Upper Bobcat Dispersed Camping

Drove out three and a half hours from Bellingham only to find the Upper Bobcat closed “until further notice”. Fortunately the area is loaded with other options between campgrounds ($13) and turnouts. We found a little spot a couple of miles up the road nestled in the trees next to the river. It was a single spot but had a campsite post with a number. It was unclear to us if the rate for those spots was less than the campgrounds because it had not toilets, tables,etc. Never saw a ranger to get the 411. We actually went to the station near Winthrop. It was closed for the weekend….go figure?

The area burned last year and there a plenty of warning signs about trees falling. Most of the forest roads are closed. No cell service.

The road in was paved. You are about twelve miles from Winthrop, a small sort of Old West town. If you have a separate vehicle it is worth a look.

A real nice free area a few miles north of Winthrop. A narrow and somewhat broken paved road got progressively worse as you approached the campground, but nothing terrible. Sites are on a dirt road but taking it slowly in our 35' Class A was not a problem. A good experience with dark sky and little traffic. Stayed late August 2020. Would definitely return.

We stayed over in Winthrop, first night at the big red barn because it was to dark to find this one . Explored the area, found a few other spots but this was the nicest wide- opened camp sites with turn around for our 6x12 DIY RV Conversion & fire rings. All you need is a Discover Pass, which they never checked. We had the place all to ourselves. Right on Chewuck River. The other side 2 RVs at least 1/2 mile away . I heard it gets busy memorial day! Overall, nice spot, lots of mosquitoes but what do you expect in the 80s by a river.

A great find thanks to Campendium. We really enjoyed our stay here. The first few nights we had our section all to ourselves. The weekend brought a few more campers but still not bad for an August weekend.

Right on the river and free except for Discovery Pass (no one was checking for it). We enjoyed hikes to the nearby waterfalls, hanging out by the river, and mountain biking. We would definitely go back and spend more time. Even 90 degree days cooled off nice at night. No Verizon, ATT, and Sprint coverage. Took a ride up Falls Creek Road to a ridge for our Internet fix (Verizon).

This was an amazing boondocking site. Free area with hiking, biking and a river to float. Did hear that this area is very busy during hunting season and around Memorial weekend.

No water, no trash but a pit toilet. Lots of wide open space to roam. Barely had any cell service, even with a booster. Verizon would come and go, ATT had barley a bar.

Right outside the camping area, there is a great hike to 4 waterfalls. Round trip is about 3.6 miles to the top waterfall. Even the first waterfall is amazing.

Bonus is that you are only 12 miles into Winthrop. A great little town to explore for a day.

Upper Bobcat is a Water Access Site maintained by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. It is located about 13 miles up the Chewuch River north of Winthrop, WA. The road from Winthrop to the site is paved all the way and the site itself is suitable for just about any size rig unless you had a behemoth motorhome (we camped here once with a 32 foter with no problems). There are two access roads into the site. The more northerly one is the better approach. This site features lots of open meadow space with dispersed camping. There is no water available. Most of the sites are in the open so it could be hot in the summer, but in May it was just perfect and we had it all to ourselves except for the mosquitoes! It's a short drive back into Winthrop if you need groceries or supplies or just want to go out for a beer or get breakfast or dinner. There are plenty of hiking and mountain biking opportunities in the area. You will need a Washington State Discover Pass to camp here. This site has no ADA facilities. There is one small vault toilet available which we didn't use so I can't comment on its cleanliness or condition. There is plenty of access to the Chewuch for those of you who like to fish.

The one caveat that I might add about this site is that generators are allowed so that might annoy you, although when it's not the busy summer season I imagine folks could spread out enough for that to not be a concern. Secondly, this is a popular site in the fall for hunters so if you're not into that you might want to avoid it at that time of year.