A white Tacoma with a camper shell parked on a rise above a broad, empty basin under building cloud.

Forest Service campground

Blue Lake Creek Campground

Forest Service campground in Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Lewis County, Washington. 1,812 feet. 28 miles from Morton.

Managed by
Forest Service Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Elevation
1,812 ft USGS elevation model, at the mapped point
Sites
11 11 standard non-electric
Longest rig
48 ft The longest vehicle any site is listed for
Hookups
None listed
Reservations
Recreation.gov
County
Lewis County

Overview

In a well-shaded location among maple trees and ferns, Blue Lake Creek Campground offers open, grassy spaces with sites that can accommodate both tents and RVs with a small brook that babbles through the campground.

Both Blue Lake and the Cispus River can be reached from multi-use trails leaving the campground, making this location popular among hikers, mountain bikers and OHV riders.

Recreation

There is direct access to the Valley Trail, which is used by OHV riders, mountain bikers, hikers and horseback riders. Valley Trail offers a network of over 50 miles of OHV trails.

The shorter High Log Trail is only open to foot traffic and connects with the Cispus River, where fishing and other water activities abound.

Hikers looking to explore the stunning scenery of Blue Lake, can take the Valley Trail #270 to the Blue Lake Trail, which leads visitors on a trek of moderate difficulty to Blue Lake, where fishing and beautiful mountain landscapes await.

Facilities

The campground consists of 11 back in sites with paved parking spurs that vary from 20 to 30 feet in length. Due to its popularity among OHV riders, Blue Lake Creek can become noisy when trail bikes come and go.

Minimal privacy is provided between sites. Hookups and drinking water are not available at this facility, however there are picnic tables, grills and vault toilets available on site.

Natural Features

Located in southwest Washington State, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest encompasses over 1.3 million acres, including the 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument established by Congress in 1982.

Blue Lake Creek Campground is located in the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District, which is in the northernmost portion of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

This Ranger District manages four Wilderness Areas including the Goat Rocks Wilderness, Glacier View Wilderness, Tatoosh Wilderness and William O Douglass Wilderness.

The Cispus River runs nearby the campground and can be accessed via a short hike. Blue Lake, a small mountain lake with beautiful turquoise waters, can also be reached by via a trail leaving the campground.

The description, directions and fees are the Forest Service’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

What people do here

  • biking
  • camping
  • fishing
  • hiking
  • hunting

The land around Blue Lake Creek Campground

The ringed pin is this campground; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in.

Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated March 5, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.