Charbonneau Park — Attraction in Washington

Review of Charbonneau Park, June 2022 - Charbonneau Park is located east of Pasco and Burbank, Washington off HWY 124. It is set along the Snake River, just above Ice Harbor Dam. It is a United States Army Corps of Engineers managed park/campground. I think all the sites have power, and some also have water hookups. There is a dump station and potable water at the park entrance and there are water hydrants around the campgrounds, but those do not have hose threads. There is a centrally located bathroom with flush toilets and showers, but I didn’t check it out during our stay. Many of the sites are pull thru and there are also back in sites. Many sites have views of the river and some are waterfront. There are plenty of mature trees offering shade and ample grassy areas. The grass didn’t look super maintained during our stay (needed to be mowed), but it was still nice. Sites have a metal picnic table, fire pit, and metal post to hang a lantern. Sites are spread out decently to give you space/privacy, but there isn’t much in the way of site line privacy between sites. Many of the sites are quite long so larger vehicles can fit. A few sites have the table/fire pit towards the back or front of the site. The roads and driveways in the park are a bit rough due to tree roots pushing up the asphalt. They are very strict about 2pm check in and won’t allow early check in. Be aware that the park gate is locked nightly from 10pm-6am; they will open the gate for emergencies. “Public consumption” of alcohol is prohibited, so be discrete if you choose to drink. We stayed for one night in site 5, which is a very long pull thru site and it was very level even though it’s up a hill. Site 5 has plenty of room to spread out, is private and has ample space for tents. Only issue in site 5 (and probably site 6) are occasionally whiffs of sewer gas as it looks like the bathroom septic caps may be in the hill across the road. It was not bad during our stay but might be worse when it’s really hot or if the campground is very busy. There is a train track at the park entrance and there was occasional train traffic. They blow their horn for the crossing, and you could hear the train, but it wasn’t super loud (it’s probably less noticeable if you are in a site farther into the campground). The day use area has a marina, covered picnic areas, playground, and sand volleyball pits. There are group BBQ areas as well. Lots of pelicans, hawks, and red wing black birds in the area. We had great 5G cell coverage with T-Mobile. The closest stores for necessities would be back in Burbank (approx. 12 mile). Overall, it was a great campground, and we would return. While in the area, check out nearby Ice Harbor Dam Visitor Center, Indian Memorial Park, McNary Wildlife Refuge, Sacajawea Historical State Park. Reservations for Charbonneau Park can be made on...

Stayed here for a night of camping. I had high expectation given its remote location closer to a river but I was a bit disappointed. The campground entrance sign asks that everyone must register first even if they had reservation. There was no host at the office and it had a sign that said "closed". We headed straight to our site but before setting up our tent, decided to head out for some boating. When we returned another party had started to set up tent at our site. I had to show them the reservation confirmation and they packed up and left. That party couldn't find their site number and it appears that there was no one to help them.

As others have noted, this place has a lot of spiders so be aware because the spiders will be crawling all of the table as you eat. In addition to spiders there are lots of mosquitoes and tiny flies that are attracted to light. They flood your tent at dawn unless you keep it closed. This should not be an issue because camping is all about being in nature and with nature comes insects and spiders too. I'm just giving fair warning to people planning to camp here.

Lastly, we were anticipating but didn't really hear much of train noise as others mentioned. Our camp site was #30, closer to the lake so it's possible that we didn't hear the trains. Trains do pass by every hour or so. I think we also didn't hear the train because the party right next to us was blasting loud music well past 10 PM making it difficult to sleep.

There is a trail going along the river but it’s really not interesting enough for hiking or biking. There are far better places for boating, kayaking, hiking or biking than this area.

We don't plan to visit this campground again as it was definitely not worth the long drive from Seattle, given that there are so many camping options available that are far...

We travel with a 42 foot 5th wheel RV. Pulling in one of the rules that is strictly enforced is, you cannot enter the campground before 2:00, no exceptions. Really hard to understand this policy but what ever, maybe they need time to trim back limbs that are over growing the entrance to the 100 foot pull through sites. I know, you may be thinking why not just back in. Great idea and whit the curve of the site it wasn't that bad. The people that I talked to were nice enough but the grounds need some serious attention. The grounds maintenance folks are on site first thing, putting out removable sprinkler heads to water the grass that are right along the edge of an extremely narrow asphalt road.

The lake views were great, the site was level and since we were leaving the next morning we weren't going to disconnect from the truck. The friendly neighborhood ranger stopped by to let us know that we had a tire off of the pavement and need to move the truck.

Again, we got in the site, it just needs some serious limb maintenance for big rigs.

One of the volunteers at the park stopped in to chat while we were setting up and another stopped by while we were reconnecting the truck the next morning. Nice enough people to talk to. Just limbs be careful of the, I can reach above my head and touch limbs.

And the queation that I get a lot: Will we go back? This is a solid maybe but leaning towards Harvest Host if I am in that area again. Enjoy it if you do decide...