Cottonwood Campground

Great place to stay for free (with $35 annual discovery pass- can buy online!) while we explored Hoh Rainforest. We have been to this area a few times & just discovered this campground. Small (12 sites I think) & basic (1 vault toilet is extent of services) but beautiful rainforest setting with picnic tables & fire rings. Very quiet (road noise) but surprisingly full the nights we stayed here mid-week in mid-September.

Easy to access in our van with motorcycle on back (about 21 feet with fairly low clearance). Good AT&T reception with very clean sites!

This was down a long gravel road. Not too sure what we were doing but found a spot we could back our 32 foot RV in. There was a big family having a kids birthday party and they were having a great time. We walked to the river. Be careful not to drive too far back as it’s a bumpy road. No issues here. It didn’t get dark until after 10:00 at night. I woke up about 10:40 and it was pitch black outside. I had never seen a night so dark, was a little spooky.

Met a super nice couple that offered their place to stay in Bow, Wa if ever we get there. Spacious camp ground and pit toilets were clean. A tree fell on a car the morning after we arrived. There was a yellow bus parked back by the river and played music all night. We were approached by a female that wanted to use our cell phone and wanted water. Our dog was on high alert and growling so we decided it best to not have her approach. This campsite is not a short drive so the female should have had a car to get down to this area. We were already packing up to leave and were pretty glad of that. Left with no incident but she was odd. She gave no reason for needing the phone or the water. We didn't have cell service but didn't really want her to know this as we felt she had ill intentions. Long road to the campsite, not so nice of roads, gravel and dirt, no ranger ever came by. We wanted to stay at South Beach or Kalaloch but both were full and many others said the same thing as they pulled in.

This site will be hard to beat. More than enough room for a 23’ Airstream (or larger) if you don’t mind backing in. Fire pits at each site. Bathrooms were what you’d expect at a DNR site. No additional nightly fee, just the standard DNR pass which is 10/day or 30/year. The sign shows boat launch but you best have a lifted 4x4 to get there. Even if the sites are all full, there is a large parking lot and you can hike a quarter mile to the dry riverbed. This place is beautiful!

Another "free" camp with your Washington Discover Pass ($30 annual if you buy from an automated pay station, otherwise $35). About 10 sites total well spaced in a jaw-droppingly beautiful rainforest with huge mature trees draped with moss. You will have to travel a couple miles of gravel road with some hills and bends to get there after the pavement ends but we had no trouble even in the rain. Some sites are huge - site 8 is big enough for 2 full size RVs, other sites are normal size.

There is a boat launch at this campground. There were multiple vehicles coming in and out to access the boat launch. Our site was on the section of road that turns off from the road leading to the boat launch so the additional traffic didn't bother us at all. Cell service was adequate.

Pit toilets on site. No garbage, dump, or water. An easy 15 minute drive to the town of Forks of Twilight fame. Check out the Thriftway if you need groceries, clothes or outdoor supplies. From Forks, Rialto beach and La Push beach are within a 30 minute drive.

This is our second stay at one of these DNR campgrounds (the other was Sherry Creek in northeastern Washington). Compared to the campground zoos at Mora, Hoh, Kalaloch, and South Beach this place is AWESOME. We drove in here with our 13' 6" tall 5th wheel and earned some rainforest branch pin striping, but the effort was rewarded with a quiet and peaceful stay! There are a few other DNR campgrounds in the area as well. Site #2 at Cottonwood is at least 80 yds long, which is nice to get away from the dusty loop access road. Other campsites on the loop would also have fit us easily. The rainforest scene was beautiful and the short walk to the Hoh River was nice.

Wooded DNR campground serves as a good access point for fishing the lower Hoh River or as a base camp for your entry into Olympic National Park.

Sites along the Southern edge of the campground offer more privacy than those on the loop and better opportunities to get a few hours of solar. Takes about 5 minutes to walk out to the Hoh River where you will find a nice deep fishing hole where the river bends. Basic amenities include pit toilets, picnic tables and fire pits.

Our first intention was to stay at South Beach however on arrival we were amazed firstly at how many people there was, how long some of them looked to have been there, and finally the untidiness of the campsite in general. We quickly decided this wasn't for us and moved on.

While Kalaloch is a much nicer alternative to South Beach, again too many people for our liking, plus it was full anyhow.

Next stop was Cottonwood campground and we were pleasantly surprised as this served as an ideal base to visit the Hoh Rain Forest. Not a huge number of campsites (maybe 15 in total) with plenty of space between you and your neighbour.

We stayed near the access point to the river, there was a little drive by traffic however not a concern at all.

This is a DNR campground which we paid for online on arrival ($10/day or $30/annual).

We stayed in a 30ft 5th wheel.

Cottonwood is another DNR campground. The main road in is primarily asphalt with some gravel sections. The last mile is single lane gravel, all of which was recently graded. Most of the sites at this campground are widely dispersed. At least two of the sites have "No Turn-Around" signs at their driveways. These sites could be the best of the bunch if you don't mind backing into them. The site nearest the pit toilet is reserved for ADA until 6 p.m. each day, then available to anyone. When we drove through, two sites were occupied, one of which looked like it might have been there awhile although the sign says 7 days.

Like other DNR sites, a Discovery Pass is required ($10 per day / $30 per year) but it must be purchased in advance. Some of the heavily used DNR sites have a vending machine for the passes (both daily & annual) and many sports stores or sports departments in large stores will have them available.