Johnny Creek Campground

Most reviewers seem to like Lower Johnny better because it is right on the creek, but we found it felt congested and only a couple of sites are actually on the river. Upper Johnny stayed nearly half empty all weekend long in late June and the sites feel more private. However, big rig owners beware: there are only a few sites that would fit our trailer 34' and truck. If you can't fit both, there is really nowhere to park your truck. And, if you have a mobility issue, because Upper Johnny is built on the side of a hill, most sites have stairs either up or down from the parking area to the table and fire rings or tent sites. Our site and 29 seemed like the only ones we could fit in that didn't require walking up or down some stairs. And they seemed the most level. Keeping those caveats in mind, this is a lovely dry camping spot and having access to Leavenworth is great. This is a heavily used area with lots of outdoorsy people tenting, backpacking, rock climbing, kayaking, etc. We had no cell or internet service.

No Cell Service at all - besides that, everything else is great. Fantastic location 15-20 min from Leavenworth, and right up the road to trailhead for Lake Colchuck and Enchantments. There are two campgrounds - upper and lower. Lower is AMAZING, perched right on top of the bustling creek. Lower is always full, will need to show up in the middle of week to have a chance. Upper has much more spots and availability, but it will fill up on the weekends. We showed up to upper at 3pm on a Friday and it was prob 20% full. However by the end of night it was full. Clean lit toilets, water available.

Johnny Creek Campground is divided into two sections – Lower Johnny Creek which has 15 sites situated along Icicle Creek and the larger Upper Johnny Creek with 49 sites located across the road. The entire campground is first come/first served. Lower Johnny Creek is $22/night, while Upper is $18/night. Both loops have several “double” spaces that also double the price. There are no hookups or dump station, but potable water is available in both areas. (Check the water though, they’d just dewinterized the Lower Johnny Creek water supply and it was so icky and full of sediment I wouldn’t give it to the dog and he drinks out of some pretty nasty puddles. Lol.)

We stayed in Lower Johnny Creek and if you can snag a spot there, it is by far the nicer of the two areas. The spaces are huge with plenty of vegetation between. There are several places with creek access and a plus during our visit in mid-July – ripe huckleberries everywhere!
If you are in a larger rig you might want to pull over at the pay station in Lower Johnny Creek and scout the road. Each arm has a fairly tight loop at the end and there are some low hanging branches which may make life interesting in a long, tall rig. We walked it and decided it would be doable in our 33’ Class A, but we’d unhook first. Upper Johnny Creek has a larger selection of sites that would fit a big rig, but be prepared to cough up the bucks for one of the double sites.

There is plenty of hiking in the area and the touristy town of Leavenworth is worth a daytrip. We loved the Icicle Gorge River Loop trail – a little under 4 ½ miles, gorgeous scenery and dog-friendly.

Absolutely no Verizon signal. In fact, we lost connectivity several miles before reaching the campground.

Although I have only stayed in Upper Johnny, I did scout everything Forest Service in the area. All camps are run by concession folk and all are dry with only water available. The camp hosts were very nice, but all business when it comes to fees such as extra cars and the like. Helpful hint, at both Upper and Lower Johnny you can park extra cars up on the road and save $12 a night. Lower is of course the most desirable spot because it's on the river itself. All the sites along the road are very, very busy in the summer and fill up - and stay full. People come early and stay long. Also there is plenty of "illegal" reserving of sites going on, although the rule is you have to occupy the night of and not be gone for more than 24 hours. Regardless, I think we all know how that game is played. 8 mile is the first site and it does take reservations, I have never seen it not full. Next is Upper/Lower and Upper is the last to fill up, but it fills on Friday for sure. Next is Ida Creek (always full) then Chatter Creek which is closed. I scouted and while it's gated shut, there were some campers in there that hiked in. I honestly could not see why it was closed, yeah there were big trees down but I suspect the concession folks didn't feel like opening it this year. Past Ida is Rock Island and the road gets bad, I would not take my big trailer down there. I was amazed at the amount of traffic and people down that far and will not return. There is also a popular horse camp down there, and lots of dispersed campers. Again, it's a very popular and simply stunning area...and overrun with people. For a relaxing and more standard RV or Tent experience, Upper Johnny suited us just fine, the sites are marvelous the way the brush has been allowed to create privacy. In the top loop, there is a secretive tent site that is walk in only and surprise, a story book little stream that runs down the hillside. I forget the number, but it's right as the road turns left and would make for a nice experience. Only double sites for $38 that are basically a small group site for up to 12 people. The upper loop is good for the longer trailers and also that means no one behind you....except maybe that black bear we saw....

Johnny Creek Campground, Chelan County, Washington. So there you are: a week's vacation coming up. You want to go camping, but your wife wants to go to Leavenworth to buy you matching lederhosen and some nutcrackers. What do you do? (hint: suicide is not an option). I have it! Go camping at Johnny Creek! It's about 12 miles up Icicle Creek Road from Leavenworth, in the shadow of Mt Cashmere, beautiful Icicle Creek and babbling, tumbling little Johnny Creek, and great, terraced sites. And at the end of the day. lederhosen can be used to keep your food suspended away from the bears (don't hang it too high, or they can't tear into it), and nutcrackers make excellent firewood. For more info, click on http://campeverycountywa.com/chelan-county.html

Every day we'd visit the river, just behind our campsite and down a not-too-treacherous cliff. And every day an osprey would come fishing that river before us.

The absolute lack of cell service was refreshing. We spent our days analyzing the myriad of trees—a combination of the Cascade's western lush and the more typical desert inhabitants—there were more types of trees and undergrowth here than in any forest I can recall studying.

Note that between upper and lower Johnny Creek (as the two neighboring campgrounds are divided), lower is the one with the river spots and better in my opinion.

Leavenworth (and cell service) is 15 minutes away, with all of the amenities like Safeway, restaurants and gas.

I would stay here for the rest of my life if they'd let me.