The simple life: Ohanapecosh campgrounds (Mt Rainier)

Earth Date: 2014, July 11th
Location:    Traveling to Ohanapecosh campgrounds, Washington

Today was another traveling day across state lines. We were heading from a helping the homeless event in Hillsborough, Oregon to Mt Rainier.

The journey was 165 miles, and Google maps claims it is a 3 hour car ride. It took us significantly longer, and only in part because of the traffic around Portland. There were no significant stops today along the way -- just visiting a couple of places to grab a bite to eat.

If you are planning to visit Mt Rainier (and you should!) I would not recommend Ohanapecosh campgrounds. It is an odd mix of basic camping and facilities: for example, there are outlets in the bathrooms to help charge your iDevice but no showers. Facilities are not a big selling point to me, and the area is quite pretty, but the biggest problem is the campgrounds are all packed together. Unlike the seclusion we found in the Redwoods near Crescent City, we could see (and hear) 8 other campsites from our location. The crowding was made worse from the road, which wound around all the campsites. Our tent was located about 4 ft from the road, and people would drive through looking for campsites at all hours. All in all, I would recommend finding a different campsite for the area.