Lake Easton State Park

Swimmer BEWARE! Took the family swimming 8÷18÷2015 at the day use area. We all woke up the next day with swimmers itch!

I really can’t fault them for location, even though it’s by I 90. I knew that going in. But, they were doing construction on the restrooms, which started promptly at 7am… all four mornings we were there. And they closed the working restrooms for a few hours each day. That woulda been nice to know. The help at the desk wasn’t very friendly, unless you complimented her on her giraffe tattoo. She did, however, offer us a slight refund for moving our site near a working restroom. The lake is almost within walking distance, but we had our canoe, so I had to drive it to the swim area every day to use it.

So the area is beautiful. We stayed her for a little over a month, you get use to the noise from the highway and the bugs. They can’t really do much about that stuff here BUT they can take care of their facilities, which they don’t. Online makes this place seem amazing «a lake, a pool, spa, Laundromat on site, wifi accessible. Ect.»
To start, the lake IS lovely.
The pool is heated by a SPA heater that the previous owners moved and the new owners haven’t changed so they have a tiny heater trying to keep up with more water then it’s meant for. Any dummy knows that doesn’t work.
Since the spa heater is in the pool the spa doesn’t work and the owners don’t care but they’ll use it for advertisement.
There are TWO washers and dryers on site. The washers don’t get clothes clean and the dryers don’t dry. Not to mention it’s a 1.50 $ for each (THATS MORE EXPENSIVE THEN A REGULAR LAUNDROMAT for one that doesn’t work!)
They have tengo internet (which we’ve used before and is normally really good) only the OWNERS (not tengo) limit your wifi use age to 700MB EVERY 48 hours! That’s not even a full netflix movie and you pay 30 $ a month for it. (That’s right, you pay and the owners limit you so they can use more data).
You can’t have a fire at your spot. It has to be a designated area, even if there is no risk for fire hazard that day.
The hosts are okay. They’re nice and all but that’s all this park has going. Their hands are tied on most thing because the owners aren’t understanding. When we dirt got there we didn’t know if we’d be staying two weeks or a month and they told us if we may daily or weekly they aren’t willing to add what was already paid to a monthly rate.
DONT BRING YOUR DOG! You can’t run them anywhere. There’s no dog area. They have to be on a leash at all times (which ruined our pups training because now she runs the second she gets off the leash)
There’s this huge list of rules that they give you when you drive in. You have to follow all these but they don’t have to do anything for you, not even provide you with the amenities they advertise.
BTW there’s no cell service. If you have sprint forget your phone at home. If you have verizon, it’s not much better.
The only reason I’m giving this place two stars is the monthly people are AMAZING. Such a great and inviting community.

Lake Easton State Park is a nice campground that has a small lake fed by the Yakima River and easy access to the Iron Horse State Park and John Wayne Trail. We camped there in late August in an RV in one of the full hookup sites. The sites were level and had an asphalt pad to park the RV on. We also had a brand new picnic table. All the hookups were in easy reach, i.e. no long extensions were needed for water or power. All of the sites in the RV loop were large and included a tent pad with the RV site, which seemed like a bonus to me.
There was a beach and a small roped off swimming area that my kids enjoyed, they also liked the playground. What I really enjoyed was biking on the John Wayne trail. The park offers easy access to the trail and from there you can either bike or walk East or West. We chose to go East towards Easton which takes you across a cool bridge and through a short tunnel before you get to the town. I would definitely recommend brining bikes if you choose to camp here.
It is close to I-​90 so there is road noise and there is a freight train that goes by on the other side of the lake several times during the day (and night) but in an RV the noise is not so noticeable.

Lake Easton State Park is great!
We loved having a campsite big enough to accommodate 7 adults (and all of their stuff!). The bathrooms were close, but not too close. Water faucets were located every few campsites. Campsites were clean, had a picnic table, fire pit, plenty of trees to make a shelter with, and hang wet clothes from. The showers were nice, its a good amenity to have after spending a few days in the woods!
We didnt like that the freeway was so close you could hear the cars buzzing by all times of the day and night. The extra parking fee for a second car at our campsite (that easily fit in the designated parking area at our site). Or the freight trains that rolled through at 3:30 am and woke everyone up… but its camping so we just laughed and went back to sleep!
All in all Lake Easton State Park isn’t somewhere we are jonesing to go to as «our spot», but we would camp here again!

There isn’t much to add. It’s a nice campground. It has a rule enforcement system that is almost intrusive, but you are grateful for the lack of chaos that usually accompanies camping.
Yes, you can hear I-​90, but the tent camping site I had made that noise minimal. The freight trains however, were LOUD. There was one at 3:30am, another at 5:30am, and a third at 6:45am. Each one went on and on, with the obligatory rail squeal.
The tents-​on-​pads thing was annoying, because the site was clearly large enough to separate our two tents. If we had any other options for camping at all in the nearby area, we likely would have chosen a different park for this reason only.
The bathroom was very close by. Usually that’s a plus, but people tramping within 6 feet of your tent all night gets mighty old. And you get to hear them all. I don’t know why, but it was louder than the semis on I-​90. And don’t expect any hand soap dispensers in the bathroom.
The last thing is that we came in on three motorcycles. They only allow one vehicle, but other campgrounds see two bikes as one vehicle. Not Lake Easton. They charged us for two extra vehicles. If we had brought our Discovery Pass, I think they would have waived it. Not sure. When we got there, there were rangers in our camp site, asking us rudely «Can we help you?» Yes. Get your truck out of my site.
Anyway, it’s a nice, shady campground, go there if you are really keen on choo-​choos, alert rangers, and extra fees. (Also: 3 minutes per token for the showers).

I recommend for a family trying to get away for a weekend. Nice place to relax and rangers make it easy to check in and get your stuff done. Recommend the hike trails if you have the chance and also the beach to take a dip in. Will come back for sure.

We loved Lake Easton State Park! We decided to drive down from Vancouver, BC to check the park out and we weren’t disappointed.
Location:
Yes, the camp site is close to the highway but it didn’t bother us whatsoever. The noise faded into the background. It was the train across the lake that woke me up a couple of times the first night, but I fell asleep soon after. The beauty of the park and its proximity to Seattle was well worth the occasional train or truck sound.
Camp Sites:
Although we tent camped, we stayed in the RV section of the park. Talk about luxury! Our site had all the hook-​ups that an RV would need, including a water source. That was so helpful when cooking.
Our view was amazing too, with a full uninterrupted view of the lake. I noticed after making the booking that the cost of our site was higher than those without a view in the RV section, and also of tent only section. However, the $ 10 per night more was well worth it.
Super dog-​friendly, which was refreshing as we have a high energy dog. Poop bags provided free for those who might need them.
The Lake:
There is a small beach area designated for swimming in the Day Use area of the park — ideal for people with children or mobility issues. Less ideal if you want a bit of personal space.
The water is very cold, and I say this as someone who grew up swimming in the Pacific Ocean off Vancouver. As Laraine M. said, this is because the lake is fed by the Yakima river. A floatation device is a good call, although the rules of the lake seem to forbid it. Many people still had something to float on, which helped them tolerate the cold water longer.
The Trail:
We decided to walk the Lake Easton trail that starts near the RV sites. We walked around the lake, crossing from the Lake Easton Trail to the Iron Horse Trail via the Yakima River bridge. Unfortunately, the Iron Horse Trail doesn’t loop back to Lake Easton — which we had misunderstood — and we cut across the rail track at the east end of the lake to get back to camp.
I wouldn’t recommend this since it involves cutting across private property, but we were getting pretty desperate at that point.
Overall, it was a great experience (minus the trespassing) and I recommend Lake Easton to those looking for a peaceful camping trip.

Haven’t been there in years and I mean a lot of years but the water is COLD no matter what time of year you go because the lake is fed by the Yakima river.

This is a great place for a family who wants an easy camping experience. The campsites are close together, but laid out in a way that you don’t feel on top of each other.
One nice thing that really stuck out was the fact the place self polices the place. There were some seriously drunk ahole teenagers there the second night we were there, and the other campsites shut those loudmouths up when they got noisy after quiet time. Not having to deal with drunk jerk off’s while camping is a HUGE plus.
The lake swimming area was really nice (sans the goose poop all over, but hey… they were there first). The water was really cool due to the time of year we were there, but my son still had fun running around the water up to his knees. We also loved all the trails that connected to the campsites themselves, so we didn’t have to drive anywhere. The lake is a bit of a walk from the sites, but there is a nice sized parking lot to park at.
The only downer was the cleanliness of the bathrooms, they got gross real quick. By Friday night either many people camping ate stuff that really disagreed with them, or they just weren’t cleaned well in general. If you’re down with squatting, and don’t have a good sense of smell — then you’ll be fine.

I camped here for 3 nights, 2 nights in the hookup sites and 1 night in the tent sites. They are two completely different experiences. The one thing both have in common is that yes, the park is very close to the freeway and it’s loud. I chose it for its proximity to the freeway though so I couldn’t complain about that. Other than that it’s a very pretty park.
Now for the two different parts of the park. The hookup campground was fairly quiet (other than the freeway sounds.) The people were peaceful and there weren’t many children. Those that were there seemed to be supervised by parents most of the time.
On the other hand, the tent campground was LOUD. Unruly children were the biggest problem here. There were a couple of kids who had plastic crates tide to their bikes with ropes and they rode up and down the street dragging them. Let me tell you, that was incredibly loud. There seemed to be no purpose to it other than to make noise. What kind of parent lets their kids do this? I had a trailer so I could drown most of the sound out but I felt really bad for the dad across from me who was trying to enjoy camping with his daughter. He was visibly bothered by these kids but what can you do? It went on for most of the day.
I never once saw a ranger inside the camping area on the tent side. I saw one a couple of times a day on the hookup side.
My other big complaint here, and the reason they get 3 instead of 4 stars, is that they lock the gate at night and you can’t leave. Several of us were trying to get past the rock blasting prior to 7:00 AM and we were locked in! Not only that, they didn’t let us out on time. They were 20 minutes late opening the gate. I don’t know about the other people, but I sat in the rock blasting line for 2 hours thanks to that. Had I left even 5 minutes earlier I would have gotten through. It doesn’t seem safe to have people locked in by a big steel gate. What if there is an emergency and someone has to leave? I assume ambulances and police have keys to the gate, but I didn’t even have cell signal there. I would have just died waiting at the gate to get out.
I probably wouldn’t stay here again simply because I don’t feel safe being locked in without someone attending the gate. If not for that, I would stay again but not in the tent area.

I like this Park! I normally do not go to Lake Easton State Park in the Summer because it is so packed with people and campers etc.
I go here in the fall because the fall colors are gorgeous and there is nobody around. In the fall, it is very serene, calm and makes for a great afternoon walk.
Head out with your camera and enjoy the beauty!

If you w
ant to find out what is like to sleep under a freeway this is your spot! The best thing to say about this campground is that it is close to Seattle. But I could of saved the gas and camped under I-​5 and had the same experience. Trucks roar through all night and then the train. Some of the staff was very helpful but some were down right rude. Try Lake Kachesse it is a few miles closer to seattle and is peaceful.
Lake Easton is a glorified truck or rest stop.

The reviews here are pretty spot on. It’s a solid 3 stars.
We didn’t have a site too close to the freeway and it was still pretty traffic-​y sounding. It did become white noise so it was not a big deal. But keep that in mind when booking your site… try to get one a little away from the freeway.
Yes, there are trains that come by. The first night, we did have one come through but our tent slept through it. Others in our group did hear it. Night 2: I thought the train was rolling right through my tent. It just kept getting louder and louder and the horn was blaring multiple times and the breaks were squeaking, metal grinding. Our whole group was awakened to this lovely experience! Thankfully I fall right back asleep but many were not so lucky!
There is a previous reviewer who talks about the strict ranger staff. This is TRUE! We saw them lurking behind trees to find bikers who don’t completely stop at a sign. We also saw them with a speed gun on the road leading into the park where the limit is 15. We were so nervous there would be some kind of violation we had no idea about and get busted. They also came by and mentioned the tents should be on the pads. Only problem is we had 2 tents per site and there is only 1 pad per site. If they decided to actually enforce that, it wouldn’t be good for many campers. Just play by the rules when you get there and you’ll be fine! Make sure to get a parking pass (free with camping) or extra car parking passes ($ 10 a day) or you’ll be ticketed. You don’t need a Discover Pass if you are camping there.
Bathrooms were just ok. I have seen worse. At least they flush!
The access to the lake was the big drawback. It’s over a a half mile to the lake swimming access point from the campsite (RV loop is right there). It’s walking distance but after a long day at the lake (it was super hot), you may not be too hip on walking all that way back in the heat with 8 kids :) Parking lot has about 30 spots that fill up quickly. There is an overflow lot about 5 mins walk from the lake access so that is a good option. Lake water is really cold. Kids loved it but I did not see too many adults braving it!

The pros: it’s close to Seattle and they sometimes allow fires when other campgrounds ban them.
Cons: it’s right by the freeway. The noise from traffic is relentless. The bathrooms were filthy and didn’t have soap. There is a park ranger who enforces the rules religiously. This includes constant parking lot checks to give out tickets and hiding around corners to give out moving violations for creeping through stop signs without completely stopping. I would avoid this campground if I had any other options.

The camp was so close to the freeway that you could always hear the traffic noise… on the brighter side, the sites were pretty large and separated so you didn’t feel like you were camping with strangers.

One gripe about this place is the facilities maintenance. It’s not terrible or anything, I just wish it was taken care of more often than it is currently. Also, with our most recent trip here, we had multiple sites that should hold up to I believe 16 people, but there were only two «pads» we could set our tents up on that could fit, at most, two tents? One of of our group members couldn’t set his tent up on one of the pads, so he set it up elsewhere, but the ranger came by and told us it would have to be moved to a spot closer to the cars.
I’ve read in a couple other reviews about the highway noise. The park is right off the freeway, I think it should be expected. Personally, it wasn’t an issue the couple times I’ve been there, and what’s nice about the place is that it’s not a terribly long drive either. All in all, I think this place is okay for camping.

Here’s the low down on Lake Easton State Park:
For those who have complained about the «loud traffic noise,» my friends and I barely noticed it, so don’t let that note deter you from visiting this state park. The state park is a short 1 hour drive from Seattle out on I-​90 and for a quick weekend getaway in the summer, you really can’t beat that drive!
Yes, the park is RIGHT off the highway, but it’s conveniently located to nearby gas stations where you can pick up provisions for the weekend (be it firewood or adult beverages). The sites are very generous in size and most of them have a short direct path to the restrooms.
The restrooms have several stalls (at least in the women’s restroom) and at least 2 showers, which is better than most other state park restrooms. They were clean for the most part during our stay.
2 important things to note before your visit:
1. Firewood is not sold inside the campground, you must visit the «guy down the street» (ask the Ranger) or a nearby gas station.
2. This park accepts tokens for the showers (and not quarters).
As for the beach/​swimming area… it is not very close to the tent loops. It is however, just down the hill from the RV loop. This is a shame and you’ll need to drive to the beach if you’re staying in a tent loop.
Here’s some tips for the beach:
1. Do arrive early if you want to park close to the beach.
2. If you arrive early find a nice spot on the grass area, not the sand. The sand areas are hot and it blows all over the place.
3. Do bring a float or tube with you as the water was freezing even in mid-​August.
4. Bring cups for your adult beverages.

We won’t be camping here again. The traffic noise from I-​90 is constant, and the sand at the beach is very dusty. There’s just not much to do here, and the tent campground is pretty far away from the beach, such as it is. Also the bathroom facilities are very poor, and not well maintained. The only positive is that it only takes an hour or so to get here from the Eastside.

This is a great escape only a short drive away from 20 cent plastic bags, $ 4.50 gas, 405 congestion, and anything else «urban» that needles you.
Located along the shores of Lake Easton, Lake Easton State Park offers a variety of camp sites to fit a variety of camping experiences, from the dome tent backpackers to the supersized Taj Mahal of motorized camping. The park has bathrooms and showers, some sites have utility hook-​ups, and there are trails leading through and around the park, including the John Wayne Trail (about 4 miles?) that leads into the town of Easton via a loop around the lake.
You can find info about the park and links to online reservations through the WA State Parks page
The main knocks I’d have about our recent three day weeked trip there are as follows:
* It is close to I-​90 and active rail lines — you hear the freeway constantly and occasionally the train rolls through at night
* The facilities (bathrooms and showers) look almost Eisenhauer era and I wasn’t too keen on using them since they were sketchy