Pros: Beautiful area, spacious campsites, some neat wildlife, nice to see the river and watch the planes fly in.
Cons: We only located one vault toilet near the entrance to the campground. The vault toilet structure is in rough shape. Door barely closes, no lighting (not even a skylight) sign on door says it is only as clean as the last person who used it. So, I'm guessing it isn't looked after. We stayed on the side of the campground where the air strip is and toward the end of the loop. Other reviews mention sites on the other side and those toilet structures looked in better shape from a distance.
You have to travel down a dirt road full of potholes (if the air strip is on your left). It makes for a bumpy ride and not one you want to repeat when you need the toilet.
Previous campers left their bags full of human waste at our campsite and there was toilet paper bits hanging around a bunch of used tea bags and some broken glass. People obviously didn't respect the place or the pack it in, pack it out code. It was disgusting to be setting up camp and coming across people's human waste bags.
I think the park or ranger service should take control of this place and the road should be repaired, the number of vault toilets increased and a dumpster situated so campers can dispose of waste when leaving the campground.
I was debating whether to give this park a 3 or 4. The location to Tacoma and the scenery is great, but people ruin the place and other people's experience by leaving trash and human waste bags. Dispersed vault toilets throughout the campground and a dumpster for disposing of trash could probably help the campground...
Read moreNice base camp and explore Mount Rainier National Park. I had a park pass, so it was free otherwise it’s $5 a night. Lots of campsites on both sides of the airstrip with two sets of pit toilets on the left/east side of the runway as you enter. There’s also an area to camp with a pit toilet if you go straight instead of turning left towards the airstrip. One of the best features is the campsite runs along the White River so it’s a firm area to check out. I enjoyed the Skookum Flats trail which runs a long ways along the river. Lots of great trails you can get to from the campsite. Most sites are in the trees with a handful of site open to the sky for your solar. No cell service, but there is a visitor center with great WiFi about 2 miles south. And I had a signal at the Crystal Mountain Resort. The only downside is the massive potholes on the dirt roads. You can’t go more the 5 mph and my trailer even scrapped the ground on a few of them. I would go here again and recommend...
Read moreI lived in Seattle for six years in the early 90's and Buck Creek was about 30 miles from my home. This place is excellent for dry camping, hiking, proximity to Mt. Rainier National Park (awesome scenic hiking) and it was completely free of charge. Back then I was using a pop-up camper and there was always plenty of space for all on level ground. It is a perfect place for a nice, self contained rig with solar or a small inverter/genny. It's also a favorite spot for many "horse people" who bring their animals out there for the weekend. You might see one or two private aircraft land/take off but the airstrip was seldom in use. Super nice place...I highly...
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