Chatter Creek Campground is a very popular campground in the summer months when it’s open. With 12 spacious campsites, mildly good screening between sites, and the chattering creek that ran through our campsite it’s no wonder why. The sites are priced at $15 a night with a $9 charge for any additional vehicles. Because we were camping so early in the season there was no fee. This also meant that the water wasn’t turned on, luckily we had planned ahead for that scenario and had brought plenty of water along.
The sites at this campground cannot be reserved and the usage is heavy, making an early season visit definitely worth the lack of water! We have always been hesitant to camp in Icicle Creek Canyon because of it’s popularity due to its proximity to Leavenworth, Washington. There are many campgrounds located along the 20 mile stretch of road in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Even this early in the season other campgrounds were popular most likely because of the warm weekend.
The pile of firewood awaiting us at our dispersed campsite.
In addition to the campgrounds there are also opportunities for dispersed camping. Dispersed camp sites are typically pull-offs on forest roads with room for a couple of tents. There are no facilities or picnic tables and best of all there are no fees besides displaying your Northwest Forest Pass. There is no dispersed camping directly off Icicle Creek Road but if you take a left onto Forest Road NF-7601 at Bridge Creek Campground and cross the bridge you’ll find a number of free dispersed camping sites. My favorite is a mile before the end of the road – here’s a map. It’s on the right side of the road shortly after you cross the bridge over Eightmile creek and immediately before crossing Mountaineer creek. There is enough space for 5 or 6 tents. When we were there in June there was also an enormous pile of free firewood. The best part is that it’s a 2 minute walk to the Latrine at the Eightmile trailhead.
Fishing in Mountaineer Creek from our dispersed campsite. We even caught a couple of little fish!
There are a ton of hiking, climbing, mountain biking and rafting/kayaking around Leavenworth. If you’re staying along Icicle Creek it’s definitely work checking out the Icicle Creek Trail.
