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In an effort to accommodate more campers and improve the camping experience, Washington State Parks has announced new camping stay limits scheduled to take effect this summer. These changes are poised to impact how RVers and campers plan their stays across the Evergreen State.
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New Camping Policies at Washington State Parks
What’s Changing?
Starting this August, new policies limit camping stays at an individual Washington state park to a maximum of 10 days within any 30-day period. The new policy also limits the total nights stayed in Washington state parks to 90 days per calendar year.
Previously, camping stay limits were seasonal. Campers could camp for 10 to 14 nights in a row from April to September (the exact limit varied by park) and 20 nights from October through March.
However, campers only had to leave a park for 3 nights before returning and there were no limits on a camper’s total usage of state park campgrounds.
These new policies were designed to strike a balance between accommodating long-term campers and ensuring broader access for all park visitors. While the change may make reservations easier to secure, it will also dramatically decrease the number of days frequent campers can utilize state park campgrounds.
Chair of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, Sophia Danenberg, said, “What we hear a lot is that there’s just not enough camping. This is not going to resolve the issue of not enough camping, but it’s encouraging to see staff starting to make progress and look at what has been a long-term issue.”
Effective Dates
These new camping stay limits are scheduled to go into effect next month on August 19th, 2024. Reservations made before August 19th will be honored, but the new policies will be enforced on all future reservations.
Camping reservations at Washington state parks can be made up to 9 months in advance, which means there will be no stays over 10 nights during the summer 2025 camping season.
Fee Changes
In addition to creating stricter stay limits, Washington state parks are also raising their campground fees. The nightly fee for campsites will increase by $3 to $6 per site.
Alternatives to State Park Camping
Campers who previously stayed at Washington state parks for more than 90 nights each year will need to find new places to camp. Alternative camping options include National Forest Service campgrounds and private RV parks.
Campers who need alternatives to longer stays at state parks might consider Thousand Trails. Thousand Trails is a national campground membership with 12 RV parks in Washington State. Depending on their membership level, campers can stay at a Thousand Trails RV park for up to 21 nights at a time.
Christina Pate is a seasoned full-time RVer who, along with her husband Justin, has journeyed across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Drawing from her extensive travels, RV repairs and RV renovations, she founded Travels with Ted to guide and inspire fellow RV enthusiasts. Christina is also the co-author of The Owner’s Guide to RV Maintenance and the creator of My RV Log Book.
