Ike Kinswa State Park

My wife and I stayed for three days in our 21ft travel trailer and had a great time. While the cold of the last weekend in October was definitely evident, the changing colors of the trees and quiet surrounding of the lake led to a very peasant stay. It is also conveniently located along the White Pass Scenic Byway which is a must-drive at the beginning of fall.

We postponed a day due to a winter storm. Arrived the next day to find the campground completely cleaned up by park staff, including the volunteer hosts. Bathrooms were very new/clean in the "B" loop. Great walking paths, nice grassy areas by the lake in several spots. We had 30/50 amp power in space B49. Restrooms/showers were a three minute walk. There are lake front spots in the other loop which appeared to be excellent. If you have car we recommend you go east to Packwood, north on BEAUTIFUL Highway 52 (closed in winter, and many pot holes) to the Copper Creek Inn in Ashford for a great lunch and blackberry pie ala mode! Big Rock is on Highway 52 if you are a hiker. Quick way back is through Elbe, then south on Highway 7. There are several private campgrounds off Highway 12 that looked decent. Our AT&T hotspot had excellent service at Ike Kinswa State Park, T-Mobile phones two bars.

This is our third time at this location. First time was in Feb, which was surprisingly busy. Second time in early May - sold out campground and lots of groups and loud late night parties, complete with amplifiers for the already loud music. Third time was over the 4th of July holiday. Total madhouse. Loud music, hostile/drunk campers, off leash aggressive dogs. We escaped the madness in our little raft which made for a good time. Tons of speedboats on the water as well. I'd come again, but never over a holiday!

We like this campground a lot and recommend you come for a visit! It's on a spit of land that sticks out into the lake. Lots of trees, spacious sites. Some pull-thru, some back-in. There are even a few cabins and primitive walk-in sites, so pretty much something for everyone.

Like all WA state parks it's hard to get in here on the weekends during the "camping season" so be sure to reserve in advance if you plan to do that. Also, like all WA state parks, the campsites are overpriced.

Site 64 is one of the "electric / water" sites without a sewer hookup. That's fine though, because there's a dump station on the way out. We found this to be a particularly easy site to back into, so if you're normally concerned about backing into a spot but can't find any pull-thru spots, give this one a try. As an added bonus, site 64 is nice and level. Picnic table & fire pit are behind the campsite instead of next to the RV, but there's plenty of room to set up a gazebo over the table if you choose. There are mosquitoes here, so a screened one would be a good idea if you have it.

With a basic Wilson cradle booster we were able to get 3 bars (iPhone signal strength: -107) of Verizon LTE . For what we needed while here, that was good enough. However, Verizon's official coverage map overstates the strength of their LTE signal at this park.

It was in search of the elusive cell phone service that lead us to Ike's reservoir.

I've recently developed an aversion to dams and the bodies of water they create, but I had need of exchanging my web designery for units of monetary measure, and after searching Scenic White Pass Byway from Yakima to Alder Lake, we were coming up short and shorter.

Thus, we landed here.

Forested spots. Speedy Verizon and AT&T. It rained and it shined. Things were, otherwise and withstanding, quite pleasant.

The high point was this morning, as we prepared to leave, the Lady, our 13 year old, and myself took hold of a mighty rope tied to a redcedar, perched above the reservoir. The water was deep. The rope sturdy. We each, in turn, took hold and...with our own individual brands of tarzania...flung ourselves into the air, swinging, the rope reaching the climax of our swing, we spun, flailing arms, some of them holding their noses as we plunged into the deep blue cold of the morning water.

Find spot 85 in the no hookups loop and follow the path into the woods. You won't be disappointed, though you will be wet.

Nightly rate reflects $5 out-of-stater fee + reservation fee.

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