Big Creek Campground

Big Creek is a gem! The campground wasn't crowded during the week, but filled up on the weekend in July. Sites are well-spaced. A few are large enough for trailers or multiple vehicles, and most are level or slightly sloped. The sites designated for tent-only have small and some non-level parking. The vault toilets were clean and well-lit. Potable water available throughout the campground, no hookups. No cell service (T-Mobile). Excellent loop hiking trails around the campground and up Big Creek (1000-ft elevation gain), with access to Mt. Ellinor summit trail. Close to Lake Cushman NFS recreation area and Staircase entrance to Olympic National Park. Campground Host patrolled several times a day.

Loads of great things to say about this first come first serve place!
-sites aren’t too difficult to back into (wouldn’t go much over 25-28’ though)
-nice little trail around the campground and along the stream
-sites are plenty long for extra room for kids to play
-fairly priced
-quiet at night

Cons:
-no showers if you need them
-no water for filling up a tank. Found this out the hard way, there’s plenty of spigots but you can’t hook up a hose
-windy road leading out, but is paved

This first come first served campground was one of the best we’ve stayed in. It was by far the quietest camping we’ve had that wasn’t dispersed camping.

We stayed for 2 nights towards the end of September. I believe it’s scheduled to close 9/25. It is dry camping at it’s best! It helped that we were one of very few campers there, but the sites were large and very well spaced. I would imagine even if crowded, you’d still have a fair amount of privacy.

There are several hiking opportunities right from the campground which was a huge plus for our dogs.

The only negative would be the distance to the bathrooms if you aren’t self-contained.

We paid $10 a night with our senior access pass.

First come first serve. $20, unless you have the golden or access pass, then $10. Clean vault toilets. Plenty of high pressure water spigots. Level gravel sites. At this time only 1 loop
was open, not sure why. Doesn't seem great for big rigs. Perfect for our 15 foot teardrop. Self pay fee kiosk at entrance. If you stay be sure to drive back down the road to the overlook of lake Cushman, stunning view!! Great starting spot to explore Olympic. Loved how big, shady, quiet and shady our site was. We had nice clean fire ring and a good picnic table too.

Big Creek is about halfway between Hoodsport and Staircase, so you have easy access to both whether by vehicle or bicycle. It's a first come, first serve campground, and our hosts were friendly and sociable. There are "potable" water spigots at various points around the campground, and the vault toilets were made super clean each morning. Within the immediate campground there were the usual birds, butterflies, squirrels, and no mosquitos to speak of. You'll find a few well maintained trails around the campground that range from easy to moderate. Upper Big Creek Loop Trail has what is considered a moderate incline and descent (if you are in shape), with stunning scenery that includes bridges and waterfalls (think Sherwood Forest or the Forest Moon of Endor). We scouted out the other campsites for personal camping and group camping, and there's lots to choose from. You'll need to bring your own firewood. Nearby Lake Cushman is easy to access and is beautiful. Next time we'll visit Staircase when we have our bikes, but we have no plans to ever stay there. The sites are extremely close together and the day traffic and number of visitors is horrible. Big Creek is Awesome!

The road leading to it is a little tight without barriers so take your time getting up there and going back down. The Campground only accepts CASH or CHECK like most Campgrounds but there is an ATM 5 miles down the road if you need cash like we did. The Camp Host allowed us to drop the trailer in an open spot and pay him later, very relaxed and nice guy. Area was very clean and well kept and had nice trails around the campsite along with a beautiful creek. Dogs are allowed as long as you pick up after them which is a plus since we have 4! Campfires are allowed. Unfortunately no hookups so plan on dry camping. I can’t stress enough how peaceful and quiet this campsite was especially being deep into the forest, can’t wait to go back! (No ATT cell service at all)