Overview Kachess Campground sits just off the forested northwest shore of Kachess Lake in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Set in dense old-growth conifer forest and surrounded by high mountains, Kachess Campground is considered one of the most beautiful sites in the Cle Elum Ranger District.Recreation Kachess is a prime location for fishing, swimming, boating, paddling and mountain biking in summer and early fall. The campground is also a great base camp for day-hikers and overnight backpackers. Several access trails from the area give hikers the chance to create their own excursions, whether it be a day hike or an overnight trip. Starting at the campground, the Kachess Lake Trail is a short loop next to the lake, enjoyable for hikers of all levels. Anglers enjoy fishing for rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and kokanee salmon from boat or shoreline. Box Canyon Creek is closed to all fishing from the mouth, 2-miles up to the falls. Check current WDFW fishing regulations for additional restrictions. Facilities Kachess Lake Campground offers 150 sites that accommodate both tent and RV camping, including one designated group site that can accommodate up to 50 guests. The group site and 106 single family sites are available for reservation, and the rest are available on a first-come first-serve basis. Sites are equipped with picnic tables, campfire rings with grills, vault toilets. Drinking water is available. There are no electric hookups. One motorized boat launch, one non-motorized boat launch, a swimming area and picnic areas are also available to visitors.Natural Features Towering peaks, high-country lakes and old-growth forests provide visitors with a variety of landscapes. Kachess Lake, adjacent to the campground, is a reservoir that stores and provides water for irrigation for south-central Washington. The surrounding undeveloped wilderness, clean streams and diverse forests support an abundance of wildlife, including deer, porcupine, native fish and migratory birds. Nearby Attractions The spectacular Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) can be accessed near the campground. One of the world's premier National Scenic Trails, it showcases some of North America's most fantastic scenery as it winds its way from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington.
Reviews of Kachess Campground
7 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 4 users | Last reported on July 18, 2022AT&T 4G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on September 05, 2017T-Mobile 4G/5G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on September 20, 2022Campground and lake are beautiful. But beware, it's PACKED during the summer. Half of the sites are reservable, and the first-come sites fill up pretty much as soon as someone leaves. I was lucky to get a site even on a Sunday afternoon, just as the weekend crowd was leaving. The lake is lovely. But lots of motor boats and jet skies. The day use area, which is adjacent to the campgrounds, is also heavily used. Your basic forest service campground — no hookups. Water spigots are available throughout. I have a 27' travel trailer, and I'd say that I'd only be able to fit in about 1/2 – 2/3 of the sites.
A few sites have lake views, a few more are on a creek.
Verizon map states no service, but I was able to get a teeny tiny bit of 1X.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
really nice campground. limited cellular single, but my Verizon MIFI worked well with my Netgear MIMO antenna booster. My trouble was 1: weaving around the campground with my size rv (both length and height) and 2: backing the rv into the sites is really tough, because you have to back in at an angle, the road is narrow and the arc for my size vehicle is wide. You need a team and take a lot of time to thread the needle.
I first had site 54, which is a 60' pull-thru. However, all of the pull-thru sites contain such a tight arc you can't "pull thru" with a 39' rig and almost all of them curve around a tree. Also, most of the back-in sites are narrow, so your slides end up pushing tree branches when you open them.
Nightly Rate: $21.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 72
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
T-Mobile 4G
Kachess Lake Campground is a fantastic spot about five miles off of Interstate 90. The campground is large with several loops and two boat launches. We stayed in site 131 on the Thetis Creek loop. Our was large with a lake view, although the back-in pad was only 33'. We were able to fit our 28' Airstream but had to park our truck sideways to fit in our site. The lake is accessible by a loop trail right from the campsites. There was a great swimming beach 100 yards or less from our site. The site did not have a lot of shade, although most of the Box Canyon loop sites had a nice amount of shade (and larger sites since many are considered double sites).
The lake had a fair amount of watercraft including boats and jet skis, however there was plenty of room for those of us who were simply floating or swimming on the startlingly clear lake. We were camping over Labor Day, so Saturday and Sunday we're pretty busy, though Friday and Monday we're both quiet. There were several hikes near the campground which we did not try due to poor air quality from a nearby fire.
Many sites are reservable online, but can be tricky with a large rig. There were lots of options for our 28' (we do not have pop outs).
Cell phone reception vacillated between 2 bars LTE and 3 bars of 4G at the campsite for ATT. Reception was best down by the lake.
Nightly Rate: $21.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 132
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
This was our first trip to Kachess Campground. We were there in mid-June 2020. Also, for us oldies the rate is 50% of the published rate so we only paid $10.50/night. The sites are well spaced and clean thanks to the camp host. The lake is beautiful with a beach area that was moderately used; kids and dogs playing in the water plus others just enjoying the sun. The boat ramp I saw appeared easy to maneuver for any size fishing boat. Had no trouble backing our 25 foot TT into the spot; however, be aware that some sites could be tight for larger RV's especially motorhomes. Once school is out you really should have a reservation as the first-come sites fill up fast as this is a very popular campground. We had no problem with cell service.
Nightly Rate: $21.00
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: 89
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
This is a large campground with several sections and loops. Being only about an hour from Seattle it seems to be quite popular on the weekends with families car camping, hikers, and lake goers.
The sites were basic. Most sites seem best suited to tent camping. The parking pads were fairly level, but not super large. Any RV larger than about 25 feet would be iffy. There are no hook-ups but there were water spigots throughout all of the loops. Don't count on much sun for solar because almost every site is in the shade all day. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit.
Even though the sites are basic, the grounds were extremely well maintained by the camp hosts and forest service. In fact our camp hosts were great. They welcomed us to the campground as soon as we backed in and gave us the rundown on all of the facilities. They also deliver firewood right to your site.
We stayed here for the last two nights of the 2021 season and were the last campers to roll out on Monday morning before the gates closed to the public. We were surprised that the campground was closing so early in the season because the weather was still quite nice.
Nightly Rate: $21.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 160
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Great campground, easy access to the lake, wonderful views.
Our side (93) was a pain to back in (20 foot trailer) because of two tree trunks cut off that did not let you go further, so our truck had to be parked on our friends site.
Be aware that the place is a mosquito paradise, we were eaten alive there.
If it wasn't for the mosquitos, I would definitely go back there.
You barely had signal from the Mineral loop, we put our weeboost up to help out.
Nightly Rate: $24.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 93
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
T-Mobile 5G
Able to spend a considerable amount of time here August and September. Beautiful campground, excellent sites, great hosts, warm water…
Nightly Rate: $24.00
Days Stayed: 14
Site Number: 131
Cell Coverage Rating
T-Mobile 4G
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Kachess Campground
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Max Stay
- 14
- Affiliation
- National forest
- Sites Count
- 151
- Last Nightly Rate
- 24.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 20.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 34.0
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Sites
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Laundry
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Propane
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Showers
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Big Rigs
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Boondock
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Firewood
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Fifty Amp
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Tent Sites
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Cabin Sites
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Full Hookup
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Paved Sites
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Dump Station
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Mobile Homes
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Public Water
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Pull Through
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Water Hookup
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Potable Water
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Age Restricted
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Rec Facilities
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Dispersed Sites
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Open Seasonally
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Permit Required
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Group Tent Sites
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Fulltime Residents
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Standard Tent Sites
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Pull Through RV Sites
Campground, Restrooms
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