Jim Edgar Panther Creek WA

At 16,500 acres, this is a huge park and relatively new since 1990s. It had been owned by power company with plans for a coal-fired plant. Coal mines close by.
All sites are electric, $5 more for FHU. Most site have no shade. Being a relatively new campground, trees have not matured enough to provide shade from Midwest unrelenting sun. Only one shower house with push button water and no temperature control. There are other drop-toilet outhouse scattered throughout camp. No laundry. One boat ramp from camp better suited for carried canoes and kayaks. There are several typical boat ramps around the park. Only sites 56, 57, and 59 have view of reservoir. The 17 mile trail around the lake is boring, mostly just a mowed grass path. Lots of poison ivy in forested areas. Also poison ivy on edges of camp sites.

The campground is nice and well maintained and sites are fairly well spaced with lots of grass and open areas. We were in site 26, one of the FHU sites, for 10 days. Most of the sites were deceptively unlevel though. Our front wheels were about 4” off of the ground on our 36’ Class A, even though the reservation system lists the grade as “None”. Our site also had a fairly large but shallow depression on the passenger side of the pad that filled with water and got muddy when it rained, which it did the entire week. The water did tend to drain quickly, but the mud persisted for a little while. AT&T coverage was “inconsistent”, generally with 1-2 Bars and speeds between 0.15 to 0.75 MB/s, but usually around or less than 0.4 MB/s. Although the campground is supposed to have WiFi for purchase through a 3rd party, I was unable to get a stable connection to it. There is no cable, but we did have DISH satellite coverage at our site, as would most of the sites, as there are only fairly small trees in the campground itself, and I didn’t test OTA DTV channels.

The sewer opening was quite a bit larger than any of our adapter rings, and although we had dumped our gray tank several times during our stay, on the last two days, the sewer drain did backup and spill out a little, so be aware and watch closely. It also happened to one of our neighbors as well the same day. The park staff, who were very friendly and helpful, are aware of the issue and are trying to look into it.

There are several trails around the campground area, but it was cold and rainy the entire week we were there, and so unfortunately didn’t get to hike any, but would have liked to. This park is really off of the beaten path, so be sure to stock up groceries, propane, etc. before arriving.