Camping near Carson, Washington

Camping near Carson at a glance

Public campgrounds

6 (6 National Forest)

Getting a site

3 reservable and 3 first-come

Cost

Lowest posted fee at Government Mineral Springs Campground: "Single Site: $10 per night"

Distance from Carson

6.5 miles (Panther Creek Campground) to 16 miles (Paradise Creek Campground) in a straight line; 4 within 15 miles

Elevation

959 ft (Panther Creek Campground) to 3,600 ft (Forlorn Lakes Campground), 6 of 6 on record

Season

1 open all year

Campsites

123 across the 4 campgrounds that state a count

RVs

5 take RVs; no hookups on record; longest stated RV length 40 ft (Panther Creek Campground)

Drinking water

3 of 6

Distances are straight-line miles from Carson's point in the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2025), not driving distances. Every other fact comes from each campground's own sourced record, linked from its page.

More campgrounds within 30 miles of Carson

• Moss Creek Campground, 10 miles from Carson in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $25 per night); listed under camping near Willard.
• Beacon Rock State Park, 12 miles from Carson in a straight line , State Park , reservable (Peak nightly (statewide): standard $31-$43, full hookup $46-$56, primitive $12); listed under camping near North Bonneville.
• Oklahoma Campground, 13 miles from Carson in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $25 per night); listed under camping near Trout Lake.
• Dougan Creek Campground, 16 miles from Carson in a straight line , State Forest , first-come (No camping fee (first come, with a Discover Pass)); listed under camping near North Bonneville.
• Peterson Prairie Group Gcg, 18 miles from Carson in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Group Site: $115 per night (up to 50 people)); listed under camping near Trout Lake.
• Peterson Prairie Campground, 18 miles from Carson in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $25 per night); listed under camping near Trout Lake.
• Atkisson Group Campground, 19 miles from Carson in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $115 per night); listed under camping near Trout Lake.
• Sunset Falls Campground, 21 miles from Carson in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $20 per night); listed under camping near Yacolt.
• Mountain View Rec. Club Group Campground, 22 miles from Carson in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (free); listed under camping near Trout Lake.
• Cultus Creek Campground, 22 miles from Carson in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $15 per night); listed under camping near Trout Lake.
• Canyon Creek Campground, 22 miles from Carson in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (free); listed under camping near Cougar.
• Guler Mt. Adams County Park, 23 miles from Carson in a straight line , County , first-come ($30/night no electricity, $40 with electricity; weekly $180/$240; group $62-$132; dump $10); listed under camping near Trout Lake.
• Rock Creek Campground, 24 miles from Carson in a straight line , State Forest , first-come (No camping fee (first come, with a Discover Pass)); listed under camping near Venersborg.
• Swift Forest Camp, 24 miles from Carson in a straight line , Other Agency , reservable ($30/night (5 people, 1 vehicle) through Sept 30; free October 1-November 22 (Section A only)); listed under camping near Cougar.
• Trout Lake Creek Campground, 25 miles from Carson in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $15 per night; additional vehicle $5 per night); listed under camping near Trout Lake.
• Cold Creek Campground, 25 miles from Carson in a straight line , State Forest , first-come (No camping fee (first come, with a Discover Pass)); listed under camping near Venersborg.
• Tillicum Campground, 27 miles from Carson in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $10 per night); listed under camping near Trout Lake.
• Lower Falls Recreation Area, 29 miles from Carson in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $20 per night); listed under camping near Cougar.

Things to do near Carson

Public land and water within 30 miles of Carson, the public land its campgrounds sit in, and landmarks at those campgrounds, nearest first.

• Carson Hot Springs, a hot spring whose mapped point is 0.7 miles from Carson; soaking details on swimholesmap.com.
• Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, a national forest whose mapped point is 4 miles from Carson; its dispersed-camping rule, ranger offices, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Wyeth State Recreation Area, a state park whose mapped point is 4.1 miles from Carson; its hours, entrance fee, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, a national forest whose mapped point is 5.7 miles from Carson; its dispersed-camping rule, ranger offices, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 5.9 miles from Carson; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Little Ash Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 6.1 miles from Carson; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
• Ice House Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 6.3 miles from Carson; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
• Gifford Pinchot National Forest, all 6 campgrounds here sit inside this national forest, the nearest Panther Creek Campground at 6.5 miles from Carson; publiclandsdb.com has its dispersed-camping rule, ranger offices, and boundary.
• Starvation Creek State Park, a state park whose mapped point is 7.4 miles from Carson; its hours, entrance fee, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Viento State Park, a state park whose mapped point is 8.1 miles from Carson; its hours, entrance fee, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.

Supplies and emergencies near Carson

Nearest emergency room: Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, 810 12th St, Hood River, OR, 15 miles from Carson , (541) 386-3911. Next nearest: Skyline Hospital, 211 NE Skyline Dr, White Salmon, WA, 17 miles, (509) 491-1101. Both report emergency services in the CMS Hospital General Information dataset (accessed 2026-09-26) . In an emergency, call 911.

Groceries

• Wind River Market convenience store · 0.5 miles
• Carson General Store supermarket · 0.5 miles
• Carson Mercantile supermarket · 0.7 miles

Fuel

• Texaco fuel station · 0.5 miles
• Chevron fuel station · 3.8 miles
• Chevron fuel station · 4.1 miles

Propane

• Shell propane dealer · 5.8 miles
• Chevron propane dealer · 5.8 miles

RV dump station

• Stevenson Trailer Sewage Dump Station RV dump station · 4.2 miles
• Beacon Rock Moorage service point · 12 miles
• Ainsworth Campground campground · 15 miles

Potable water fill

• Potable water water fill point · 15 miles

Pharmacy

• Wind River Pharmacy pharmacy · 4.1 miles · (509) 427-5480 · Hours Mo-Fr 09:00-12:30,13:30-18:00; Sa 09:00-14:00; Su off
• Walmart Pharmacy pharmacy · 14 miles · Hours Mo-Sa 09:00-19:00; Su 10:00-18:00
• Safeway pharmacy · 14 miles

Laundromat

• East Wind Laundry laundromat · 4 miles
• Washboard Eco Laundry laundromat · 14 miles
• Washboard laundromat · 15 miles

Not mapped in OpenStreetMap within 25 miles of Carson: ice. Stores, fuel, propane, dump stations, water fill, laundromats, and pharmacies are the nearest few mapped within 25 miles, straight-line, © OpenStreetMap contributors (data as of 2026-09-29; this extract under the ODbL). Hours are as mapped; call ahead.

Common questions