Discover one of the 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 USA, 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 affords 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 the reason 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 prior to now, we’ve got 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 got 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 measurement 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, web site choices, and backup plans. We included a couple of nights with no concept the place we’d keep to flex our expertise for last-minute looking and strategizing, one thing we are able to 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 manner round to the Quinault Rainforest within the southwest nook of the large peninsula.
Journey Itinerary: Spots & Actions
Night time One
We stayed on the Tumwater Pilot/Flying J. We have now heard about tenting at truck stops prior to now and thought we’d give it a attempt. The blaring lights and truck noise weren’t best, however the quick scorching and recent espresso on the retailer inside helped us rise up and out shortly to make our manner north after our first evening within the van.
Night time Two & Three
Right here is the place we let go and allowed ourselves to see the place we ended up. We knew it might 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 yr and provide facilities if wanted. We noticed a couple of choices on HipCamp.com and likewise scouted for websites on FreeCampsites.Web, however nothing felt like the proper 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 evening, so we went to scout out the realm the place the ferry terminal was. We had been pleasantly stunned to see different vans, buses, and small campers parked in lots 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 beloved it!
Port Townsend has a number of of those tons, small aspect streets, and lots 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 obtained savvy in studying methods to maneuver Recreation.Gov to e book Nationwide Park Campsites. You possibly can view on their web site accessible websites, but in addition 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 scorching 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 web site, probably one which was reserved however had a cancellation. We scooped up web site 23 in loop C, which was near the bathhouse, had a flat parking pad, and a personal space for us to take a seat on the picnic desk and hand around in. A bonus right here is that when you do pay the $18/individual for a session on the scorching springs close by, you get entry to the showers and loo on the Sol Duc Resort as effectively.
Nights Six & Seven
The following campsite we booked forward of time on Recreation.Gov. Mora Campground has been our high campground vacation spot since we first visited Olympic Nationwide Park a few decade in the past. We love the entry it has to Rialto Seaside, our favourite cease on the peninsula, and the websites are roomy and personal.
Mora Campground has flush bathrooms and a few mobile phone reception on Verizon service. We obtained fortunate with campsite 55 in loop C, and it was nothing in need of excellent. A flat pull-through web site with timber and bushes encircling it, creating a hoop of privateness. Partially shaded and a brief stroll to the just lately renovated bathhouse make this one of the best spot we stayed in throughout this journey. We took the five-minute drive to Rialto Seaside a number of instances to observe the sundown, stroll alongside the tide line, and hunt for agates amidst the rocky shore.
Night time Eight
Our final evening was spent at Kalaloch Campground, which was completely positioned instantly on the coast. Kalaloch Seaside is sandier, affords guests an ideal strolling seashore, the Tree of Life, a lodge with restaurant and reward store, in addition to many paths main instantly from campsites, over the dried driftwood, and down onto the shore.
We grabbed web site 6 in loop C forward of time on Recreation.Gov. We had a personal 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 proper climate whereas at Kalaloch for our final evening. Though there was no cell service for us right here, we discovered ourselves down on the seashore time and again with solely a five-minute stroll from our van door to the driftwood logs. Really 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 flexibleness and freedom that the van affords us as we discover. We love the flexibility to go to extra distant locations, to camp among the many rivers and timber, and mountains, to be off-grid and in-tune.
Discover extra campgrounds within the space with our complete checklist.
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