Colonial Creek Campground

We stayed here during a two-week "airplane camping" trip. That means we are Westerners currently living in the East, so at least once a year we pack four huge duffle bags of gear, fly west, make a big Walmart run, and head to the hills (or desert, or whatever). Frequently our trips surround Labor Day and we have to stay put over the long weekend to make sure we have a place to stay. Because of that, we stayed quite a while at Colonial Creek, and saw it nearly empty when we got there to totally full over the weekend.

As reviewed before, there are two loops on either side of the highway, and take note that although there are signs and plenty of warning for drivers, there is NO crosswalk on the road and cars do come barreling down the hill from the west side.

When we stayed, Labor Day 2018, the south loop was completely reservable and had the nicer campsites (both drive-up and walk-in); the north loop was entirely first-come, first-served and had completely acceptable campsites. We stayed in the north loop #33.

NPS and the forest service is starting to play around with keeping some of these CGs open slightly later in the season (thanks, I guess, to global warming), so this loop was scheduled to close the Tuesday after Labor day, with the south loop switching to first-come at that time and staying open a week or so longer.

The north sites are big enough: what we've come to expect from an NPS CG, rather than the FS CGs that can be a bit... intimate. The CG in general wasn't the nicest NPS one we've stayed in by far, but the toilets flushed, there was running water and the lights in the bathrooms worked. Water was available at enough sites through the CG. The host was there, but functionally non-existent, which was a problem: there was a complete campfire ban in place and the site two down from us kept starting campfires. In truth, the local conditions weren't dangerous for fires and they had a lot of kids with them and I know kids love the campfire, so we didn't say anything to them directly, but it kind of burned me up (so to speak) that everyone else in both loops was obeying the ban but no one official was patrolling (EVER) to say anything to them.

Lake Diablo is lovely and there are plenty of hikes within driving distance to keep you busy. Because some of the hikes were SO nutso crowded because of Labor Day (or frighteningly, maybe all weekends here are like that), we were ready to head out by day 5. If we'd had a boat to play in the lake (which was already quite cold) we might have felt differently.

As stated before, no Verizon cell service at all: you have to go to Newhalem for that. The store at Newhalem feels like a "company" store for the power plant workers, and has less available than most supply stores in camping areas, but you'll be able to get basic essentials.

We stayed one night at Colonial Creek Campground while on our way through the North Cascades to Bellingham. The campground is located at the base of a hill on the shore of Diablo Lake. It's moderately hilly and densely wooded throughout the campground. Even with the campground almost full, we found our site to be quiet and somewhat private. There are very few if any waterfront sites, but there's a boat launch for small boats. And there are abundant hiking trails throughout the area. We did a 5 mile hike from the campground to Thunder Knob. A lookout point on top overlooks Diablo Lake.

The sites are usually small and aren't all perfectly level. Larger RV's will be challenged to find a good spot. It worked great for our 16 foot trailer. The campground is first come, first served. So it could be iffy if you arrive on a busy weekend. No hook-ups. No cell service (like anywhere in the North Cascades Park).

This campground is more popular than Goodall Creek and Newhalem to the west. Typical national park setup, but sites are on hilly ground, and many are very unlevel or too small for larger RVs. Some of the roads are a bit tight — OK for my 27' Airstream, but big rigs will make it but be challenged. There are plenty that will work, but your options will be limited if you arrive on a weekend in summer.

The campground is split by the highway. Both campgrounds are adjacent to the lake, but boat launch access is on the north side of the highway, and there are a few sites on the north side that are on the lake and would take an RV. Most of the lakeside sites are accessible to tent campers only, though.

I stayed on the south side, where there is still direct lake access, but it's rougher. You could get tubes or kayaks launched on this side, but I still chose to take my kayak across the highway. There are a few sites by the lake on this side, but the view is very filtered by trees. There are several sites right next to Goodall Creek. I chose one of these and was accompanied by the sound of rushing water all night. I think there might be some highway noise at sites close to the highway, but the river sites completely drown that out.

Absolutely no cell service. Dry camping. Though there's a bit more sky showing through the trees in this campground compared to Goodall Creek, still not a place to rely on getting a whole lot out of solar.