Ranger Creek Airstrip Dispersed Camping

We loved our stay at this dispersed area. Several FSR to drive down with campsites. We stayed at the airstrip, no issues with other campers, everyone kept a good distance away from one another, no parties/shooting. Got woken up a few times in the middle of the night by military helicopters using the landing strip for training. Overall this was one of the best dispersed spots we found in WA on our 19 day trip. Please don’t overcrowd this area, it is a true gem close to rainier.

Campedium says free, but signage says $5 per night, the road into the campsites is ridiculous, huge pot holes that throw your camper violently even at a crawl, and it's the entire way into the camp, we picked up a lot of used dog waste bags around our camp, why do people bother to pick crap up only to just leave the waste bags littering the campsites, when we tried to take our Yorkie out for a walk on the leash, the other campers had three large dogs off leash just running wild and they always attacked us, it was just unpleasant, we left the next day, this could be a nice place, but it is not maintained. Lovely Spot but Unpleasant.

We arrived on a cloudy and cold Saturday afternoon to find plenty of sites available. I’d say it was only about 30% occupied. There are two “sides” to this campground - east and west of the airstrip. All sites are wooded with exception of a few sites located in a grassy area at the north end of the airstrip, close to the entrance, and one site in a clearing on the west side far beyond the end of the airstrip. As previous reviews have stated the road is rough (full of large potholes, muddy) and I do recommend taking it slow and having a vehicle with a little ground clearance. Unfortunately we didn’t see any sites with direct access to (or a view of) the river, though it was a short walk away, and we’ll worth a visit. We set up camp on the west side in a wooded site with one other site 200 feet to the north and no neighbor site visible to the south, and a view of the airstrip across the road. Disappointingly, no planes came or went during the 24 hours we were onsite. We understood the airstrip was still active but perhaps pilots were dissuaded by heavy cloud cover. Loved the woods with the tall, spaced trees - great for exploring with the kids. Will come again and hope for clearer skies and some plane sightings! Will also explore next time for better access to the river - the path we found led to an area with a steep bank and no way to easily get down to river level. Note: Campendium does not track StarLink accessibility / obstructions but from the west side of the airstrip we were able to access northern sky and get a reliable StarLink signal. The site in a clearing g beyond the airstrip would be the most ideal for StarLink, I believe.

We had a fantastic experience here, boondocking along the right (west) side of the runway. Sites on this side are well-spaced and in a mix of old-growth Hemlock and Douglas Fir. The shade keeps the rig cool, though does limit one's ability to use top off their batteries via the solar route. For those looking to use solar, sites on the end and east (left) side of the runway offer plenty of open skies, but do appear to have more campers. The single latrine is along the east side, so those staying on the west will want to be completely self-contained. If cell service is important to you, the east side sites are your only choice....nothing on the west for us (we kind of were hoping for that). The more boisterous crowds seemed to be on the east side,

Our kids enjoyed exploring the woods and watching the occasional airplane fly in/out. The area offers a great base to explore the White River/Sunrise portion of Mount Rainier National Park, Chinook Pass, and Crystal Mountain area. Fed

Again, this is unserviced camping, so bring your own H2O and take out everything that you bring in...and please, leave it in better shape than you found it. The roads here are definitely bumpy, but manageable if you take it slow.

Our price was due to having an Access Pass. As others have indicated, those with no Federal land pass are asked to pay $5/day, though I never saw anyone checking for compliance.

My wife, kids and I stayed here. We have a 26ft Travel Trailer and while the road was bumpy with some pot holes, we were able to make it just fine by taking it nice and easy. There are several spaces with Firepits and Picnic Tables. The airport is a very cool thing for the kids to enjoy and the river is only about a 2 minutes walk down to. We will definitely be staying there again soon, this weekend in fact :-)

This is a pretty neat airstrip with a lot of dispersed camping. This is dry camping only! We got here Friday evening and there were a lot of people, but plenty of room for us. We had no issue navigating our 42' 5th wheel in, but it's very bumpy from the worn down road. There are fire pits everywhere.

We could not find Verizon or AT&T service anywhere even with our booster. People quieted down at night, but there was a lot of traffic during the day. We found that we could drive 20 minutes up to Crystal Mountain Ski area and get great Verizon service for the day.

We would definitely come back if we didn't need service for work!

Ranger Creek Airstrip is such a beautiful treasure that is heavily abused. Yes, I did give this a 3 star review and my title does say 5 star. Why? Well, Ranger Creek is known by the locals. Since this is technically a dispersed campground (they are not collecting the $5/night fee anymore), the locals use it as their playground on the weekends since it is probably one of the best free camping spots in the area. Why? You have a choice between wide, open spaces or wooded camping all in the same place. Unfortunately, the weekends should be avoided here at all costs. The locals that visit this campground are some of the most uncourteous and disrespectful campers you will ever experience. Generators run late past midnight, loud talking and music blasting at 2 am, public drunkenness, and kids purposefully making potholes with shovels in the already abysmal road are a few of the practices you should expect. Oh, and that's not to mention how people ignore public policy on limiting large social gatherings due to COVID (locals circling the wagon with their RV's). It's pure unregulated camping anarchy where anything goes since there is no one there to enforce any decency.

But once the weekdays come around, you are treated to one of the most beautiful campgrounds where the real campers come to enjoy the days pass by and experience Mount Rainier. You will be treated with the pick of the best sites in the campground since the campground is practically empty. You will hear nature happen. People will be friendlier. Overall, it is just darn peaceful and deserves a 5 star review. So lets get down to business and list the pros and cons of this place:

Cons
- Weekend locals
- Terrible condition of the road
- Mosquitos
- Limited Verizon service

Pros
- Weekdays
- Lots of space
- Beautiful wooded campsites
- Secluded (especially true when you go farther back in)
- Limited Verizon service (if you wish to disconnect)
- Decently leveled spots
- Beautiful river a short walk away
- Close to Mount Rainer's Sunrise area

Ranger Creek Airstrip has two paths when you drive in: the left and the right road. The left road will lead you into the wide open area that's fantastic for rigs that require solar. Once you pass the open space and reach the airstrip side, you will find the wooded area sites. You have an inner side and an outer side. The outer side will have sites that are partially shaded and have a great view of the airstrip. Yes, planes land there at times, but more frequently on the weekends. The inner will have shaded sites inside the woods. Going back to the entrance, if you take the right road, you will be greeted with wooded sites on the side of the road. There are no sites on this side worthy of solar rigs since they are covered in shade all the time. You can go past the airstrip and the road will turn to the right. Once your encounter the first fork, you can go to the left and it will take you down a long road that leads to more sites that are very secluded. There are a few areas that are tent only. The very last spot before it loops back has the closest access to the river from anywhere on the campground. Keep in mind that it is extremely bumpy and full of potholes. It is a short distance but making it all the way to that area will take 15-20 minutes if you take it slow to avoid car damage due to the road condition.

Cell Service: we stayed at the large open area and were able to get 1 bar of 1x Verizon service. Boosted, we were able to get 2-3 bars of Verizon LTE but could barely load anything even with 3 bars. The closer you are to the entrance side, the better service you will get. The wooded areas have no Verizon bars.

There is no water or dump at this campsite. There is a latrine on the left side of the airstrip where the fee box is located (no fees are being collected).

Lastly, take it slow going in and out. The road is seriously in dire need of repair. And if you are planning on going, please be a good steward and pack out your trash and be respectful to your neighbors. No, there are no posted campground rules but there are a few common sense rules that you should follow for the greater good of the campground, such as quiet times, generator hours, and cleaning up after yourself.