Burke Lake West

Free camping at Burke Lake West is administered by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. No matter what camping configuration, free camping at Burke Lake West with the Discover Pass offers a variety of camping options. In this video, I provide a walking tour of the Burke Lake West free camping area. T-Mobile cellular service clocked in at 19.1 Mbps download speed and 0.79 Mbps upload speed. Verizon and AT&T cellular service were 1 bar LTE, but a speed test failed for both carriers due to poor connectivity.

We visited simply to explore a bit. We stayed the first night near Quincy Lake kind of in a turnabout. We arrived in the dark and our intended spot was taken so we waited for daylight. Best thing about this area is that everyone is spaced out and privacy is easily found.

We hiked Ancient Lake trail and would recommend starting from the trailhead. We tried a "shortcut" from the Quincy Lake area but vertical impediments convinced us otherwise. Very easy and beautiful hike as long as temperatures stay low.

We explored all the sites and found about 6-8 very nice places to stay. We spent most of the rest of the weekend near Burke lake.

There is a stunning small lake to swim towards the south end that almost appears to have an infinity pool that overlooks the canyon.

We arrived on a Friday in May and all the spots next to the lake were taken, however this one was on the North side and sat above the lake and we really liked it - Nice views and nice and quiet. Dispersed sites were spread apart nicely so nobody was right next to each other. Lots of trails here for exploring, but do be aware of rattlesnakes as we ran into one!

Discovery Pass required. The road in is like a very bumpy wash board. It needs grading, but the surface is solid and two lane width. We have a 40 foot motorhome and had no issues at all. We unhooked the toad for the gravel road in and used it to explore the large area for the best spot. Clean pit toilets are available in several spots. Great views of the water. Boat ramps are good for most boats up to 18' or less. We saw mostly aluminum boats, some on trailers. Spots are spaced out nicely so your not right next to each other. Nice. Some spots have enough room for two rigs. Spots are all dirt, no gravel at all. Bring a large outdoor rug if you have one to put your chairs on. Rock fire pits. Great place for fishing or hiking. Can be very windy at times. T-Mobile is spotty, we drove around, watching the phone bars for the best coverage and found a spot that had 4 bars, many other spots had 0-3. It seems the higher your spot elevation, the better.