Wanapum Campground

This park appears to now be called Wanapum State Park?

We glamped again at Wanapum State Park, which is a very well cared for state park and has extraordinary views across the river and a desert landscape that is diametrically different only a couple of hours away from Seattle. The park was filled with DMB fans on Labor Day Weekend and began to empty around 5pm prior to the show. It’s a nice place to stay if you’re too old for camping at The Gorge, which is a festival-like atmosphere where the party doesn’t stop for three full days. It was nice to come back and enjoy some quiet after the show with wine and treats bought at a farm stand on our way.

The campsites all feature hook-ups. There is access to the river from the parking lot to the north and also you can walk down to it from any campsite.

My husband and I would go here quite often in April/May time period when we lived in Seattle. That was about the time that we needed to get out of the rain and to some sunshine. We loved Wanapum because of its location on the almighty Columbia River. We'd pack a lunch and walk a short walk down to the water, from the day use area (to get away from the crowds).

This location tends to get very windy at any time of the year. We have camped in Spring, Summer and Fall months. And nearly every time, you have a day of wind, one time the wind was so strong, we didn't even go outside. Remember, always to put your awning away, just in case.

We've always had the best experience with the onsite campground hosts and the rangers are very pleasant.

We liked to camp in the loop away from the water a bit, mainly because we felt we had more space and it tended to not be as windy as the lower loop. Yet, either are great. We usually kept to our trust Site #47 but most of the sites are great.

This is great home base for exploring the area...Crescent Bar Beach area, Cave B Winery or maybe even catch a show at the Gorge. Have fun!

Beautiful park, lots of sites and most have a super view of the Columbia River!

This is a great little campground! Of the two loops, sites 1-31 have more trees around them, though both loops have plenty of open space for playing Frisbee, playing tag, tossing footballs, etc. While this state park / recreation area is on the "dry side" of the Cascades, the lawns are generously watered, and they are green and pleasant even though the campground is surrounded by native dry scrub. Sites are generously sized, especially if you choose a back-in location. We like the convenience of the pull-through sites, which are fine, but we prefer the slight boost in privacy we get from back-in sites. Speaking of privacy, there is no shrubbery between the sites here. It gives the whole place a pleasant open feel, and the sites are large enough and spaced nicely so that we thought it was just fine.

Cell phone coverage on Verizon is interesting. Walking around the campground we typically had 2-3 bars of 3G or LTE, but once we put up our directional Yagi and aimed it at a tower, we had a clean strong LTE signal of -68 to -69.

This campground has a large picnic area within easy walking distance that offers a lovely swimming beach on the Columbia river. It was too chilly to swim when we visited, but on a hot summer day it would likely be awesome. Bring your water toys.

Given this campground is right on the Columbia river, expect some windy days. Do not leave your awnings deployed if you're not around to quickly put them away when the wind comes up. We saw one tent semi-collapsed by the force of the wind, so be prepared. We spoke to the camp host here who says that sometimes the wind is so strong that after a weekend the dumpster is filled with the corpses of ruined tents and their bent/broken poles. So, if you decide to tent camp here, be sure to use a tent that can handle seriously windy conditions. The wind did not rock our rounded Airstream very much, but it did become more windy as our stay progressed, and we eventually had to fold down our Yagi / TV antenna because the wind was hitting it too hard.

Lots of elk poop throughout the campground, so it's clear the location gets regular wild visitors, though we did not see any during our two nights here.

Campsites have gravel driveways for RV parking. Sites are not particularly level, so be ready to get out your blocks to level your RV. There were several tent campers here as well, and we had a nice mix of different types of trailers, motor homes, truck campers, vans, and plenty of kids on bikes, all with a great vibe. We even had one group of campers playing live folk music, which was quite pleasant. Perhaps they were on their way to perform somewhere - they were that good. Restrooms and showers are clean though typical of WA state parks (e.g. old but functional).

This campground is a little green oasis in the middle of a desert! It gets hot here and there's a nice swimming hole nearby. One thing is, the reviews do not lie! It gets windy! 40 mph winds tore through overnight so we recommend you bring your awnings and clotheslines in! The waterfront sites have a beautiful view of the river and a sunrise. Nice hookups and very well kept Campground.

Wanapum is a lovely and convenient stopping point along I90. Situated on the banks of the Columbia River it does get a tad breezy… ok, make that howling winds on a regular basis. The grounds are well maintained and care is taken to keep the grass watered so the campground is a green gem among the dry, brown hills. The day use area is large with lots of picnic areas and a designated swimming area, along with a large boat ramp.

Sites are gravel and a combination of long pull-throughs and back-in sites. The sites along the river offer spectacular views. Most sites have some shade and they are well spaced, but there’s no vegetation between sites for privacy. Sites have full hookups with 20/30/50 amp electrical service, a picnic table and fire pit. (Note: when we visited in mid-July all wood and charcoal fires were banned due to fire hazard.) Our only knock is that it can be surprisingly difficult to get level in many of the sites.

Not much in way of services in Vantage, although there is gas and a restaurant.
The Gingko Petrified Forest State Park is just a few miles down the road with an interesting visitor’s center and about 3 miles of hiking trails.

We had 1-2 bars of Verizon 4G.

We had reservations for Deception Pass but changed our minds at the last minute. We were able to reserve spot #22 for Saturday and decided to try our luck with no reservations for Friday. We lucked out and got spot #44, both good spots and pull throughs.

This is snake country so if you are fearful of them be sure to stay on the paths. I saw a harmless western gopher snake sunning itself on the road and found skin of another near the camp site. Soooo, watch your step ;)

The petrified wood museum is down the road a few miles but an interesting stop that we would recommend. It’s a nice campground with most of the sites having a view of the Columbia. Swimming is in the day use area and there is a short path to walk down to get there or you can drive. Beach is just okay. Overall a nice park.

Great State Park with lots of flat grassy areas. Windy at times. Park Rangers are very friendly and helpful. Sites are well taken care of and spacious.