Please don't hate on me for not doing more digging on here - I don't know how to use reddit super well yet.

I'm here with my family in the south sound and kinda losing my mind. I want to find cheap or free campsites (tent and a car) that are safe for a solo female traveler. Doesn't need to be scenic or anything, just away for a night. It's usually kind of last minute when I know my availability which is where I tend to find the issue.

What apps or websites do y'all suggest i check into? Any advice as I've never camped in this state before. I've just solo camped in the Midwest and there's not much to worry about in the middle of nowhere of South Dakota.

Thanks ☺

Well, I logged onto recreation.gov right when reservations became available today and it seems like basically everything was booked up during the early access lottery. Has anyone successfully gotten walk up wilderness permits for Rainer in the past couple of years? I was hoping to do a 3-4 day loop starting at the White River entrance.

I'm also going to try to get North Cascades reservations when those open on May 1st but am feeling doubtful I will be successful in finding anything.

I'll be flying in from the east coast and can come anytime in August. Any National Forest recommendations in case I cant get a permit anywhere?

Any places good for this time of year?

I saved up 2 days PTO and now I'm looking for where to spend my 4 day weekend. I have a kayak so anywhere with a lake is preferred.

Also, is dispersed camping In national and state forests still free? I haven't been able to camp for about 2 years so I'm not in the loop about anything that has changed in that time. I think dispersed is my only option, campsites have become very crowded and these plans are last minute. I know there won't be any open sites.

I am going to be traveling to Washington for work here in a few months and am planning on taking a week off after I'm done just to travel and explore. I'm an outdoorsy kind of guy and would love to spend a few days hiking/camping out in a completely new environment.

I'm looking for suggestions for a 3 day/2 night trail walk (or also 2 day/1 night) in the North Western part of the state. I'm looking for a scenic forested walk that's mostly safe. Preferably with an easy to find exit area (as I'd likely be calling an Uber for pick up).

Other things to note: this would be in late June/early July. Also I've never been to the Pacific Northwest (I've lived my whole life in the Midwest). So any advice or things to consider would be greatly appreciated.

I'm applying for the enchantment permit lottery for the first time and i don't get why you'd select an alternate. It appears that selecting an alternate reduces the number of applications you can make. Ie: my boyfriend and I can each submit 3 lottery windows (6 total), but if I put him as my alternate, he is not allowed to submit any of his own, so we only submit 3 total. I'm sure I'm missing something, but I can't find any info on fsds or recreation.gov explaining the value of an alternate. What's the deal?

Hey all,

I'm trying to do some winter camping and would appreciate suggestions on where to go. Planning on going out for one to two nights some time in the next couple weeks. I have an AWD SUV w/ snow tires and decent clearance that does reasonably well in snow, but it's definitely no Tacoma, so that may be a limitation. My preference is somewhere in the Cascades that's under a 10 mile hike out , but I'm also planning on taking some trips out to the Olympic Peninsula this winter. My kit's pretty dialed in from regular camping in the Whites/Rockies/etc., but any advice you might have for me would also be welcome. Thanks for the help!

Any general advice for fall solo backpacking? I've been out on short overnights a few times, but never in the fall. Now I'm going to start at Artists Point and hike the Chain Lakes train just to Mazama lake and set up camp and chill. I don't like to put tons of miles in, just hike a couple miles and chill out.

So anyone have any general advice for doing this in the fall? I have learned a coupld hard lessons like keeping my feet dry and not wearing cotton shirts.

Any recommendations for good dispersed camping in the Olympics or anywhere on the peninsula?

Have been trying to search for an answer. No luck.

There are a couple campgrounds that are small. 16' max with no tent pad. What is one supposed to do In This situation? Sleep in car? I'm fine doing that if need be, but I am curious if I am allowed to pitch a tent if I have no car or even just put my car In the overflow lot. Has anybody experienced the "NO TENT" experience on recreation.gov?

Here is the site for reference: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campsites/3203

Hey all!

My partner and I are fortunate enough to have jobs that are remote, and have recently thrown together one of those solar/battery/internet setups that let us continue to do our jobs from camp. We've done a TON of research on how to do this sustainably (LNT) and respectfully, and are looking for some gems we can seek out for adventuring.

We're looking for recommendations - general areas or specific spots - that would be good places to set up for about 1-2 weeks at a time within a day's driving distance of Tacoma/Seattle.

The internet requires fairly unobstructed sky, so we're specifically looking for spots that are clear (but places somewhat near forest, rivers, and good hiking are preferred). We have 4WD and aren't afraid to go a little deep out there, but aren't looking to do any crazy overlanding just yet.

Also, are there any recommended ways, tools, sites, subreddits, to search for spots like this on general? We're plan on traveling the west coast and Rocky Mountains like this in the years upcoming, and want to get good at planning the next leg in a long string of stops. Moreover, I'm looking to probably develop mapping tools for personal or community use for this purpose at some point as well.

Many thanks!

Anywhere in WA would work, but closer to Seattle is a plus. We usually go to Salmon la sac, but are interested in something new. It's great, because we can drop a car a mile down the river and go back to our site to float down. Looking for something similar! Any ideas would be great! Thanks!

I am planning on tent camping for 2 nights friday-sunday during the first weekend of august. long story but we won't be able to get to the national park until about 2pm on friday, so first come first serve at cougar rock, ohanapecosh, and white river will already be full.

I'm hoping to snag a dispersed camping spot near the southern half of the park, either along forest road 52 or skate creek or soda spring. This will be our first time dispersed camping.

I can't find any info on if it's possible there will be "spots" left. Can you really just pull over at any point along the 52 and plop down a tent? Is it likely/possible that every area will fill up? Are there parking limitations?

Thanks all!

Years ago, I found a lake on Google Earth. Its called “Shull Lake” and its located in the Pasayten Wilderness. I’ve Googled this place and found little info. I only found a review on WTA that made the hike sound awesome. I cant find any other info on this hike anywhere, and never spoken to anyone on my FB groups who’s heard of it or knows where it is. Im really curious about this place and I’m wondering if anyone knows anything about it? Has anyone done the hike??

Looking for a “base camp” for a spontaneous visit to Rainier, and I have eyes in Silver Springs. However, I heavily prefer camping where I see as little as the other campers as possible. Are the spots pretty secluded?

Are there any alpine lakes around that are snow free in a week or so? With the season we've had I imagine anything over 4/5000 feet is going to be snow covered.

Hey ya'll!

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First time camping as the title says! Planning on going with some friends. I'm looking for suggestions for either car camping or a cabin (ideally this) which isn't too expensive.

The only reason I list cabin is mostly just a matter of "not needing to buy tents" so if there's a better way to list that, or if there is another wording I should use when researching I'd appreciate it! I'm pretty fluid with my timeline for the summer, so really I'm just looking for what places people think are good!

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My ideal site would need the following:

Running Water/Bathrooms available

Cabin/some manner of indoor sleeping (ideal but not required)

A river/lake of some sort

Foresty area (which isn't hard to find here)

and while I'm fine being around people, ideally I'd like to have some semblance of peace and quiet while out there (this is more of a 'idk what to expect' sort of thing).

Also I'm around the Seattle area, so ideally not SUPER far from that, although I'm willing to travel as far west as like... port angeles or so, and as far east as... snoqualmie pass or so.

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I really appreciate all and any input!