Camping in the Yakima River Canyon, Washington – 7.20.2007
My daughter and I planned a weekend of camping in between the two-day trip to the Quilomene area with the Northwest Backroad Drivers group. As luck would have it, the camping trip did not pan out as I had hoped. But we still had fun.
After getting out of town late, we finally made Ellensburg, Washington, around 8:00 PM on Friday. Not a lot of time to find a camping site, especially on Friday night. I spotted some campgrounds on the Yakima River in the Washington Road & Recreation Atlas south of Ellensburg in the canyon, so we headed in that direction.
I had always wanted to make the drive through the Yakima River canyon. This trip gave me an excuse to make the drive (at least about half of the drive). It’s a nice scenic drive and a very popular spot for fishing.
The first listed campsite we came to was the Untanum Creek site owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The site was somewhat of a disappointment (for a tent camper). The campground pretty much consisted of several sites around a gravel parking lot. It wouldn’t be that bad if you had an RV, but it is not great for a tent. It didn’t matter, though, because no sites were available anyway. So on to the next site.
The next campground we found was the Lmuma Creek Recreation Site (formally known as Squaw Creek, but was changed to Lmuma, which also means “Squaw”). This site was a little nicer than the first site we visited, but still, most campsites were around the perimeter of a gravel parking lot. When we arrived, only one site was left, and the only place to pitch a tent was on loose gravel. It was getting late, and the chances of finding another site were slim, so we took this spot. At least it was right next to the river. If only we had a rooftop tent.
After getting set up for the evening, it wasn’t long before we headed to the tent to bed. Unfortunately, some of our neighbors were there to enjoy their Friday night. They were whooping and hollering with their music cranked until at least 2:00 AM. I guess I’m getting old.
You can view more photos of Lmuma Creek Recreation Area at Camping in the Yakima River Canyon.
