La Wis Wis Campground

Liked this site so much we spent a second night here along the river. There were many sites still available without a reservation after the National Park campground nearby was full. Beautiful park, large sites with picnic table and fire pits surrounded by tall trees. Many of the camp sites here are along the river. Vault toilets. Extremely friendly camp hosts. Stayed here while visiting Mt. Rainier. No cell phone reception. Look forward to staying here again.

Great forested campground but horrible oversight. Our first week here host was great. Bathrooms were clean, guests were courteous. Second week host changed and the bathrooms didn’t have TP for three days and one camper would leave his German shepherd out all day unleashed to chase cars and people while he went to the river. Host was nowhere to be found nor helpful.
Otherwise, great access to the rivers and easy entrance to the NP. No dump and fresh water is difficult to access. But sites are level and appropriate for campers in loop H.

Great forested campground but horrible oversight. Our first week here host was great. Bathrooms were clean, guests were courteous. Second week host changed and the bathrooms didn’t have TP for three days and one camper would leave his German shepherd out all day unleashed to chase cars and people while he went to the river. Host was nowhere to be found nor helpful.
Otherwise, great access to the rivers and easy entrance to the NP. No dump and fresh water is difficult to access. But sites are level and appropriate for campers in loop H.

There are definitely some crowded parts of these loops but there were so secluded sites too. 1e was large and further from other sites. Both bathrooms on either side were nice and clean but another one in c loop was disgusting. Lots of open sites. The river by the campsite was gorgeous. Two short hikes nearby. Close to lots of hikes in and out of national park.

Set beside the Cowlitz river, multiple loops make up this campground, with Loop A being best for larger rigs. B,C,D, and E require some tight turns not suited for medium or large campers. Sites are labeled with a number and a letter designating the loop, and either S, M, SP, or MP. Per the camp host, S is for single vehicles, M for multiple. Makes sense, right? He didn’t tell me about the P and I only saw that the next day, when I happened to run across a rep from Rocky Mount, who manages the CG reservation system. She didn’t know what the P meant, either. In fact, she told me “M” no longer stands for “multiple” and some of these are now single sites in their system, although there is ZERO explanation of this in the CG or anywhere on the info boards. Turns out I could have camped *right* on the river if only I were omniscient. Porta-potty bathrooms. Water spigots throughout CG, no hookups, dry camping only. $8 for firewood Didn’t see a dump station, but since I don’t use one, I could have missed it. Heavily wooded area, very few good solar sites due density of canopy. The CG itself is in poor repair with crumbling, un-level parking pads, rickety porta-potties, and sites missing letters/numbers. I thought I was in D1S, turns out I was in D17S but who knew because the “7” was missing? The ranger office is closed and slowly disintegrating. $22/night for “single” sites, $40 for multiple, although, who knows if you’re actually in a single site now? I feel like a year and a half ago, single sites would be in the $12-15 range...Walk-up sites still available at this CG, but I’m sure they will be going to 100% reservable in the near future to maximize the profit. There were multiple sites reserved for the weekend I was there and no one ever showed up, a few right on the river. Mostly quiet, the river was running swiftly when I was there so it tended to drown out other camper’s conversations. I have a Extended Chevy Camper Van and I just barely fit, front to back. Very short parking pads on most sites. Some sites more private, while others are quite close together. Zero cell reception with AT&T anywhere in the CG. Beautiful area, but no real hikes or other activities, except for a short 1/4 mile hike to Purcell Falls, which is lovely. Can’t imagine anyone swimming in this cold water with a ripping current. I was also surprised by the lack of bear proof garbage areas and food storage lockers. Maybe bears aren’t a problem here, but even raccoons can become an issue for CG’s that don’t have secured garbage areas. Beautiful area, poorly managed campground, and over-priced for the “amenities.” I came, I camped, I won’t be back.

We drove through just to check it out when we saw the sign. They take reservations and seemed pretty booked for the weekend. There's a couple different loops depending on your trailer size. They have regular flush toilets. There was a creek and beautiful massive trees. The only downside seemed to be the spots were on top of each other. I believe the sign said $12 a night but could be wrong as I didn't write it down.

We'd decided to return to Ohanapecosh for the weekend, but even showing up at 1pm on a Thursday proved unfruitful, so we headed back down to La Wis Wis.

There are signs reading "nah bud, if you've got a long trailer stay in the A loop."

A loop was, I believe as volcanic scientists have deemed it, "super weak sauce". Well, the river spots would have been a bingo winner, but they're all mostly reservable (and had already been reserved) or double sites costing $38 / night. So, despite the other sign which read "Loops B-E, Small Trailers and Tents Only", we went for it.

And scored. B loop is okay. The other loops are fabulous. Massive chunky old growth Douglas-firs and Western hemlocks, Pacific yews and vine maples lining the undergrowth. River sites are fabulous but they're not the only or even necessarily the best spots to snag.

Absolutely no service of any kind. Never found a dump station, though we may have simply missed it.

If someone were holding a rusty old gun to my head, the kind you can still pawn because they're so old and vintage, I'd 101% say this place was every bit as good as Ohanapecosh simply because it's only a few minutes to get into the national park, and ten or fifteen minutes closer to Packwood, plus it feels just like the park here...