Tahkenitch Campground

I have been camping at this campground with college students for about 10 years and this was the most disappointing experience at Tahkenitch Campground. Since the site has become online reservation only the prices have increased dramatically and the service level has decreased. I got 2 sites for 2 nights and after the fees this came to $104. Worse yet the bathrooms with running water and flush toilets were locked. This would not be a big deal if the price was not so high and the listed amenities were honest about what was available at the time of booking or during your stay. The required online reservation is also a hardship for other potential campers like bikers or hikers on the 101 that may need a place to stay for the night. It is not possible to make a reservation at the campground because there is no cell data service and the option to pay cash or check has gone away. Many campers like to get away from technology while in the forest and spontaneity is all but eliminated with the current recreation.gov reservation system. I am looking for other options for future college class trips. The ability to make an online reservation is fine but it should not be the only way to go camping in a national forest campground. These public lands belong to us and are only managed by the USFS and I think those managers forget they work for the people.

I loved the campground and we had a really wonderful walk across the dunes to the beach. The campground itself gets 5 stars.

But it’s terribly staffed. There was soiled toilet paper (and my son said human feces) in the brush near our tent and there was supposedly a campground host but they had a Do Not Disturb sign up almost every time we walked past.

Further, the reservation system, like nearly every other time they try to replace human beings with software, is a disaster. A third of the campground was vacant, but no one could stay in the empty spaces because they were all marked reservation-only. Having used the reservation system myself, I can attest that it was both inaccurate as to how many spaces were available and difficult to use (it took me 4 tries to get the order button to work).

I love the national forests, so it grieved me to see them essentially 1/3 closed to the traveling public at the height of summer, and to hear my 13-year-old now lobbying for us to stay in private campgrounds that are kept cleaner.

This was such a beautiful place. I would love to see it better served.

So peaceful! While nearby campgrounds were full this one was pleasantly quiet. Our site was right next to the highway which wasn't ideal, but the other sites circled around and were further away from the traffic noise. There is a hiking trail right there and the bathrooms were adequate, although it was sometimes low on paper towels since the hand dryer was broken. Water sources close to every site. Clean and well maintained. Our space felt very private with the trees all around. It was lovely