“Camping on the southwest side of Mt. Rainier”
Overview Cougar Rock Campground, on the southwest side of Mt. Rainier National Park, is convenient to the Paradise area. Paradise is the most popular destination in the park, with a lodge and visitor center, many miles of hiking trails and a commanding view of the mountain-the highest in the state and Cascade range. The main attraction at Mount Rainier National Park is the mountain itself, a massive glacier-clad volcano, peaking at 14,411 ft. and dominating the skyline for hundreds of miles. Visitors travel through majestic old-growth forests, past tumbling waterfalls and historic buildings to reach sub-alpine meadows, where world-famous wildflower displays bloom through July and August. Popular activities in the park include sight-seeing, hiking, rock climbing and camping. Cougar Rock campground is located at an elevation of 3,180 feet. Summers are dry and cool with daytime temperatures ranging from 60 to 80 degrees. Weather throughout the park can be variable, so visitors should come prepared.Recreation From the facility, experienced hikers and backpackers can access the well-known, strenuous and beautiful Wonderland Trail, which encircles the park for 93 miles. For those who enjoy learning more about the park's natural and cultural history, there is an on-site amphitheater where interpretive programs are held.Facilities Cougar Rock is relatively rustic, but has drinking water, flush toilets and picnic tables at all 173 campsites. This facility is one of only two campgrounds in the park with campsites that can be reserved. Visitors must use extra caution with food storage, as foxes and other animals have been known to frequent the campground looking for food.Natural Features Cougar Rock Campground has one lookout point from which campers can view Mt. Rainier. Although it is peaceful now, the still active volcano last erupted in the mid 1800s. The campground is adjacent to the Nisqually River and is surrounded by thick forests. A short drive to Paradise in summer reveals fields of lush wildflowers. Nearby Attractions Mount Rainier National Park is about 50 miles southeast of the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area.
Reviews of Cougar Rock Campground
12 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G/5G
Confirmed by 8 users | Last reported on August 23, 2024AT&T 4G/5G
Confirmed by 4 users | Last reported on August 23, 2024T-Mobile 5G
Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on August 23, 2024Reviews
Very primitive site which can be good for some, difficult for others. Likely my own fault but expected water to fill camper and a place to dump but was advised those haven’t worked in many many years. Zero cell service makes planning hiking or reserving next stops in your vacation difficult so do that already if time and pickup a map on your way in (it was closed when we came in). I’m sure the views are amazing however cloud/smoke cover was around during our whole visit. Assumed showers were there, but there is none. When I left I found that disclaimer imbedded in the website that I overlooked. Great tree cover though, cool sites, tight fit for sure on most. Oh yeah, and the emergency phone also has an out of order sign on it so don’t go hurting yourself too bad or have another emergency, remember you’re taking a step back in time to pre any phones.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
We really loved this campground for the size and privacy of its spots. Although most of the sites are made for tent camping, there are a few pull through RV spots with a max length of 27ft (and they mean it). It's in a heavily wooded area and a short walk to some great trails in the park. There are no hookups, but they do have generator hours and sell wood on site for campfires.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
RV Length: 17 ft
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
We like this campground for its convenience. You’re inside Mt. Rainier NP and can skip the entrance lines and get to Paradise while there’s still parking. We brought our truck camper because this campground can’t handle trailers longer than 27 feet or motorhomes longer than 35 feet. Not only are most of the campsites too small for bigger rigs but many are poorly angled, too unlevel or have low tree branches above and beside narrow driveways. Frankly our no-slide truck camper would have problems with many of the sites. As we left we witnessed a moderate sized Airstream struggle to exit the RV dump station because there’s a tight loop with raised curbs and tree branches growing into the drive. Medium size rigs will want to scope D loop before driving it. There’s a tight corner at the far end of the loop that squeezes between 2 large trees.
The campground is set in a beautiful forest near the Nisqually River. The river provides enough white noise that you hardly hear the main park road nearby. There is a peek-a-boo view of the mountain from the main campground road. There are 5 loops (A through E) plus ‘R’ sites along the main campground road. Campsites in A loop and the R sites are first-come first-serve sites. E loop is no generators. The campground filled up each day we were there in late July.
The facilities are NPS rustic. Bathrooms with flush toilets and cold water faucets. No showers or hand dryers. Near the bathrooms are water faucets for filling bottles and sinks for dumping gray water from tent camper kitchens. There is a nightly Ranger and a Junior Ranger program from late June through Labor Day.
We had no (Verizon) cell service at all. The nearest reliable cell signal is in Ashford, about 30 minutes away from the campground outside the parks southwest border.
Nightly Rate: $10.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: R17
RV Length: 30 ft
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
Paved roads with plenty of camp sites divided by giant trees. Bathrooms have a water fill station and sink for cleaning dishes, fire pit picnic table and bear box at each campsite.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 1
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
T-Mobile
Cougar Rock is a large campground (and the one closest to Paradise) with over 170 sites in six loops. Note that the maximum allowable length for motorhomes is 35 feet and 27 feet for trailers and 5th wheels. Loops A and E have some sites that are right on the road. Some sites are pull-through and most are spacious with varying amounts of privacy between them. C1 felt very private, even though it was the first site in the C loop. Each site has a fire ring, picnic table, and bear box. You can hear the Nisqually River lull you to sleep. Don’t forget to bring your towel to the bathroom as there are no paper towels or air dryers in the bathrooms. The bathroom was reasonably clean but as with all NPS campgrounds, there are no showers. Cougar Rock was a very quiet campground on a Monday in mid-June, even though there were a fair amount of people camping. The campground opened in May; the sites are reservable June 21-September 3 only. If you haven’t reserved a site (and therefore pre-paid), there is a machine that accepts coins and credit cards (but not bills that I could see!) to pay for your campsite. The Wonderland trail is accessible from the campground, but you would have to drive to other trailheads. We are told you can get a great view of Mt. Rainier just across the street on the trail, but we will have to take the ranger’s word on it as the clouds completely obscured the view! No cell service.
Nightly Rate: $10.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: C1
RV Type: Van
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
First come, first served, but early in June there were dozens of sites available. A lot of great sites, with plenty of semi-private sites where the fire-ring / tent pitch is several yards away from the parking spot, back in the forest. The automatic payment station in the front was tremendously convenient, as were the water bottle fill up stations. When the weather cleared, the view of Mt. Rainier from the campground roads was tremendous. A very nice dish washing station to boot.
Nightly Rate: $10.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: -
RV Length: 16 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
We camped here in a 32 foot class a. We didn't think it would be a problem as they allow up to 35 footers. We arrived around 11am on a weekday and there were only 2 or 3 spots we could fit in, and barely at that. The dump station is a very tight squeeze as well. Other than that, everything was great.
Nightly Rate: $15.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: a6
RV Length: 25 ft
RV Type: Class C
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
This was the first campsite that we stayed at to facilitate my niece and her hubby to walk the Wonderland Trail in three days. We ended up getting a campsite two spots away from them we had no reservations but it happened to be opened. What a blessing. So we parked our revel and left early in the morning to drive up to Mowich. they had a great bathroom and a place to wash up your dishes if you needed to and a recyclable area and trash. It was pretty quiet lots of places to camp and it was very full. Definitely need a reservation or you end up winging it.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: B-9
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T
Standard issue national park camp ground. Lots of sites closed this season due to hazard trees.
Would not stay here again because our child's toy bin was pilfered through and items were stolen while we were out hiking. Reported to the rangers and it's apparent that theft is an issue in this area. Later noticed placards in bathrooms telling people to keep valuables in their vehicle trunks.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
Cougar Rock Campground is THE spot to stay for access to the Paradise/Longmire areas of Mount Rainier National Park. The sites are rather small and uneven, but this is driven by the topography of the landscape. Choose your site carefully to ensure your equipment will fit. Also note that these are primitive sites - no hookups. Most sites have shade due to the numerous trees, so solar collection can be spotty.
The campground hosts in 2021 do a fantastic job of welcoming visitors and keeping things organized. The bathrooms feature running water and flush toilets, with potable water stations outside each location. I had poor to no cell service at the campground, but drive up to the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor's Center at Paradise for a very robust signal (Verizon LTE 4 bars).
You're a short (15-20 minute) from the Paradise area and some of the best hiking trails and scenery in the park. Enjoy!
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: -
RV Type: Teardrop Trailer
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Cougar Rock Campground
Hours
- Sun - Sat: 12:00 am - 11:59 pm
Problem with this listing? Let us know.
Has RV parking changed? Let us know.
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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
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 10
- Check In
- 12:00 PM
- Check Out
- 12:00 PM
- Group Tent Sites Count
- 5
- Last Nightly Rate
- 20.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 30 ft
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 10.0
- Max Length
- 27 ft
- Max Stay
- 14
- RV Sites Count
- 24
- Season End
- Sept.
- Season Start
- May
- Sites Count
- 179
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Paved Sites
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Full Hookup
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Rec Facilities
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Back In RV Sites
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Equestrian Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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RV Sites
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Trailer Permitted
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Vehicle Wash Permitted
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Water Hookup
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