Yakima River RV Park

Park not fancy, but well off freeway, wooded, pretty. Staff very nice, parking easy. Walked to the Yakima River, very pretty. Eagles, one lonesome Sandhill Crane, pretty horses nearby. A bit expensive, but better than alternatives. We camped in 27' Airstream.

I dont want to leave!!! Gorgeously kept grounds, fresh country air, fields all around, horses, cattle, the Yakima river a block away, great places to walk the dog they even have several fenced in "run" areas with green grass to let them loose, firepits for night warmth, really nice owners/managers, this place is a GEM, Washington state at its best!! Downtown is a $12 Uber ride away, lots of little bars, coffee shops, restaurants. I left this place a few days ago and still scratching my head why did I ever leave. Gorgeous.

We only stayed one night as we were driving thru to the coast. The campsite was very level (site 12). It was great to have plenty of space to walk around. The river and the cows were extra special. Since it’s early April, we basically had the place to ourselves. This is a lovely campground and we would definitely stay again. You can hear the train but we found it was charming. Just like all the other sounds of crickets and frogs. 😀

Now just because I wouldn't stay here again doesn't mean it is a bad park or this is a bad review! If you don't mind charges for every little thing and spaces that are close together then no problem. The location is great especially to take the Yakima River Scenic Byway!

Their signage to the park is not great (off the highway) so watch for that. When I stayed (May 2018) the area was green and beautiful but the Yakima River was having some flooding issues and I would guess due to their location that the summer provided many bugs once it warmed up.

The young couple that were hosting were very nice but the minute they realized I had dogs they were very sure I understood there were very s rtrictules about dogs. No biggy, I am a stickler about my dogs and noise and potty but I also normally put out a mat and a pen for them to potty in which was NOT allowed. That needs to be on their website - that you will have to walk your pups and the area they were allowed in was not mowed and full of holes (fine for dogs not for Mom ankles). I've just never stayed somewhere where they were quite so freaked out about someone having pets with them. As I said, no sour grapes here, I'm more picky than anyone about people and their pets including mine!

No shade, had probably 6 feet between my door and the trailer next to me. Pull through spot was nice since I was just in and out. Would like to have seen more trash containers available.

All in all, as I said, wasn't for me but for others will probably be fine. Since the area really isn't somewhere I would pick as a destination anyway for overnight it was fine. Just really go through their website and read the rules and regulations before you go. For the price (although let's be fair, there are few RV places in E Washington) would not be my first pick.

I believe I did have some cell service but not sure sorry!

We were looking forward to staying here due to its country setting, but left feeling disappointed. When you arrive it kind of feels like Fort Knox. Very strict rules. You cannot check-in prior to 1:00. They made this very clear to us when we made our reservation. The driveway in is a little tight with the cones they have in the middle and you are greeted by a gate (key code is required to enter). Once you are checked in the camp host brings you to your site. We had site 17. It faced out towards the bull pasture and we shared a utility pole so our neighbor was extremely close on the driver side. They have separate parking for your vehicles, but we opted to park our truck next to our rig. Blocked our view of the pasture but we didn't want to park our truck away from where we were staying.

The sites are gravel. Some sites have some grass, ours didn't. They are constantly watering the grass; therefore, water pressure isn't the greatest. We found this out when washing dishes the first night after dinner. There is a train that is nearby so you will hear the sound of the whistle during the night. From our site you also hear the sound of the bulls at night. This may bother some people. It didn't bother us, as we found it kind of comical the sounds they made. We rather listen to them than traffic or trains.

We are people that are not easily offended and are very laid back; however, this was the first time since our 2 years traveling in the Airstream that we were a little put off by the owners.

As mentioned they have very strict rules, especially dog rules. Pets are to be walked in roads, not in tenting or grass areas. They have two fenced in dog areas. If you have a smaller dog, just be careful as our Border Collie puppy tried going through the fence into the bull pasture. With that we didn't feel comfortable keeping her off leash and running the risk of having to chase her down. No big deal, something we could deal with. As I walked her one day she went to the bathroom in the road. As always I picked it up and was walking with the poop bag. The owner came by and asked if I knew where the dog park was. I stated I did and felt I had to explain that my dog went to the bathroom in the road (per the rules). He stated there are plants along the fence they water and didn't want to find a surprise. I understand some people don't pick up after their dogs (which is very irritating), but as he is telling me this I'm holding a bag full of poop.

We had mail delivered to the campground. We received confirmation that our packages were delivered. We spotted the other owner by the office. We walked over and asked if she received any mail for us. She looked and had one of our packages in her cart. We asked if she received another package and she stated she probably brought it to the house and wasn't going back there now (with an attitude). We felt like we were putting her out. She ended up bringing it over a little later.

We loved the country setting here, but based on our experience we don't feel this campground deserves a high rating or average rating. The camp hosts seemed nice; however, as mentioned we were a little put off by the owners. The park itself is expensive for what it offers. There are no facilities here. No laundry or showers/restroom. There are portable toilets. The sites are ok and you are very close to your neighbor, plus some of the sites are on the small side making it difficult to park your vehicle with your rig. As mentioned, there is also no water pressure. For us the cons outweighed the pros. We may have had a different experience if we didn't stay as long as we did, if we didn't have a dog or if we didn't have any encounters with the owners. Maybe then we would have rated it a 3.

We liked the quiet green space however they were rude. I think they do not like dogs. We did not get a refund for overpriced stay. Due to Covid they only allow 1 nite. However that was her excuse for not giving us full hookup for 40. Overpriced. Site was not level but did get good AT&T signal.

Reading other reviews, not sure where they stayed. We had no problems with management. She was very nice. Helped get us into our site. There is a train but came by maybe 4 times total. Beautiful area, was only here 1 nite. Will be back to check out Ellensburg. Oh and we had dogs, no problems. Yes, site was somewhat not level but the jack things help that.

We stayed here last year and had an OK time and had an OK time but this time was really really good. We had full hookups. The sites are very level we didn't have to use our leveling system at all. The only negative is the Wi-Fi.. And there is no television signal for antenna reception. We're right next to one of the park hosts. The park is well the park is well kept. There is a field full of rodeo bulls and they got let a second heard so it was quite entertaining for a couple of days. We recommend this little RV park that is owned by a private couple for many years!
We decided to come back out here for a Labor Day weekend when the Ellensburg wrote and when the Ellensburg rodeo is resuming is resuming since covid.

Yakima River RV Park
791 Ringer Loop Rd, Ellensburg, WA 98926
509-925-4734
$50.05/ night with tax
Nicely spaced, mostly pull-thru sites with grass between sites and some trees. Level gravel sites and roads. Picnic table. No bathhouse. Tents are allowed, but their only facility is a port-a-potty, no showers. No OTA TV signal. There IS a train track nearby, but the only other noise is from the bull pasture next door. They raise Rodeo bulls. Our site (7) was facing the pasture, and it was interesting watching them. If you can NOT abide by rules, stay somewhere else!! They have quite a few and get ready to be reprimanded if you don’t follow them! The park is gated with a passcode. We were greeted at the gate and shown to our site. The water pressure is NOT very good, but we had no issues with power or sewer.

We have enjoyed our stay here. It is lovely to be off the interstate and away from the noise. There are a few trains, but they are far enough away it was not an issue for us. The sites are large. We are 55 feet in total with our motorcycle trailer and did not have to unhitch the trailer and still had room for the motorcycle in the site with us. We chose only electric and water since we were only staying 3 days which is less than a full hookup site. We had a wonderful view of the Bull pasture. We don't typically use the bathhouses in parks, so it is not an issue for us that there was none, but, for tenters or those who prefer to use them, only port-o-lets as others mentioned. Verizon signal was good 3-4 bars, we were able to stream Netflix without issue. The park's wifi, as with other parks, is fine for email, but not a super reliable service- again, not an issue for us. All in all, Ellensburg is a quaint town not far from the park, and the Wind and Solar energy center is very interesting to visit.