Margaret McKenny Campground
Capitol State Forest
Write a Review Waddell Creek Rd. SW Olympia, WA 98512 360-825-1631 Official WebsiteGPS: 46.9271, -123.0616
Overview of Margaret McKenny Campground
Washington State Discover Pass required passes available online
Accessibility is not guaranteed, always scout ahead before driving down dirt roads. Learn more: Boondocking 101
Last Price Paid: $0
Reported by roadtrippers-bcornish1 on 7/30/2025
Longest RV Reported: 35 feet
Reported by Road it up on 9/9/2017
Pad Type gravel
Open Seasonally May 1 - October 31
Elevation 295 ft / 89 m
Max Stay 7
Tent Camping Yes
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Q&A - Ask the Community about Margaret McKenny Campground
To ask questions of the owner or manager please contact the campground directly. 360-825-1631
camper-782789 asked on 2/2/2023
Is camping allowed year round? Is there a specified limit to the length of time a small group can stay?
Reviews of Margaret McKenny Campground 18 people have reviewed this location.
Cell Phone Coverage
Confirmed by 9 Users
Last reported 7/30/2025
Confirmed by 3 Users
Last reported 6/28/2021
Confirmed by 3 Users
Last reported 6/14/2022
“Great, friendly host”
Reviewed 7/30/2025
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
| Site Number: | C7 |
Overall Rating
Lovely campsite, lots of space. Host on site who came around to check everything was okay
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Verizon 4G
roadtrippers-bcornish1 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Nice campground, free with Discovery Pass ”
Reviewed 6/4/2025
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
Free camping for 7 days with discovery pass. Two loops were open, they’re not the most wooded or spaced out spots, but it’s nice and quiet. Good reception with Verizon
camper-856497 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Clean And Safe”
Reviewed 8/19/2024
| Nightly rate: | $11 |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
| Site Number: | 3 |
Overall Rating
We managed to find a site C3 without a reservation. Many other sites in A loop were available, but C was a little more removed. We lucked out with a massive thunder and lightning storm and our tent held as did all the ground.
Washrooms are an old school pit, so don’t expect much, but for $11 it worked.
camper-856204 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Nice Host Small Sites”
Reviewed 6/16/2023
| Nightly rate: | $11 |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
| Site Number: | 5 |
Overall Rating
Fresh water fill is available . C loop sites are different sizes and the only one I could fit in was right against the bathroom so I heard people go in and out all night. Across the way two young guys tent camping were up at 5:30 am talking by their fire. I prefer when RVers are separated from tent campers. They don’t realize how far t... more
Fresh water fill is available . C loop sites are different sizes and the only one I could fit in was right against the bathroom so I heard people go in and out all night. Across the way two young guys tent camping were up at 5:30 am talking by their fire. I prefer when RVers are separated from tent campers. They don’t realize how far their sound travels or don’t care . I like hearing wildlife in the morning not humans
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Verizon 5G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Nice camp, great hosts”
Reviewed 6/14/2022
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 7 |
| Site Number: | c1 |
Overall Rating
Had a really awesome time here. The camp hosts are friendly, experienced, and very on the ball, keeping track of people and making sure no one disturbs other campers. You need a discover pass to stay. You can only stay here 7 days in a 12-month window, but it's a very nice spot. Good trails, well-kept toilet, and peaceful at night. ... more
Had a really awesome time here. The camp hosts are friendly, experienced, and very on the ball, keeping track of people and making sure no one disturbs other campers. You need a discover pass to stay.
You can only stay here 7 days in a 12-month window, but it's a very nice spot. Good trails, well-kept toilet, and peaceful at night. I never felt unsafe. Only sad thing is that you can only camp there 7 days within a 12-month window.
Camp is pet-friendly. Make sure to keep them leashed, and pack in/pack out your trash.
This isn't a protected forest, so they cut timber sometimes. There were some chainsaws audible on my last day there. I'd still stay there again in a heartbeat, though.
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T-Mobile 4G
OsirisB would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Well maintained quiet campground. ”
Reviewed 6/28/2021
| Nightly rate: | $11 |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
| Site Number: | The first horse camper site. These are open to all campers Friday after 7pm until Monday am |
Overall Rating
Need the Discover Pass - it was 11.50 for one night or 30 for the year. Just write down the pass number and display in windshield 😀
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AT&T 4G
Verizon 4G
kperkins would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Delighted to Find a Free Campground!”
Reviewed 10/19/2020
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
Overall Rating
My fiancé and I wanted to find a free campsite and was elated to this one. We had welcoming hosts to greet us...let’s just say the entire two days that we stayed was nothing less than spectacular. We had a fun and memorable time!
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T-Mobile 4G
Francesca would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Awesome Free Camping ”
Reviewed 6/19/2020
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 6 |
| Site Number: | A5 |
Overall Rating
Camping during COVID has been a challenge and this is definitely one of the nicer places we’ve stayed during this time. The entire campground is primitive camping and the only amenity is the several vault toilets. Plan to bring what you need and pack out your trash. With that in mind, it is an incredibly serene environment, especially ... more
Camping during COVID has been a challenge and this is definitely one of the nicer places we’ve stayed during this time. The entire campground is primitive camping and the only amenity is the several vault toilets. Plan to bring what you need and pack out your trash. With that in mind, it is an incredibly serene environment, especially up in the A and B loops which are winding narrow lanes surrounded by lush forest and well spaced private campsites. C loop seemed a little more rowdy the entire time we stayed. It is a bowl shape with an open field in the center which looked like a great place for kids to play. B loop is reserved for horse camping during the week and it was mostly deserted during our stay. It made for a lovely very private path to walk the dog.
We stayed in A5, which is the sunniest campsite in the entire campground and our solar was not sufficient. Between the tree cover and the nearly perpetual clouds, we ended up having to drive to plug in at a friend’s house to recharge. We would not come here again without a generator to keep the batteries charged.
The camp hosts Steve and Ginny are the nicest people you’ll ever hope to meet in your life but they do seem like a stickler for the rules, so be sure not to burn trash in your campfire, display your Discover Pass properly, and keep your dog on a leash or they (or worse, the warden Barry) might have a talk with you. We didn’t use the campground bathrooms (vault toilets) but they seemed very clean and well maintained when we checked them out.
The Capital State Forest itself is idyllic with streams and a waterfall and an abundance of trails, which are used by hikers, bikers and horses. The nominal price of camping is free but parking requires purchasing a Washington State Discover Pass for $30 per vehicle, so in reality, it cost us $60 to park our bus and car for six days. If you don’t park a car, camping is free. But though it is free, there is a seven day camping limit in all of the Capital State Forest so that others can also camp for a week for free in one of the several campgrounds. So plan to leave the forest after seven days.
We had virtually no cell signal while we were camped here. We did hear C loop has better signal, so it will depend on where you camp.
We never actually registered, and we were’t sure whether we were supposed to. We had a reservation and our site was marked with our name and dates of stay when we arrived so we just pulled in and stayed.
There was an abundance of wildlife - deer, snakes, squirrels, butterflies and many BEES - and the trails and parking area are heavily used by horses and riders during the day so prepare to encounter horses throughout Margaret McKenney and the forest. It actually provided a great opportunity to train our dog not to bark at the horses since there were so many of them.
KnMTravel would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Horse theme...”
Reviewed 9/8/2019
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 0 |
| Site Number: | B5 |
Overall Rating
Only a few spots can accommodate the bigger rigs so recommend you scout first if you are in the Class A or longer travel travel class. I nearly pinned myself in the C loop thanks to thoughtless folks and their parking style. Got out of that pinch and had to help a nice lady get her horse trailer out...so what am I really saying? This p... more
Only a few spots can accommodate the bigger rigs so recommend you scout first if you are in the Class A or longer travel travel class. I nearly pinned myself in the C loop thanks to thoughtless folks and their parking style. Got out of that pinch and had to help a nice lady get her horse trailer out...so what am I really saying? This place is tight. Also, I don't recall seeing less level or more difficult back in spots in a DNR campground, ever. Furthermore, not used to seeing so darn many rules posted literally everywhere. I got into one of the few spots I could fit my rig on B Loop and there are rules on the table saying I could get booted tomorrow, because dang it, I forgot my horse :)
Anyway, for the horse campers this may be your place. Also saw some tweakers and homeless campers. They didn't have horses either.
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Easy access, forest camping for free!”
Reviewed 10/8/2018
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 7 |
Overall Rating
We have a 32’ travel trailer that sits lower to the ground than we’d like, so finding free boondocking with easy access is a big deal. This campground worked well for us. Well maintained dirt roads, with a few very minor pot holes led to a number of of back in sites nestled in the trees. It took a bit of maneuvering to get into our... more
We have a 32’ travel trailer that sits lower to the ground than we’d like, so finding free boondocking with easy access is a big deal.
This campground worked well for us. Well maintained dirt roads, with a few very minor pot holes led to a number of of back in sites nestled in the trees. It took a bit of maneuvering to get into our site, as there are some large rocks used to designate the camper pad from the rest of the site, but it was manageable. There was a picnic table & fire pit, and most of the campsites are fairly large. There was lots of rooms for the kids to play, when the sun was out! Pit toilet located at one end of the loop was clean & well maintained by the friendly host.
We were there in the off season, so we had our pick of the sites, and it was incredibly quiet, until the day we left (a Saturday) when a group of cub scouts was arriving, and there was a very large group of horse & riders with all their trucks and trailers lining the exit road.
You must have a Washington Discover pass to camp here, and can only stay in Capitol Stars Forest for 7 days in a 365 day period. We stayed an extra night after asking the campground host if it was ok. Close-ish to Olympia.
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BigVanandaTinCan would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
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1 review not included in the overall rating
The reviews below are not up to Campendium's standards for quality and reliability and therefore are not counted toward the overall star rating. Please see our FAQ page for more information.
“Closed Dec 1-May 1”
Reviewed 4/13/2019
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 0 |
Overall Rating
We’re running into a lot of closed campsites around here, with no indication that they’re closed before we get there. Looks like a beautiful site & fairly close to town.
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AT&T 4G
k.olearycole would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
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Amenities
Hookups
- dry camping
Recreation
- recreation trail
Facilities
- horse corral
- restrooms: vault
Pets
- pets
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