American Heritage Campground — Hotel in Tumwater

An Oasis To Recharge The Soul

We have stayed at probably 100 parks and campgrounds at this point in our journey. Some are good and others we just soon forget. It is rare we find one that is truly memorable. American Heritage Campground in Olympia, WA is one of these places.

We stopped here on our way to the Oregon coast. I heavily rely on reviews of parks as we travel in unfamiliar territory. This was a campground that was rated quite high by fellow travelers. American Heritage Campground was less than a mile or so off of I-5 so it was extremely convenient for us. From my first phone call with Karla to book our reservation there was something special about this place. Quite often when you call for reservations, you can sense the person on the other end wants to swiftly make the reservation and get on with their day. This is understandable. They often have other reservations to make and tasks to complete. However, when I first spoke with Karla I did not sense this whatsoever. It was quite the opposite. After our reservation was secured, Karla and I engaged in a pleasant conversation about our travel plans. There was no rush to get on with her day. She offered me her complete and undivided attention until we hung up.

When we arrived, it was as if we drove almost directly from the hustle and bustle of the interstate to a campground seemingly deep in a forest. The invigorating smell of the conifer trees first welcomed us as we pulled up to the office. Karla greeted us with a smile and asked how our travels have been? After some pleasantries, she ran through the normal protocol for checking in.  After explaining where our site is located she said we could park our truck in the site next to our rig. This site was not vacant by accident, but rather by design. When Karla books sites for their guests, she spaces out the camps to give ample room. They do this for two reasons. The first is to offer additional room due to COVID-19, and the second is so campers truly enjoy the experience.

Shortly after check in Jim arrived to help us to our site. He asked if we would like assistance and I accepted. One thing I have learned on this journey is if help is offered, take it (needed or not). The site we were in was somewhat tricky for a rig our size to maneuver into. Jims guidance was second to none. He had us placed perfectly so we could operate Colleen’s wheelchair lift without obstruction. He had clearly done this many times. Before leaving us he asked to please let them know if there is anything they cloud do while we were there.

Most of the parks we have stayed at this close to an interstate you will hear the hum of vehicles for most of the night. What we found that first night when all went quiet in the neighborhood was the sound of complete calm. The only noise we could hear was that of a screech owl and some wildlife rustling in the bushes. I learned that Jim and Karla owned a piece of property closer to the interstate that acted as a sound barrier. We experienced this same tranquility for the three nights we were there.

Everyday I walked the dogs through the park. Sometimes we find it difficult to find adequate places for them to do their business (especially PoJai, she is quite picky). What we found here however was a dog park along with a large grassy play field. There are also horseshoe pits, a vintage playground and an animal viewing farm with chickens, ducks and sheep.

What I cherished the most from this trip however was the conversations I had with Jim and Karla. We shared a bit of our story and they shared theirs as well. We discussed the challenging times that everyone is experiencing now and the mechanisms we use to navigate them. As we departed on our way, we took away a sensation of hope and friendship. We all are surrounded by many problems that can easily steal our peace of mind. After getting to know Jim and Karla a bit, it was reassurance that we have many friends on this journey that we simply...

we have stayed again on our return trip home (Jan 5,2020) updatesWe just camped here (Dec 20) overnight in the pouring rain. We had gotten a call earlier in the day from the host/office manager informing us that due to the big rains there were some puddles at our booked site so they wanted to extend an offer to switch sites. They also said they would watch for us which they did kindly when we arrived in the pouring rain in the dark at 10pm. They came out and helped us to pick a good spot with less puddles and also asked if we had everything we needed. This was very kind and hospitable of them, we truly appreciated it. The bathrooms as seen in my photos are very clean and spacious...do take towels in as they don't have paper towels. The showers are free, no coins or tokens needed. The campground is older but loved and well cared for. The trails as seen in my photos have tree roots but they are painted with glow in the dark paint to help from any trip hazards. The site numbers are tricky to see at night, as seen in my photos just watch the trees with numbers or the road itself has painted numbers. There is laundry that opens at 11 and a pool. There is a dump station and full hook ups. There is a truck stop with gas, Subway and McDonald's down the road as well as a big Ace hardware store. The campground is right off the highway but thanks to all of the trees you don't really hear the highway.new photos, turns out they have an electric and awesome supplies store, a letting zoo, an outdoor pavilion and a bike trail. The owners found out when we checked in that our pup liked tennis balls, in the morning we woke up to find two new tennis balls in a bag on our car marked, "for your dog" this park is dated but very well cared for and very clean. The owners are superb, there is no wifi but we still got pizza delivered. We like it here, big trees, private spaces and full...

The man that works here left my mother shaking in fear! He was sooooo upset that we DROVE THROUGH the campground. My family and I (2 adults, 2 kids, and 2 grandparents) were on our way back from camping at a state park. We like to check out other future potential campsites so We decided to check out this place since it was on our way home. When we pulled into the campground, there was no one there at the office/front entrance. We pulled through and turned down the tent site loop. We drove around the loop, didn’t get out of our cars, and proceeded to exit. Like I said, we just wanted to check it out and see what it looked like. On our way out, a man in a truck pulled in front of us as to block our vehicle from leaving. We didn’t know he worked there, he wasn’t wearing a uniform or name badge or anything like that. I assumed he was a camper. He came to the car window and continued to lecture us for nearly 5 minutes, saying that we needed to check in at the office, that it was private property, and said “how would you like it if I walked into your house and sat on your couch”? We explained to him that we were simply just diving in to look at the campground. He continued to grill us, even after we had said sorry, explained why we were there, and we didn’t even exit our vehicles. He kept going on...we literally didn’t know what else to say except to explain ourselves and say that we were sorry for not checking in at the front office. Bottom line...he was very scary and very rude. My mother was driving and as soon as we pulled out of there she was shaking in fear and it took us a minute to calm down. He could have simply said “hey, this is private property, we’d like you to check in before you come in, have a nice day”. But no, he was LECTURING us, rude, and straight up scary!!! WE WILL NEVER GO...