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Great place for put in or take out for tubing. If you want to float the upper canyon, you can start at Ringer (1.75 hour float) or Bighorn Campground (1 hour float) and float down to this spot. If so, be sure to paddle close to the left shore of the river when you see the pedestrian suspension bridge coming up. Otherwise, it can be easy to miss the take-out spot as it is small and you can't see it until you've nearly passed it (the take-out spot is on the left side, just before the suspension bridge. There's another small take-out spot just after the bridge as well).
Or alternatively, if you want to float the lower canyon, you can start at this spot and float down to Lmuma, Big Pines, or Roza.
If it's a hot summer weekend, expect the parking lot to be packed with tubers. It's 5 dollars to park here, and there's a kiosk where you can buy a parking permit using either cash or card.
There's a pedestrian suspension bridge that crosses the river. The far side has a canyon that you can hike several miles up before the trail fizzles out. It's a pleasant canyon to explore in the cooler fall and winter months, but avoid it in the warmer months as there's lots of rattlesnakes. There's also an active train track on the far side of the river, so be careful about letting kids run off and play on the tracks unattended.
I can't speak to the campground, not having camped there, but it's close to both the highway and the train track, so don't expect a...
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Did you know rattlesnakes ate roadkill? Neither did I. Two of them (tolerating each other no less) greeted me at the entrance as I pulled in hot and weary from the road around 11:45 pm.
That omen behind me, I parked in a lot filled with trailers. DO NOT camp here! It isn't the camping area! The guy in the morning informed me of this nicely and was quite interested that 4 or 5 trailers had camped there and got outta dodge before his patrol.
Anyway back to staying here. Almost immediately rattlesnakes came out of the woodwork and began warming themselves under my car. 4, 5 at a time. Crazy!
Windows down I decided to snooze in my car, there were zero skeeters and all the little moths were pretty cool. I was watching one crawl on my half down drivers window when TINK! A BAT GRABBED IT! 15 inches from my face.
He didn't hit it like a bird, just a tink. Two flaps later he was gone.
Awesome Nature! The camp sites were pretty neat too.
In the morning my little hanging ninja dude on my car was quite unshaken feom the ordeal and I vowed to run over any snakes I saw from then on...which ended up being zero because they are nocturnal in summer.
I wrote a quote from Top Gear in the dust on my bumper to taunt the snakes into revealing themselves but it didnt work.
I give this place 5 stars and would take friends w annoying little dogs there but not young children or ppl w any level...
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It's a decent little spot to float river and camp, however I would NOT recommend the campsite at Yakima River Canyon umtanum loop. There is a grumpy old park employee who apparently hates campers that comes by often with a serious attitude. He is not polite in any manner. In fact neither was the deputy that came by. For such a potentially fun place, the local employees make it very unwelcoming and like campers are a burden. Plus they don't re-stock the restroom toilet paper. It actually looked as if they took the rolls of toilet paper out. There were several rolls in there the 1st day then one restroom had all rolls missing, not even the cardboard roll they are wrapped on, which is on a locked bar. My group was not obnoxious, well maybe 2 people were that will not be invited again lol, we are not messy and were even respectful to the grumpy old campsite employee. No running water either if...
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