One day camping trip ideas.

For reference, I’m in Auburn.
This would be a one day trip, leave in morning and come back in evening.
A place near a river or a lake where I can use a portable grill and toward the evening get a fire pit going. A plus would be a scenery and possibly a mild hike(small kids so don’t want anything difficult).
I was thinking Cle Elum area, but If anyone has ideas I would love to hear em.
Thanks

 

How about Ocean Shores? The beach is always fun. Kids love it. It's about a 2 hr drive though.

 

Anything outside of a 3 hour radius is hard to pull off. Makes for a very long long day. Hope you find a good spot within a hour or two.

 

I would side with @JaCado and stay with no more than 2 to 3 hours away. Otherwise, you spend all your time on the road just to turn around the next day and head home. That being said, if you're in Auburn and you keep travel to the area 2 hours or less, you have a lot of areas you could explore. Judging by where I live (Buckley), I would guess that everything from the Granit Falls area to the northern half of the Gifford Pinchot NF is within and 1.5 hours of you and that doesn't include out on the Peninsula. Here's some quick areas that come to mind for me.

The 70rd above Greenwater. I'm gonna guess that it's maybe an hour from Auburn. Not many lakes to camp by, but if you head up towards Greens Pass you get into the high country with some good views. Kelly's butte is a short hike but is pretty steep for a small stretch. Greenwater Lakes makes a good hike that's fairly flat.

From Greens Pass, you can take a left onto the tie road and drop down into the old town of Lester (nothing is there anymore) and go up to the Stampede Pass area or go right and drop down into the Naches area. You could spend the whole summer just taking a weekend here and there exploring that whole area.

Cle Elum has some good areas also. The one that comes to mind is the Taneum Creek area. It's closer to Ellensburg, but still probably and no more than an hour and a half from Auburn. Three's a few NF campgrounds in that area, but also a lot to explore.

You could also head up towards Blewett Pass and the Liberty area. Lots to explore over there also. *** Hold off on this area for a while. As far as I know, there is still a manhunt going on in this area***

From the top of Blewett Pass, you can drop down into the Levenworth area. Really cool area, but you're probably getting over 2 hours out.

I almost forgot the Beckler and Foss River roads. Both of these roads are off of Hwy 2 just pass Skykomish. Not as much to explore as some of the other areas, but you can get into the high country with some good views.

Hopefully, this gives you some ideas and helps some.

Edit: Now that I'm thinking about it a little more there is a small lake going up towards Greens Pass that you can get pretty close to. It's off the main road, but easy to get to. It's been a few years since I've been to it, but I think there is somewhere to camp. There is also Lizard Lake at the top of Stamped Pass, but that gets really busy. The same goes for Lonesome Lake south of Hwy 410 by Greenwater (not so lonesome). To get to Lonesome Lake, take the 75rd out of Crystal River Ranch area and go up and over Haller Pass.

Also not sure about when your thinking of going, but some of these areas are going to still have snow. Greens Pass tops out at 5,400' and the snow can hang around until the end of June or the first of July.

 

I just tried driving up the Teanaway valley today and saw the signs about the manhunt. The highway is blocked 9 miles in.

OP, head over Snoqualmie pass, get off at Stampede Pass and head left toward Lake Kachess. Keep going past the Kachess campground (i think its still closed) and go up Box Canyon toward Rachel Lake trailhead. There are a ton of camp spots on the creek when you get close to the trailhead. The kiddos will like the first couple miles of the Rachel Lake trail. Its not steep until just before the lake.

Check out the WTA website for better directions (Rachel Lake trail)

 

You could also go past Lake Kachess and go up the east side of Cle Elum Lake and go north. Or, go past Cle Elum to Thorp Highway exit and take Thorp Cemetery Road all the way back, plenty of spots down there too

 

Thanks for the ideas guys. Once I get home I will pull out my map out and see what’s what. Will also look at travel restrictions if there are any.

I don't mind the 2 hour drive, i just prefer some wilderness. Its probably also really windy out there.

 

Thank you for a detailed break down.
Yes, 2-3 hour is the time frame i had in mind.
Once i get home today, i will take a closer look at these areas and see if there are any travel restrictions.

I am looking at Lake Rachel, but am not seeing an area where i can get close to the lake with my truck, am i overlooking something?

As far as Kachess Lake, you mentioned that campground is closed and this is fine, but looking at a map i am seeing some areas(closest to i-90) that look like i can just pull up in my truck and hang out there. I've attached a picture, any info on this area?

Took a brief look at Lake Kachess area and really liking it. Looks like i can pull up near the water and do some camping right there. Another neat thing is like you said, plenty of other spots around there to visit.

 

Rachel lake is a 4 mile hike. There are lots of camping spots at the lake of you want to backpack in with your tent and gear.

The camping spots that you can pull up to in your vehicle are scattered along the road as you get close to the trailhead.

 

Ah, got it. I’ll take a look again.
Thanks

 

There's a huge camping area at the top of Cle Elum Lake, right on Cle Elum river

 

Oh nice, looks like Lake Rachel, Kachess and Cle Elum lakes are all relatively near one another. Cant wait to scout the area.
Any pointers when going out there? Obviously exercise common sense, but i've never done trips like these so "tribal knowledge" of people that have done this is welcomed.

 

Some ideas

lost lake over in Snoqualmie
Speelyi beach on lake cle elum
Mowich lake
Coplay lake

edit:

speelyi beach is a sand beach and you can drive up right against the water which kids love . Idk about trails to walk but a nice spot for a beach day.

coplay lake is up a FS road a bit but it’s serene and they have a spots you can setup camp and if you have a kayak go out on.

 

Speelyi Beach is exactly what i was looking for. At this point this is the my go-to area.
Though i will also likely explore the area around there just to get an idea for actual camping trips during summer.
Last question, are there porta-potties around there or public restrooms?
Btw thanks!

 

They have bathrooms but I think right now they are closed?

 

Bell Creek Water access on Cle Elum Lake has a long beach you can park and camp on. It also has a bathroom, not sure if open though

 

Alright, might have to find a near by rest area if all else fails

 

Are there restriction getting a campfire goin in the evening? Was thinking of grabbing some wood and getting a fire going if possible.

 

Could be allowed in established campgrounds only

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mbs/news-events/?cid=STELPRDB5328717

 

So that’s a no. Thanks for the link