Lake Chelan State Park

This place is amazing! There is a beautiful view for the campsites on the lake! The access to the lake is so easy. The lake isn’t too cold if you are going to the summer and the sites by the lake aren’t as hot as the others. The only reason I’m putting 4 stars instead of 5 is because the Rangers were being unreasonable and almost kicked the people in my site out. We were blamed for some other people by our site. But, aside from my personal problems, it has been an awesome trip

They just finished some remodeling on a section of campsites. The view is spectacular! However this is offset by the fact that there is nothing but dry dirt everywhere. We even had workers stop by to finish a job that required digging more dirt. The park should not be opening the sites up and taking money from people if they aren’t finished! So a potential 5 star is now a 3 star. Only the view and accessibility to the lake is saving my rating from being a 1 star.

My friends and I stayed at Lake Chelan State Park last year during our annual camping trip. We recently visited this lake this past weekend while camping at Alta Lake State Park (30 – 40 min drive from Chelan). I had such a positive experience from our stay at Lake Chelan that I would probably come back each year.
PROS:
Campsite: Many campsites available but they get booked up very quickly so plan ahead. Our campsite was very shaded so that was a nice break from the sun. Each campsite is equipped with a fire pit and a picnic table.
A water faucet was nearby.
Concession stand available. They pretty much sell anything that you would need. They also sell ice cream, drinks and some hot foods as well. Their prices are a little high but you are paying for convenience.
Lake: Large lake with many docks and activities. I’ve seen people boating, fishing and swimming. The water is very clear but very cold! Very busy with families and kids.
Park: Large park nearby the lake with a volleyball court. Great for picnics, sun tanning and just simply hanging out. The park is in good condition.
Bathrooms available with showers.
CONS:
Water: Even though the water is very clean it is very rocky. Water shoes are recommended.
Bathroom: Very old and dirty bathrooms! Last year there were no hand soap. I don’t know if that is still an issue.
TIPS: Shower tokens have to be purchased through the ranger station. Discover pass required.

Just came back from a fantastic weekend at Lake Chelan State Park. This is a fantastic campground specially if you like beautiful surroundings with the convenience of having the store, the clean bathrooms (with hot showers), and the nearby town. We only spent 2 nights but decided we will be back for a 4 night trip ASAP. There’s so much to do in this area! The kids had a blast playing in the water, they loved the playground, and while we were cooking they rode their bikes around and played with the neighbor kids. If you go during non-​holiday weekends, the camp is pretty much filled with families, which in my opinion is great because it gets pretty quiet after 10 pm. My recommendations are:
— Bring earplugs, this is a dog friendly park so you are subject to the possibility of obnoxious barking, little kids yelling/​crying, cars, etc.
— There is no shade by the water, bring an umbrella if you want to sit close to the edge of the lake.
— Bring soap for the showers. They are coin operated.
— Bring water toys, they are overpriced at the store.
— With that said, having the store right there open at 7 am (Fri-​Sun) is a blessing when you need your morning coffee and don’t want to wait for the fire to be ready, so you can boil water. Lattes are the same price the would be a drive through in the city.

We went there a few weeks ago and really enjoyed our visit. The woman in the reception booth was very friendly and helpful! Because of her excellent customer service, we’ll be back next year!

On the lake with plenty of docks. We usually rent a boat from a rental company and they delivery is via water right to the dock. I’ve camped there several times and it usually quiets down pretty early — around 10pm. Lots if families go. Most camp sites are pretty small but they have a couple decent sized ones you can get if u booked way in advance. They have coin operated showers. Plenty of bathrooms. A designated swimming areas and a concession area that sells misc items and ice cream

3 stars from me because all I feel like this campground has going for it is the lake. Other than that, the campsites are all very close and there is little privacy. We stayed in a trailer site however, and the tent sites seem to be where it’s at. If you book a tent site you have your own private site right on the water, but you have to park on the road and pack your camping stuff down a trail. The beach area was crowded with kids, and the store was overpriced. The bathrooms were fairly clean, but the showers only take tokens which you have to buy at the main office. If we came back, it would be to stay in a tent site and reservations are definitely necessary.

The BF and I spent 3 days and 2 nights here when we needed an escape from city life! This campground is great!
Our site was spacious; we were far enough from neighboring sites. Our site was also surrounded by trees, so we had privacy, shade & I was able to hang up my hammock! We were within walking distance to everything — it was awesome! Our site was close enough to First Creek — we could hear water running all day and all night, which helped to drown out any noise.
We were able to walk down to the lake, easily. The water was crystal clear and mighty chilly, but I didn’t mind that because it was HOT! The BF and I managed to fit in some swim workouts before the crowds came trickling in — if you want to hit up the lake before it gets crowded, get down there before 12noon.
There is plenty of open grassy areas — the BF and I were able to toss the frisbee one afternoon, while other groups played volleyball and some other game that looked like cricket, but not cricket (if that makes sense).
The bathroom facilities were clean (serviced once a day, in the early afternoon) and shower tokens were required for hot water showers. Tokens may be purchased at the ranger station at the entrance of the park.
There is a convenience store with just about everything you could possibly need, so in the event you forget something, chances are they’ll have it for you there… saving you a trip out of the campgrounds to some store miles away. We got bags of ice and bundles of firewood from the store. It’s a little pricey compared to outside of the park, but when you’re in a pinch, this can be a life saver.
Oh, and the BEST part — I got zero. nada… nil… zilch… mosquito bites! I am THE most bug bite-​prone person on the planet. I sprayed myself with OFF once a day, in the evening. Usually, I have to apply OFF a bazillion times to keep my bug bite count to under 25 — but not here! Thank GAWD!
All in all, we had a GREAT time at Lake Chelan State Park. I highly recommend this place to everyone! Come relax, sit on the hill overlooking the lake to watch everything happen, grill up some good eats, sit under a tree and read a good book, feel the light breeze blow by as the warm sun shines above you, sit around a big campfire, enjoy being out in nature — you’ll be glad you did!
We’ll def be back!!! The BF and I have already started planning our next camping trip out there — this may just become our annual camping destination!
And, if you are a fan of WA state parks — remember that donations from renewing your tabs is used to restore & maintain parks like this one. So, renew your tabs to renew state parks!!!

We got lucky and scored one of the beach tent sites for a night when we arrived on a Sunday late afternoon. There was only one other camp site left and it was taken by the end of the day too. So we learned our lesson: reserve very early or you may not have a site even on an «off» day.
I wished we could have stayed there for several nights. Watching the colors play off the land across the lake during sunset, reading in the shade while a cooling breeze blows … this is the life!
As it goes with camping there are always inconveniences: bathrooms are a 5min walk, you have to bring your own soap, jet skis and boats tearing through the pristine lake with people whooping and yelling.
But for $ 25/​night I’ll stay a few more nights … if the site is available. But alas, it is not. In fact, there were no sites available for a us to stay a 2^nd night. So off to look for more camping grounds and luckily we found more further along the road: 25mile state park and snowberry campground.

Our family of 6 spent last weekend camping at this great park. We had a wonderful time and will definitely return.
Bathrooms were clean, grounds were well kept, and the lake was clear and cold. Also, the kiddies loved the playground.
The park store was very convenient and had everything we needed. They even had a corkscrew (we forgot ours, but we remembered the wine thank the Lord) which they delivered to our campsite when they initially couldn’t find one.
The only minor negative was that our site was situated very close to our neighbors and I noticed that many of the sites lacked privacy.
We will definitely be back to camp this summer if we can get a site reserved.

Clear Waters!
PRO: Lake Chelan water is very clear! There’s tons of fish there to catch & a great place to swim, boat or jet ski. Just make sure to fish early in the morning and in the evening because in the afternoon they don’t bite.
The campsite has a concession stands that sells basically everything you need, even water toys but its more spender than your local store since it is at the campground. They have slurpees, ice, wood, coffee, snacks, and a variety of ice-​cream to chose from. Just don’t expect any of it to be cheap. Walmart is about 18miles down the road. =)
The beachsite is pretty secluded and has a great view of the beach/​lake at your site. Our place (site 39) was surrounded by trees which helped make it secluded because it was right next to a very busy trail.
The roads are paved and the park is clean. Great play ground for the kids and fun for them to bike around.
CON: We had access to the «beach,» from our campsite. We got site 39 and it’s fairly secluded but a lil’ ways down from where we parked. I wasn’t too impressed w/​the campground because my site did not have a water faucet nor was the bathroom nearby. When we made our reservation it stated that it had water hookup, but that’s not necessarily true cuz its not AT your site and you have to walk a little ways to find/​locate it. The faucet i found is in a common area so everyone gets to use it, which is fine with me. I just wished it was a lot closer. Another thing about the beach/​lake site is that the area was surrounded by big rocks, so its pretty dangerous for younger kids to be climbing around there without supervision. It is not that easily accessible due to the rocks surrounded the lake.
The noise at night was an issue. Apparently quiet time is suppose to be down by 10pm, but ppl were still being very rowdy around 1am. I was sorta annoyed by it because we had very young kids (my 5 yrs old nephews) with us & the vulgarity of their language was not appropriate for them to hear.
The bathroom there seriously needs updated. There’s only one shower per bathroom & two sinks. Thank goodness there was a family room on each side cuz the line was amazingly long. Make sure you bring hand soap, because the park does not provide it for you in the bathroom. Also, the water in the bathroom runs cold.
You got to purchase tokens to shower (3mins per token) at the park office. The shower needs updating too… scary floors. It does provide hot water though.
If you get an RV site, do not expect any privacy. The sites are literally side by side and there is hardly any privacy. I am very thankful that we got a regular site because i do not care for everyone to be in my business.
Our firepit was filled w/​ashes & garbage. The camp host or someone should have cleared it out for the next person.
I probably won’t come back here again. I think the Cons outweight the Pros. If they updated their bathroom, provided hand soap in the bathroom, didn’t charge to get a hot shower and provided water faucet closerby than i probably would have had a better time. It was just hard to walk two small kids to wash their hands or take them to the bathroom. Plus, the rocks by the lake made it dangerous for them to get near the river and so i was constantly on rock-​alert to make sure they weren’t trying to climb it.
RECOMMEND
*Make Reservations MONTHS in advance
*Bring Hand Soap
*Bring Quarters to buy tokens to shower
*Buy most of your things in town, its expensive at the concession stand
*Bring water toys
*Bring fishing poles
Enjoy

This is our new destination for our annual camping trip!
The biggest draw is simply Lake Chelan itself. Lake Chelan State Park has a nice beach area with a concession stand that sells ice-​cream, coffee, and other things you might need at the beach.
As one reviewer pointed out, Lake Chelan State Park can be very busy, but it depends on your location. The parks popularity makes it difficult to reserve. We lucked out at the last minute because of someone else’s last minute cancellation so I suggest you check back regularly for open sites.
The park also arranges special events like movie night and walking tours, which are posted on bulletin boards near the bathrooms.
The bathrooms themselves are clean and offer hot showers — 1 token = 3 minutes. Tokens are available at the ranger’s office.
Considering hotels in Lake Chelan cost $ 200+ a night, camping for less than $ 20 is well worth it.
Pros: location, location, location, concession stand, beach, boat launch, playground, hot showers.
Cons: Difficult to reserve due to populartiy

To be honest, this place is way too packed for my tastes.
If you want to make a reservation for a campsite, you must do it months in advance otherwise, you’re out of luck. Makes sense because this is the one out of two state parks in Lake Chelan.
The park itself is pr