Camping near Rochester, Washington

Camping near Rochester, Washington includes 2 public campgrounds on record, 2 first-come. All are run by the state forestry agency. The nearest, Margaret McKenny Campground, is 7.3 miles from Rochester in a straight line, and all 2 are within 15 miles. Another 10 public campgrounds filed under nearby towns are within 30 miles of Rochester.

Margaret McKenny Campground Middle Waddell Campground

noindex Fewer than 5 campgrounds here clear the indexable bar yet, so this page stays noindex.

Camping near Rochester at a glance

Public campgrounds: 2 (2 State Forest)
Getting a site: 2 first-come
Distance from Rochester: 7.3 miles (Margaret McKenny Campground) to 8.1 miles (Middle Waddell Campground) in a straight line; 2 within 15 miles
Elevation: 303 ft (Margaret McKenny Campground) to 344 ft (Middle Waddell Campground), 2 of 2 on record
Campsites: 58 across the 2 campgrounds that state a count
RVs: 2 take RVs; no hookups on record; longest stated RV length 34 ft (Margaret McKenny Campground)

Distances are straight-line miles from Rochester'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.

First-come Margaret McKenny Campground Rochester · State Forest · 7.3 mi

Agency: State Forest
Sites: 25
Season: Not on record
Fee: No camping fee (first come, with a Discover Pass)

First-come Middle Waddell Campground Rochester · State Forest · 8.1 mi

Agency: State Forest
Sites: 33
Season: Not on record
Fee: No camping fee (first come, with a Discover Pass)

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More campgrounds within 30 miles of Rochester

Fall Creek Campground, 9 miles from Rochester in a straight line , State Forest , first-come (No camping fee (first come, with a Discover Pass)); listed under camping near Porter.
Millersylvania State Park, 9.6 miles from Rochester in a straight line , State Park , reservable ; listed under camping near Olympia.
Southwest Washington Fairgrounds Park Campground, 9.9 miles from Rochester in a straight line , County , reservable ; listed under camping near Centralia.
Porter Creek Campground, 14 miles from Rochester in a straight line , State Forest , first-come (No camping fee (first come, with a Discover Pass)); listed under camping near Malone.
Rainbow Falls State Park, 15 miles from Rochester in a straight line , State Park , reservable (Peak nightly (statewide): standard $31-$43, partial hookup $41-$51); listed under camping near Chehalis.
Straddleline Park Campground, 17 miles from Rochester in a straight line , County , reservable ; listed under camping near McCleary.
Lewis and Clark State Park, 24 miles from Rochester in a straight line , State Park , reservable (Peak nightly (statewide): standard $31-$43, full hookup $46-$56, primitive $12); listed under camping near Winlock.
Hope Island Marine State Park - Mason County, 26 miles from Rochester in a straight line , State Park , first-come (Primitive and water trail sites $12/night (statewide rate)); listed under camping near Herron Island.
Schafer State Park, 27 miles from Rochester in a straight line , State Park , reservable (Peak nightly (statewide): standard $31-$43, partial hookup $41-$51, primitive $12); listed under camping near Elma.
Lake Sylvia State Park, 28 miles from Rochester in a straight line , State Park , reservable (Peak nightly (statewide): standard $31-$43, partial hookup $41-$51, primitive $12); listed under camping near Montesano.

Things to do near Rochester

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

Fort Borst Park Pond fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 7.9 miles from Rochester; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
Plummer Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 8.4 miles from Rochester; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, a national wildlife refuge whose mapped point is 9 miles from Rochester; its hours, camping, hunting and fishing rules, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
Millersylvania State Park, a state park whose mapped point is 9.3 miles from Rochester; its hours, entrance fee, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
Black Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 13 miles from Rochester; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
Offutt Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 13 miles from Rochester; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
Munn Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 14 miles from Rochester; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
McIntosh Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 14 miles from Rochester; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
Rainbow Falls State Park, a state park whose mapped point is 16 miles from Rochester; its hours, entrance fee, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
Ward Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 16 miles from Rochester; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.

Supplies and emergencies near Rochester

Nearest emergency room: Providence Centralia Hospital, 914 S Scheuber Rd, Centralia, WA, 8.3 miles from Rochester , (360) 330-8530. Next nearest: Capital Medical Center, 3900 Capitol Mall Dr SW, Olympia, WA, 16 miles, (360) 956-2550. Both report emergency services in the CMS Hospital General Information dataset (accessed 2026-09-26) . In an emergency, call 911.

Groceries: Food Mart convenience store · 0.9 miles
Country Corner Market convenience store · 1.4 miles
Rochester Market supermarket · 1.5 miles
Fuel: Chevron fuel station · 0.9 miles
Sinclair fuel station · 2.7 miles
Arco fuel station · 2.8 miles
Propane: Airgas propane dealer · 12 miles
All American Propane propane dealer · 14 miles · (360) 357-6442 · Hours Mo-Fr 08:00-17:00
C&D Propane propane dealer · 15 miles
RV dump station: Dump Station RV dump station · 3.9 miles
Scatter Creek Rest Area service point · 3.9 miles
Chehalis Tribal Eagle RV Park RV park · 4.5 miles
Pharmacy: A.C.N.W. Alternative Care Northwest pharmacy · 4.4 miles
Rite Aid pharmacy · 7.3 miles
Centralia Pharmacy pharmacy · 9 miles · (360) 736-5000 · Hours Mo-Fr 09:30-18:00; Sa 10:00-14:00
Laundromat: Country Fresh Laundry laundromat · 8.6 miles
South Market Laundry laundromat · 12 miles
Southgate Laundromat laundromat · 14 miles · Hours Mo-Su 07:00-21:00

Not mapped in OpenStreetMap within 25 miles of Rochester: potable water fill and 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

Where can I camp around Rochester, WA?

2 public campgrounds are on record near Rochester. Nearest first, straight-line from town: Margaret McKenny Campground (7.3 miles) and Middle Waddell Campground (8.1 miles). 2 are first-come, first-served with no reservations.

Is there free camping near Rochester, WA?

Not at a developed campground: each of the 2 public campgrounds on record near Rochester charges a fee, listed in the table.

Where can I camp with an RV near Rochester, WA?

2 campgrounds near Rochester take RVs: Margaret McKenny Campground and Middle Waddell Campground. None has hookups on record. The nearest mapped RV dump station is at Dump Station, 3.9 miles from town (OpenStreetMap).

Where is the nearest emergency room to Rochester, WA?

Providence Centralia Hospital, 914 S Scheuber Rd, Centralia, WA, is 8.3 miles from Rochester in a straight line and reports emergency services to CMS; phone (360) 330-8530. In an emergency, call 911.

Every campground in the state: camping in Washington ; by agency: State Forest campgrounds in Washington ; by county: campgrounds in Thurston .