Fishtrap Recreation Area

We are in a camper van and parked by what looks like a farmhouse. No one else was there. It was a gravel lot. No facilities. There was a train in the distance but it wasn’t loud or disturbing. Wake up to birds chirping on the power lines. There are snakes in the area (but we only saw a dead one). There are porcupines in the area (but we only saw a dead one :) I wish we had more time to explore other places to camp but we had to get on the road again.

A solid stop for a quick stay. Appreciate that BLM maintains this land in an area where there aren’t a lot of good spots and almost none for Boondocking.

Can’t comment on what there is to do like hiking or fishing as we just stayed briefly when we needed a place for one night near Spokane. Very clean toilet and very level ground. A bit of a boring spot but well kept and reliable. Road in is very rough.

I'd stay again if I had to. There's really nowhere else around to choose from that I see that has cell service.

Ok, the road in is D-U-S-T-Y. So is the place itself. I mean, it wasn't necessarily blowing all around, but the dogs' feet got pretty yuk.

I did not park at 'the parking lot' area with the trailhead to the lake.

Instead, I passed that spot and hit a small spot on the right. I took a screenshot of where so look through the photos if you want to know exactly where. ('parking lot' area at top of photo, I parked where the "M/Marshall" is at the bottom)

Cellular- good Verizon, a little iffy with ATT.

There were lots of these velcro type seeds that I kept finding in my dog's hair. (And under my thighs at the moment where they left her and jumped into my booth blankets)

Not much of a view in that spot. It was also very unlevel. Space that is level in this spot is VERY limited.

Lots of trash, too.

If you have an RV that you are afraid to get a few little scratches on it, well, you may be out of luck on the way in. There are some bushes that you may not be able to squeeze in between without the little limbs touching your vehicle.

Would it do damage? Probably not. But if you're paranoid, be warned. I took photos of this as well.

There's the parking lot area others have stayed at (not keen on that as it invites others to park right next to you, and you're basically right on the road, so dust and cars passing right by. Though it's not a highly trafficked road).

Then there's where I parked and there are a couple of other places in between my spot and the parking lot. Far as I saw, that's about it.

There's one more spot past where I stayed, but cell service is probably not as good and you have zero views. The road eventually has a gate across it, so consider it a dead-end.

I'd stay there again if I needed to. But it's not on the top of my list of great places to stay. It simply served the purpose- It puts you about 40 min from Spokane.

TIP- Be careful crossing the train track. There are NO warning lights and there certainly isn't a bar stopping you from crossing. Pretty basic, look both ways!

So, it's ok for a parking lot if you stay in that spot. If you stay in any of the other spots, bring some serious leveling blocks. You might need them.

I have a good sleeping pad, so I did alright, but there are no great spots for a tent. It’s all gravel, so 1) if your pad is thin, you’ll be feeling all the rocks and 2) it was a hassle to pitch my tent with stakes and ended up piling large piles of gravel on top of the stakes and praying. On a windy or stormy night, I wouldn’t recommend a tent stay at this spot.

It is beautiful and there is a pit toilet, so good rating overall. Simply from the tent perspective, it was a bit rough.

We're traveling in a 45' Class A with a toad for a total of 67'. This site is very large with a very clean pit toilet. The parking lot is covered with a nice base of crushed volcanic rock. We had no trouble driving on it, but the small dogs we travel with really didn't like it. We arrived on a hot day (95 degrees) and ran the A/C until the sun went down. We're originally from Michigan so we know about mosquitoes, but we opened the door for a few minutes and let in mosquitoes that will give you a pretty little welt after they bite. So, we plugged in a pre-recorded movie and passed the time easily. The noise level here is very good. There are train tracks nearby, but the noise level is not disruptive. As someone else said, a man arrived in a SUV at dusk with a telescope. The view of the sky and stars at night is magnificent.

We followed the GPS to "Fishtrap Recreation Area - Miller Ranch Parking" but we turned right when we were facing the ranch house instead of left (which was blocked by an overgrown tree.) This road has a few cattle gates, but is very passable in a big rig.