I stayed in Cabins C85 and C86, which were nice, and air-conditioned which was a plus! It's a wonderful place to come and get away. Potholes is a desert like paradise. Very scenic and beautiful. The sites have good space in between them, and the campground is well kempt. Potholes is a great place to come for boating, fishing, and jet skiing. There are boat/jet ski rentals available if you don't have one, which is convenient. The water isn't really for swimming, which is a bummer because I enjoy swimming, I guess you can say I'm more of an ocean/river type of girl than a 'pothole' type of girl. But don't let that deter you from coming here. It's still a fun and beautiful place to stay! My only gripe about this place is that there were only two areas with accessible restrooms and showers, the rest of the restrooms were outhouses. Which is why I gave it three stars instead of four. (Note that I don't give five stars easily). Each time I had to use the bathroom, I would have to walk quite a bit to get to the restrooms with running water. Other than that, I would definitely come back to Potholes, and recommend it to fellow campers for a quiet and scenic place to come and get some peace and enjoy nature. read more

The park itself seems to be well kept, the grass is green and we really liked the way the trailer sites are set up with tree coverage. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes are enough to make you go CRAZY. They are TERRIBLE and seem to not respond to any sort of deterrent. We got hundreds of bites and left our trip early because of it. The lake entrance at the park is murky and very marshy and not so great for swimming. We also had someone come into our site in the middle of the night and steal some things. We've camped at dozens of parks over the years and have never had stuff stolen. Other campers we talked to also had things stollen-very expensive things! It's a big bummer and total disappointment. We will not be back to Potholes. read more

Easily the worst state park we have ever stayed at. The sites are mostly small and very close together with very little privacy. There are an inadequate number of bathroom and shower facilities and when it's busy, waiting in line was the norm. There are not many potable water spigots so depending on where your site is, it can be a decent walk to get water. We stayed during a busy weekend and the staff did a horrible job of keeping up with the bathroom cleanliness and stocking the paper products. The boat ramps are nice, though they could use more dock space for folks launching to temporarily tie up to while they park the truck and trailer. Adequate parking for trucks and trailers, and there is a fish cleaning station. As we were leaving we noticed the dump station was closed due to some type of emergency. Felt bad for those with RV's that were expecting to be able to empty their tanks on the way out. For the price the state parks get now, and the number of people we saw wearing vests that said "volunteer", we see little reason for a park to be so poorly run. It's doubtful we'll give it another try. read more

Stayed here over Labor Day weekend while going to concerts at the Gorge ampitheater. This is a very nice state park with 2 different areas for RV/tent camping and they even have a few cabins with air conditioning you can rent. The lake is right there and there is a nice swimming area and beach, there were a few hiking trails around as well. There are lots of pit toilets that are in pretty good condition and showers on site. Another plus is that you don't have to haul your garbage out they have plenty of dumpsters. The only downside is the location, its a bit of a haul to go anywhere. The gorge ampitheater was about an hour away. It really is one of the nicer state parks i've been to. read more

This was a great park and a great experience over all. We stayed in the primitive sites, so I can't speak for the RV side of the park. Where we stayed, however, was lovely. For most of the primitive sites, tall trees provide shade and privacy. It's a short walk to the waterfront for boating, floating or paddling around. The water is fairly warm, but there's a slight current that can push you into marshy areas if you're trying to float. Next time we'll be renting jet skis. The vault toilets located in closest to the primitive sites are a bit smelly, but it's a short walk to regular flushing toilets and showers. Also, there are a number of water spigots located in the primitive area, though they're not indicated on the map. We went in late July, and it was crowded, but not unpleasant. Some other review sites mention an aggressive mosquito population, but perhaps because of the time of year, there was only an average number of the pests. I can imagine that it might get bad at times given the proximity of the marshy areas of the reservoir. This park was a great escape from the lack of Seattle sun! read more

This was our first time here and I was first impressed with how well the grounds were kept witb lots of open fields and grass. The spots themselves are nice, the only downside to our stay was the fight for the showers, there a was a huge family of camping in 5 spots that decided to wash their children in the regular restroom with bottles of water and dish soap (no joke) I walked into a soaked bathroom with empty waterbottles and an empty Ajax bottle. To the camps credit the next morning the bathroom was clean again and its not their fault they were super nice and informative. read more

Lovely park with lots of camping for a wide variety of campers. I recommend going in late fall/winter/early spring to avoid crowds, see migratory waterfall, etc. Having said that, it might be hunting season so you may be surrounded by these early risers. The good news is they go to bed early, too! read more

Lots of people camp here in the summer most but the good and bad news is that most are in RVs. It is good because it leaves the limited camping spots free. Bad because people in RVs are loud. The sites themselves are cheep and nice. It is a great place to wake up before dawn and bird by ear. We started our WA state big day here and had almost 20 birds by ear before the car left the park. Never used the boat access or seen it in the height of day but if you need a cheap place to crash for some east side birding it is the spot! read more

A beautiful grassy park for campers and boaters. Our children had a great time playing at our campsite and the large play structure a few minutes walk away. There is a small store just outside the park gates which sells beer and more importantly mosquito spray! We were there Memorial Day weekend and the mosquitoes were bad mid afternoon through early morning. FYI: the area can also be VERY windy! read more

I will never go to this state park again! The mosquito's were so awful, you had to drown yourself in bug spray, both of our boys and our dog came home with ticks! Would not let my boys swim in the swimming area, murky nasty water... which really left nothing for the boys to do. The campsites were all gravel, and the bathrooms were awful! I love camping, especially camping in state parks however this one... I will never go to again! read more

Great park overall. Very nice sized camping sites with plenty of shade for kids and dogs. People always seem friendly there. Mosquitos can be an issue as the summer progresses, so make sure to pack bug spray just in case. Great playground area and grassy areas for games and activities. Boat ramp is small and exposed to the wind which can make the non-experience boat driver do funny things trying to launch boats:). Only downside beside bugs is the lack of a swimming area at the park. Overall a fun place. Golf close by, fishing, boating, etc. read more

A very nice State Park . There are two distinct camping experiences to be had here. There are two primitive campgrounds with no hooks ups, dirt roads and only the bare essentials. Pit toilets are nearby and shower facilities are located in the day-use area. The hook-up sites feature paved roads and abundant green grass. The grounds are immaculate although the price you pay is that tents are only allowed in the grassy areas of the hook-up sites on Friday and Saturday nights only. There are showers right in the middle of the hook-up campground and a dumpster is nearby for trash. There is only one dumpster and no trash cans, so expect is to be overflowing by the end of a weekend with a packed campground. The bathrooms and showers were spotless and the campsite was clean. Rangers were visibly available and friendly. This is one of the best State Parks we've ever visited and if you plan on visiting the area, I highly recommend it for your stay. read more

This park has a lot of space for RV owners..we luxuriated in the amount of space and the well manicured grass. Just like in home life, your experience at a park is dictated by your neighbors...ours were great. We will for sure be going back to this park. read more