Potholes State Park

This campground is situated right on the large body of water called the Potholes Reservoir and is south of the town of Moses Lake WA. The area is popular for water sports, fishing, bird watching and picnicking.

We pre-paid and registered online. Arrival and check-in was very easy. The gate attendant gave us a park map and directions to our site. Park roads are wide and smooth enough to handle any kind of RV. We stayed in one of the non-hookup loops. Sites in non-hookup loops are typically smaller than the full hookup sites. The campground was quiet in early March. We had the loop almost all to ourselves.

Pros:
- easy access to the water via a public boat launch and "beach" near the campground
- The trees, shrubs, and underbrush within the campground seem to block the wind, which can be very intense in this part of the state.
- Generous size sites
- Clean, but dated facilities.
- The grounds are well maintained
- quiet in the off-season

Cons:
- campsites are dated and very basic
- probably crowded in the summer
- campground can get busy with day-use traffic

We arrived after dark and had no clue where to go....absolutely no lighting in the entire park or driveway in. The only reason we found our site is there happened to be ONE other camper in the loop we found (our headlights shone on their camper) thank goodness. Water was turned off for winter. Park is lovely and close to the lake- clean enough bathrooms and very dated bathrooms. There was NO ONE there. We heard coyotes which was cool and the stars shine pretty bright out there. Will come back in the spring/summer to check it out again for sure! We camp for free in Washington State Parks with a disabled veterans pass.

Season opener at Potholes, they stay open year around so if the roads are clear this makes a nice winter getaway with power and sewer. I paid $0 thanks to WA state parks disabled veteran pass. Seems a Discover Pass is needed for entrance and day use. The drinking water is reporting high for Nitrates (11.1 and the acceptable limit is 10) so we hauled our own. I read that they are thinking about drilling a new well, but anyway. There is corral loop parking style for RV's with 50 amp/full hookups. The layout and quality of the sites is 10 out of 10. We had a loop all to ourselves this time of year and it was simply lovely, a sunset for pictures, and music provided by coyotes. We hauled our own wood, not sure if they sell it. The grounds are pristine, seems to be well treed for shade. The other loops closer to the water are boondock only, and most look to be on the smaller side...a few spots actually back up to the water for a premier view. Very nice playgrounds for the kiddos, boat launches etc. I'm sure this place gets really busy in the summer, and hot. New experience for us - State Park wifi ! Very much appreciated for those of us that work remote.

Water, ducks, geese....Seems like a peaceful place. NOT!!! Forget sleep!!! From 90 minutes PRE DAWN to well into the day, CONSTANT GUNFIRE. Dead ducks, dead geese, terrified groups of survivors flying away. Lovely. Keep the bloodthirsty hunters out of state parks!!! Got young kids?? Go ELSEWHERE. REALLY, OF A 23 DAY TRIP THIS WAS THE WORST. THUMBS DOWN.

Stayed end of May 2018 on way home from WA coast.

This place had been on my radar for years as one of the few places in E Washington to camp. First off WA state parks could take a lesson from Oregon on their reservations system which I found was more complicated than necessary PLUS having to pay an extra cost for the Discover Pass added to the camping costs.

Pros: Amazingly huge sites with full hookups and big power
Lovely grass, level gravel pads
Very nice gate people
Lovely grounds with shade and well kept.
Cons: This place is not easy to get to, I came in from the west and the roads although paved and through some lovely orchards were crappy.
Although this was considered by staff as a primo spot - NOT! Everyone from the loops on the west side cut through THIS spot on their way to the lake proper, adults, kids, dogs, you name it.
Not quiet

Mark it off my list of possibilities. Not a "restful" place to stop, now if you have a boat or family and want to camp and recreate together this would be a consideration. The full hookups are a plus especially in the summer as it gets HOT out in this location. It is an oasis for the locals for sure.

Didn't check cell service here.

Our site was in the RV pod, as described by other reviews. The sites were huge, with lush grass and tall mature shade trees. Tall rows of poplars define the campground, giving it an air of a well-planned, true “park.” FHU 50-amp connections were well-placed. Our daily rate (higher than our target average) is for out of state guests.

The downers that nearly ruined this beautiful park for us: 1.Malfunctioning sprinklers flooded our campsite, and it was hours before an employee figured out how to disable. The “guy in charge of sprinklers” was off that day, not answering phone, and no one else had a clue (nor did they care much) how to shut off the water. 2.Three families with lots of kids, bikes, and dogs camped side by side. In spite of the “strictly enforced” quiet hours of 10pm—6am, they stayed up loudly talking and carrying on until well after midnight. Again, gate personnel couldn’t care and whined about having only one ranger. Their response included an insulting sermonette about “real camping” and people having “fun”; customer service is dead at this park. 3. There was no information about the geologic and wetland environment that makes up the “potholes” reservoir (and confusion of which is the OSullivan Res. vs Potholes Lake) and worse, no access for explanation or viewing. We drove for miles through the boonies trying in vain to find either.

That said, the area is lovely, surrounded by diverse landscapes: vast farm fields, orchards, natural gorges and lakes. We’d go back during cooler weather and when school is in session.

Stayed in one place for an RV was told we could tent Camp there as well then was told that we can't tent camp on the grass as they water from Sunday through Thursday and up to noon on Fridays every day of the week and that any of your stuff in the grass is going to get wet. There was a burn ban in effect that stated no charcoal or wood fires we were using oil vaporizing fire devices that we were then told we could not use and then had no way to cook our food or light our site. Was confined to the gravel parking space due to the fact that we didn't know when the sprinklers would come on

This park is very comfortable if you just want to relax, or if you are a fisherman with a boat. The campsites for RVs are lovely and have a nice sized space between them, They are all built into circular drives and easy to turn and backup into the spaces. Each has a fire-pit with moveable grill, a picnic table and plenty of shade. We didn't even put our awning out.

If you have a group gathering there are plenty of larger picnic area for that and there is a great playground for children.

What I didn't like was that there is no sandy beach or swimming area. The lake is right there so I see no excuse for the state not making that available. There is a nice boat ramp if you have a boat and trailer, but I didn't feel comfortable putting my kayak into the water with rocks and rubbish along the shoreline.

Other than the lake's edge the park is super clean and truly lovely. Very well maintained.

We were assigned site number 94 at the gate before the camping area. We always would rather do a drive through and scout out the "best" site, especially at a park we have never been to.

Sites 61-126 are all dry camping sites with a picnic table and fire ring. Most sites were fairly level and could accommodate most larger rigs. Most of these sites were shady except 87-90, 93, 94 (our site, the only pull thru), 96, 98-101. All restrooms for the dry camping area were vault toilets, clean and non smelly.

Had we done a drive through, we would have selected a site in the RV area, sites 1-60, with full hookups. Lots of lush green grass, lots of shade, flush toilets and showers (showers tokens can only be gotten at the main gate). You will be able to see your neighbors, but we would have enjoyed the green and shade.

The park has a huge picnic area, again with lush green grass and lots of shade, some areas with shelters. There are rustic cabins to rent with AC, a group area, boat launch, fish cleaning station, playground area, dump station, recycling, one larger trash compactor was located centrally, and a trailhead that we did not have time to check out. We were surprised there was not a swimming or beach area.