We haven't been in an airplane or on a road trip for two years! First our second baby came, then shortly Covid hit. Last year was a year of survival and struggle, but from the beginning of this year, I decided to do something instead of daydreaming about traveling abroad. With two kids in the tow, we opted for something less ambitious but still lots of fun: we explored the parks within Washington state, usually 1-2.5 hours driving distance, by staying two nights to unwire ourselves and sink in the park's rhythm. It worked well, not perfectly from the first trip, but we learned a lot on the way, and I would like to share what I have learned, in the hope that it might encourage you to get out more. Here is a list of places we have been or will be this year: 1. January: Koinonia Camp. 2. April: cottage in Ashford by Mt. Rainier. 3. June: cabin at Dash Point State Park ; cabin at Flowing Lake county park. 4. July: yurt at Kayak Point county park; yurt at Tolt River-McDonald county park; cabin at Soundview camp. 5. August: cabin at Wallace Falls State Park; cottage in Ashford by Mt. Rainier. 6. September: cottage at Millersylvania State Park 7. October: yurt at Tolt River-McDonald county park. And I just remembered that we did make some local trips last year: 8. August 2020: cabin at Rasar State Park. 9. September 2020: Airbnb in Auburn (lakeside house with indoor pool). 10. October 2020: cottage at Fort Flager State Park; Airbnb at Hansville (seaside house with private beach). 11. December 2020: Airbnb in Auburn (lakeside house with indoor pool). I will save your and my time by not going into details about how each trip went. I will just list out the channels to book these trips, because, surprisingly, even some of my local WA friends don't know how to book the stay at the parks. It took me months and even years of following posts in hiking and camping Facebook groups to get a hang of it, because it's not right out there for you to copy and paste, or maybe there is. But anyway, here it is! (Note: all the stays mentioned below are two nights minimum.) 1. First and my favorite: Washington State Parks. https://washington.goingtocamp.com I booked our summer stays almost half a year in advance in January. The year before last year, I didn't find anything for summer weekends because I was too late to the game. So I learned my lesson and as soon as it was open for booking, I went for it. I booked many weekends, because, even if we cannot make it, it's always easy to transfer to others, or request refund. We prefer cabins to camps, so you can just search for "roofed" which includes cabins, yurts, tepees, etc. If you want something luxury, search "Vacation Houses". We got that at Fort Flagler and Millersylvania state parks. 2. Snohomish County Parks: https://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/1082/Campgrounds This is my new find this year. Snohomish is so close to Seattle, and it's a tiny bit less popular than State Parks, so more chances to secure a summer weekend if you forget to plan earlier in winter. 3. King County Parks: https://kingcounty.gov/services/parks-recreation/parks/activities-rentals/rentals/booking.aspx Literally only one park offers campground: Tolt River-McDonald park, but it is a great park. Again, super close to Seattle. Last time we stayed there, we realized that we forgot all our bedding upon arrival. At least we didn't need to drive back and forth 2 hours to get anything. 4. Sound View camp on Kitsap Peninsular. https://www.soundviewcamp.com You can order breakfast and pizza dinner, and even lunch bags for grab! And if your kids are 8 years old and up, you can send them to the summer camp there while you go boating. The water there was crystal clear when we stayed there earlier this month. The animal farm was a hit for little kids. They went there and petted the animals every morning and evening. 5. Camp Koinonia https://campkoinonia.org. We stayed there in the winter. Got plenty of snow while there was none in Seattle. A sledding hill was right by the cabins, and snowshoes for rent for free. The cabin was almost luxurious with heater, bathroom and shower. You can also order breakfast and dinner and lunch bags! Nothing can beat hot food in winter. The cabins are closed for school camps in summer but tent campground is open. I heard there is outdoor pool! And the manager there Kevin was great! There are other campsites that I have heard such as Hipcamp, but I haven't tried yet. If you have anything to add or any questions, feel free to comment! Enjoy the outdoors!
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