The Best in Tent Camping: Washington: A Guide for Car Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos

by Jeanne Louise Pyle, Ian Devine (Editor)

From the Olympic Peninsula to Puget Sound, the Emerald State offers a wealth of camping opportunities. This expert guide profiles 50 of the state's best campsites, using a handy star system to rank everything from beauty, privacy, and spaciousness to quiet, security, and cleanliness. Each site is accessible by automobile but not overrun by RVs, offers great scenery, and is as close to a wilderness experience as possible. Useful at-a-glance data covers reservations, fees, and restrictions. Clear maps show campground layout, individual sites, and key facilities. Driving directions supplemented with GPS-based coordinates for each site entrance make getting there a snap.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2005

About the author

Paul Gerald is a professional freelance writer and lover of the outdoors whose work has appeared in newspapers around the country, as well as Northwest Airlines WorldTraveler, Dish Magazine, Weissmann Travel Reports, and Nike's web site."

Reviews

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit to being in a somewhat unusual situation. I like to camp, but I don’t have a car, so I get to campgrounds by a combination of hiking and public transit. Although this limits my camping choices I still found some great suggestions in this book. I was inspired to find a way to the San Juan Islands, although I will have to keep looking longingly at the Olympic peninsula. And perhaps a voucher for a ride out east to Beverly or Owhi will make its way on to my Christmas list. Or maybe just a more up to date version of this book.

Often included is a short history of the campground, if it had good fishing or hiking, and occasionally surprising specific recommendations on which numbered campsite to stay at. There are different versions of this book for other states so my midwestern friends might want to check out Best in Tent Camping: Missouri and the Ozarks by Steve Henry.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great reference for Tent campers. I have some disagreements about campgrounds that have high ratings, but that's a matter of personal preference and opinion. I personally don't like deep woods/dark camping and there seem to be a lot of these in the book. I wish someone would write a book that actually describes the campsites themselves and has photos of the sites. I want to know ahead of time if I'm going to be camping in the dark forest or out in a nice clearing, etc. I want to know which are the best sites in the park for when I make my reservations. I want to know about bugs, bears, and other possible encounters...I want details. This book comes close to giving me enough details but falls just slightly short. It's still one of my summer reference staples though.

[Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a reliable book. Each site is rated for Beauty, Privacy, Spaciousness, Quiet, Space and Cleanliness. They do a great job of describing the site layout and what to expect. I recommend it if you're into car camping in Washington state.

This has nothing to do with the book but -- no book can describe the "scene" of a campground, which can vary depending on what kind of groups are camping in a campground. Are there a lot of families and kids there this weekend, or dirt bikers, or loud drunk people, or quiet hippie couples, etc.

[Stan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Owhi Campground is a great campsite