Itinerary 2nd Annual Nw Camp-inn Round Up

I think Salt would be interesting, I had never heard about it until Frank mentioned. As for who might show up, I have been figuring 10 cars, 10 trailers and 20 people. This is similar to last year. The following is a list of everyone who has expressed an interest in this year's NW gathering:

KathyBob WA
fPoole WA
Jenn TBD
Evan & family WA
Mick'nSarah OR
JSL CA
Slumry WA
Bear TBD
RVEGG WA

Lower Creek falls btw, does not take reservations but does look like a nice campground.

It has been a long time since I have booked a camp site and it is pretty amazing how many resources there are now. If you ask me there are too many and none of them tell a complete story about what is available.

 

You can add me to the list.

 

We're planning on it. Won't arrive until that Saturday but happy to pay for our spot for the whole weekend.

Kathy

 

Slumry, I appreciate all your hard work so far.

A few comments:
Whatever site we book, we will need a volunteer to go by and scope it out. Last year I had a large group site reserved, but it would have been horrible. They did give us a refund though, so it wasn't a problem.

Big Cedars was actually a day use area of a county park - not even a group camp. As someone said, talking to a human can get you in places that wouldn't be possible otherwise. It is certainly an option for this year, but has no shelter for the rain. (We could rig something with big tarps...) - Perhaps, our fallback plan. There could also be other county parks with a nice day use area that could make an exception for us.

I checked out the Beacon Rock group site last year as well. You could fit about 1000 people in there if you wanted. It had a very large picnic shelter, and even a run-down building for watching videos in at night, but pretty bad non-flush toilets. I thought we could do better, and so didn't pursue booking it in advance. I'm sure it is long gone by now (registration opens 9 months prior).

 

Hi all!

As Frank said nice things about Salt Creek, I have called and left a message to see what they might be able to do for us. Will let you know what I find out.

One thing I saw about Mossyrock, was that the group sites do have a covered area with tables, so that might not be a bad thing if we are expecting rain.

 

Salt Creek is nice,but a little hard to get to. One area is open grass levels (see gallery) and the other end is out on the wooded point. Pretty and at low tide can walk out on the reef.. but long to get to and they don't make it easy for "Outsiders" to camp there with RSVP etc. They're nice and all, but just a little more effort to book I suppose.

My vote would be for Mossyrock, more centrally located and the main selfish reason.. heheh.. I haven't been there...
So many campgrounds,
So little time... sigh..

Just tell me when and where..

HTH..

 

Hmmmm.. Need someone to scout Mossy... I might try it.. Let me look at the schedule as I'm trying to book this years outing, back in a bit.. Never heard of it (Like that's a surprise hehehh) so interested in checking it out, thanks..

Will let you know in a bit..

 

Um???
Which one or where is it and who runs it.
I found 2??

Mossyrock Park 202 Ajlune Rd, Mossyrock, WA 98564
I saw this on the google map referenced above, but who runs it??
Not state?

Campgrounds:
Ike Kinswa State Park
4mi North Of Mossyrock
Mossyrock WA , 888-226-7688

New group sites at Alder Lake Park
We've added 15 new group campsites (sites 131-145) at Alder Lake Park adjacent to the existing group camp. Each five-site area has its own kitchen shelter.

Or are they all the same place:
Map on lake site

 

Ok, so I'm booking Mar 17th to MossyRock Park, not sure which one,but the one on the lake.

Will check it out and, of course, bring back photos.. I anyone else is game, I'll probably leave Friday after work or Early Sat morning, Me thinks the morning best due to traffic and available light etc..
so March 17th/18th... back on Sunday.. Stay tuned..

I'm guessing the Tacoma Power site is the one being talked about.

 

Frank, the site I found is this one:

MossyRock

You are correct, it is Tacoma Power.

It is still available for Memorial Day.

I may be able to check it out next Sunday. The deal is that you have to book in person or with a form. I can book it now and we can check it out.

The location is nice, the late is nice, it is a fairly large site and it is unclear what facilities there are. There is water, bathrooms but no electric. No sure about a shelter, but it will be shaded.

The other problem is what to do in the area if you don’t have a boat?

 

I'm scheduling it for Mar 17th , so I'll be going then... also to check out the other Ike State Park.

I'm just going down to check it out, but typically, go there to watch the waves roll in. heheh... or count the length of time the ducks can stay under water... Powell River ducks can do 21 seconds..

Im not trying to book anything, I'll leave that to the coordinators Evan et. Al. I'm just going to get photos etc. to help the cause..
A-hem, and to see it of course..

 

Frank, thanks for taking one for the team here!

Hey,I found ths website to offer up more info (through my All Stays):
http://www.mytpu.org/tacomapower/parks-rec/mossyrock-park.htm

Looks like primitive group sites are going for $180 a night, which would make it right on par with last year.

Depending on the sites we reserve, determines the amenities. Here are a quick few from the website:

Mossyrock Park
If you’ve got a gaggle of friends and family who need at least five campsites, plan ahead for Mossyrock Park’s two group camp areas.

Main group camp
You must reserve at least five sites
Kitchen shelter includes fireplace/barbecue grills, sinks and electrical outlets
You may reserve the kitchen shelter, if available, for one meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) per day (only for the main group camp)
Horseshoe pits, a volleyball area and restroom with showers
Community water stations, fire rings and picnic tables

Primitive group camp
The primitive group camp offers a back-to-the-basics experience for campers.
You must reserve all 10 sites
Picnic tables and fire rings in each site
Water available
Vault toilet, no showers

There is also Mayfield Lake Park, just up Hwy 12 (to the west) from Mossyrock. Frank, would you minding stopping in for a quick look-see and compare the places? Here is more info there.

Mayfield Lake Park
Mayfield Lake Park’s primitive group is separated from the other camping areas, which gives group campers a sense of privacy.
You must reserve all 12 sites
No hookups
Kitchen shelter in group camp area is free of charge
Restrooms with showers

Also, they suggest calling ahead of time as most weekends are booked for the summer (they say Memorial Day through 15 Oct), so we should probably do that. Any volunteers, or should I? Number is (888) CAMPOUT/(888-226-7688).

As for activities, sounds like there is hiking and fishing. How far do you think it is to St Helen's and her visitor center? Was thinking about trekking up there.

Thanks so much!

 

Sarah,
Yep, can do, so it'll be 3 sites to check out.
Note, however, it's not until Mar 17th so might be a problem with RSVPs... dunno... probably not, but???

Film at 11... as they say..

 

Hi all,
Camped at Mossyrock in March of 2010. The most amazing campground site. The flowering trees were in full bloom and it looked like snow, so many petals everywhere. No one else at the campground, the facilities were perfect. The lake was drained and we hiked thru tree stumps that made the ground look like a "Sci-fi" movie set. Would highly recommend the site.

Peggy Baker RVEGG

 

Hi All,

I forgot to mention, Norm, I and the RVEGG would like to join in the fun too. Please keep us in the loop.
Also if anyone is in our area, the Olympic Peninsula, please give us a call and stop by for a visit.

Thanks,

 

So on a beautiful day like today, instead of Super Bowling, I took a little drive in the country with the intent of inspecting what Tacoma Power has to offer. I only checked out those areas designated as “group” areas. At this time I don’t know what is available and what isn’t. I know that last time I checked the Mossyrock primitive group camp was available.

All four of Tacoma Power’s camp grounds are located on lakes formed by dams. They all have swimming beaches; however, the main action seems to be boats. Except for Adler Lake and Mossyrock’s primitive site, Tacoma’s idea of a group camp was to put in a large parking lot with small gravel. Around the edge of the parking lot are located sites for RV’s, some with utilities. On the perimeter of the lot are fairly comfortable grassy areas for tents and tables.

Alder Lake Park

This is a new park and the facilities are gorgeous. I believe each site comes with a maid and butler. The deal with the group site is that they are individual sites that must be reserved in blocks of five. They are also expensive. They look like they are all pull through and do not lend themselves to clustering. Each site has all utilities and nice looking bathrooms; I am thinking there must be showers. Since all bathrooms were locked at all campgrounds I visited, I could not verify exactly what was available. There are shelters but it is unclear how available they are.

Taidnapam Park

This one had a group camp area that consisted of two group sites. There is one for RV’s that has hook ups and one for tents. Both have bathrooms that I think are flush, maybe showers. The RV site has a shelter. The tent site does not allow alcohol. The group sites are away from the main campground and beach but have some interesting looking trails nearby. The campground is away from the main highway.

Mossyrock Park

If I had not actually visited the site I would not have had a clue about how things were actually like. It is indeed a very nice campground. There is a cluster of group campgrounds with the main campground. There are actually three as far as I can tell, two no utilities camp grounds and one campground with utilities. They are all next to each other and share one bathroom. I assume it has flush toilets and showers. There is a shelter/Kitchen, it is a wonderfully looking kitchen and good for feeding a large group of boy scouts, however, I think it reserved separately.

The interesting site and the one available is the primitive site. It is off by itself out at the end of a short road. It is primitive in that the toilets are not flush and there are no showers, albeit, you can use the regular facilities but they are a short hike to get to. There are some trails that take off from this point. There is no shelter. If it is supposed to be a tent only campground I would find it hard to believe since it would be difficult to pitch a tent in the middle of so many pocket gopher holes. The site is grassy with some gravel patches. It is a bit bumpy as well. Trailers would have to be artfully placed on the site. They claim the site is good for 80, either I read that wrong or they expect that the camp would be used by elves. It would fit us just fine expect no power and no flush toilets. It says it is in full shade but it is more like partial shade with some open sun.

I just looked at Sarah’s comments and it does clarify how the kitchen works. The non-primitive group sites seem to be confusing. A call would probably clear this up.

Mayfield Lake Park

The Mayfield group camp is a really nice site. It is high off the lake but is at the end of the road and private. I believe it has a flush toilet and two shelters. It has a gravel lot for trailers and grassy areas to hang out in. No electric, but it does have water. A lot of the park’s utilities are placed out near the site such as a dump stations, transfer station and water tower. I don’t think this would be a problem.

I have photos and will post when I get time.

I did notice that all the campgrounds sit in between St Helens and Mount Rainer and they would be close enough for field trips.

A call would verify what is available; the deciding question may come down to what are the minimum facilities everyone can live with? If you have questions or comments, let me know.

Stephen

 

Last year we had flushing toilets and super cold water sinks for washing hands. I think we all brought in our own water. There were no hook ups, which I think most of us were perfectly fine with. We are good that way...I will let others speak for themselves.

 

Welcome Sarah and Frank to the Event Committee. Evan is busy and has delegated the heavy responsibility for organizing the event. I told him I would do what I can to move this along. If we can find a venue, I will be more than happy to put my credit card on the line. Since you two have been so helpful, I have added you to the committee. I think one of the Tacoma Power sites would work and would not disqualify any of them at this time. This is everybody’s opportunity to opt out of any of the more primitive or expensive options. I really need to get some pictures up. Pictures tell a better story then my inadequate writing does.

 

I am open to either scenario. Thanks for doing the ground work.

 

We'll go with the flow! And, since we're not taking on any of the heavy lifting of settling on a site, AND since we won't be there until Saturday, we'll bring dessert for Saturday's evening.

Kathy