Discover the very best RV tenting within the Olympic Peninsula with the recommendation and expertise from journey specialists Allie & Danella from Wander Free and Queer.
Olympic Peninsula: Wild & Free
The Olympic Peninsula stays one of many final actually wild locations in the US, an enormous expanse of rugged shoreline, dense rainforests, and snow-capped mountains largely untouched by company sprawl or city improvement, making it one among our favourite locations. We have now visited a number of instances and discover that the small cities and rural pure landscapes stay steadfast in an ever-evolving world.
Shielded by its distant geography and guarded inside the bounds of Olympic Nationwide Park, the Olympic Peninsula presents a uncommon glimpse of nature in its uncooked, unfiltered state. Towering evergreens, roaring rivers, and quiet alpine meadows dominate the panorama, the place wildlife nonetheless roams freely and human footprints are fleeting. Right here, the tempo of life is dictated not by skyscrapers or commerce, however by the tides, the seasons, and the rhythms of the pure world. These are among the explanation why we selected the Olympic Peninsula to be one among our first adventures in our RAM 2500 Promaster van.
RV Tenting Spots Olympic Peninsula
When visiting the peninsula previously, we’ve dreamed of becoming our home-on-wheels into one of many campsites at Sol Duc Campground, Mora, Kalaloch. We dreamed of riverside dispersed tenting spots we’ve seen on web sites, blogs, and throughout social media platforms, however we haven’t managed to get to any of these as a result of dimension of our fifth-wheel or the kind of journey we had been doing on the time of our visits.
We took GoGo the Getaway Van and hit the street with a listing of campgrounds, website choices, and backup plans. We included a number of nights with no thought the place we might keep to flex our expertise for last-minute looking out and strategizing, one thing we will get away with in our van, however by no means in our 42-foot home-on-wheels.
Right here is the place we spent our 7 nights as we traversed the peninsula counter-clockwise, beginning within the southeastern nook, close to Olympia, and making our approach round to the Quinault Rainforest within the southwest nook of the enormous peninsula.
Journey Itinerary: Spots & Actions
Evening One
We stayed on the Tumwater Pilot/Flying J. We have now heard about tenting at truck stops previously and thought we might give it a strive. The blaring lights and truck noise weren’t splendid, however the fast sizzling and contemporary espresso on the retailer inside helped us rise up and out rapidly to make our approach north after our first night time within the van.
Evening Two & Three
Right here is the place we let go and allowed ourselves to see the place we ended up. We knew it could be arduous to discover a campsite on Memorial Day weekend. Spots like Dosewallips State Park and Staircase Campground had been fully booked up. These are nice choices for lesser busy instances of 12 months and provide facilities if wanted. We noticed a number of choices on HipCamp.com and in addition scouted for websites on FreeCampsites.Web, however nothing felt like the right match.
We knew we had been taking the ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island early the next morning after which returning late that very same night time, so we went to scout out the world the place the ferry terminal was. We had been pleasantly stunned to see different vans, buses, and small campers parked in so much close by. We paid $22 for 24-hour parking and parked our van ultimately parking spot, overlooking the bay and ferry terminal. It was a fast, quiet, and quirky spot to remain, and we cherished it!
Port Townsend has a number of of those heaps, small facet streets, and plenty of extra campground choices. We had been additionally stunned at how cute the city was with eating places, outlets, and nice walkability to some small seashores, historic websites, and even small parks.
Nights 4 & 5
Right here is the place we bought savvy in studying methods to maneuver Recreation.Gov to ebook Nationwide Park Campsites. You possibly can view on their web site accessible websites, but additionally what choices campgrounds have for first-come-first-serve campsites. We knew we needed to remain at Sol Duc as a result of we needed to soak within the sizzling springs there, however there weren’t any campsites accessible after we seemed forward of time.
We arrived on the campground early sufficient to drive across the loops and declare an open website, possible one which was reserved however had a cancellation. We scooped up website 23 in loop C, which was near the bathhouse, had a flat parking pad, and a non-public space for us to take a seat on the picnic desk and hand around in. A bonus right here is that if you happen to do pay the $18/individual for a session on the sizzling springs close by, you get entry to the showers and loo on the Sol Duc Resort as properly.
Nights Six & Seven
The following campsite we booked forward of time on Recreation.Gov. Mora Campground has been our prime campground vacation spot since we first visited Olympic Nationwide Park a few decade in the past. We love the entry it has to Rialto Seashore, our favourite cease on the peninsula, and the websites are roomy and personal.Â
Mora Campground has flush bogs and a few cellphone reception on Verizon service. We bought fortunate with campsite 55 in loop C, and it was nothing wanting excellent. A flat pull-through website with bushes and bushes encircling it, creating a hoop of privateness. Partially shaded and a brief stroll to the not too long ago renovated bathhouse make this the very best spot we stayed in throughout this journey. We took the five-minute drive to Rialto Seashore a number of instances to look at the sundown, stroll alongside the tide line, and hunt for agates amidst the rocky shore.
Evening Eight
Our final night time was spent at Kalaloch Campground, which was completely positioned straight on the coast. Kalaloch Seashore is sandier, presents guests an awesome strolling seashore, the Tree of Life, a lodge with restaurant and reward store, in addition to many paths main straight from campsites, over the dried driftwood, and down onto the shore.Â
We grabbed website 6 in loop C forward of time on Recreation.Gov. We had a non-public path to the close by bathhouse and a large space to unfold out in. We sat on the picnic desk, made camp meals, and loved the right climate whereas at Kalaloch for our final night time. Though there was no cell service for us right here, we discovered ourselves down on the seashore repeatedly with solely a five-minute stroll from our van door to the driftwood logs. Actually an ideal ending to our Olympic journey.
Our Favourite Place
We each teared up the morning we left Kalaloch Campground. Van tenting off-grid in Olympic Nationwide Park is an unforgettable expertise that blends rugged freedom with beautiful pure magnificence. We vowed to plan extra adventures within the van, together with a visit to Crater Lake, the North Cascades, and a return to Olympic Nationwide Park for this summer season. We love the pliability and freedom that the van presents us as we discover. We love the flexibility to go to extra distant locations, to camp among the many rivers and bushes, and mountains, to be off-grid and in-tune.
Discover extra campgrounds within the space with our complete listing.
Begin your journey with an RV rental: