Olympic National Park is HUGE, and it’s really important to pick a campground location that will give you easy access to the parts you are most interested in exploring. Elwah Dam RV Park is a perfect base camp for exploring Olympic. The campground is located just about 10 minutes from downtown Port Angeles, which is also home to the main Olympic National Park visitor center. This also places visitors within easy driving distance of Crescent Lake, Hurricane Ridge, and Sol Duc Falls.
There are other popular NPS campgrounds located throughout the park, so make sure to check out RVFTA podcast episode #152: Greetings from Olympic National Park where we chat about the geography and highlights of this amazing NPS destination.
Campground Details
Elwah Dam RV Park is a small, rustic, and charming campground with about 60 RV sites and a handful of tent sites. All the sites are full hook up, with a mix of back in and pull thru. There is an entire section of sites for big rigs. The campground fills up during peak travel season, so book early if possible.
The sites are on the small side and close together, but this is definitely a base camp, so your time will be spent exploring the national park, not hanging out all day at the campground. The prices are also reasonable at $46.50-$49.50 per night.
It also has a house rental on property, which was where we stayed for our 6-day visit. The house was a large 4-bedroom, 2.5 bath residence, well stocked and hosting a washer and dryer. Most of the house has been remodeled, but there are still some finishing touches (molding, window dressings, etc.) that need to be attended to. However, at $175 per night, we felt this was a steal and would recommend it to anyone traveling to Olympic National Park without a camper.
Amenities and Activities
One of the best features of this campground are the charming owners and hosts, Dave and Chris, who live on site and are more than happy to share recommendations for local hikes, activities, and restaurants. There is also volleyball, horseshoes, and basketball. The playground is small and dated.
There is a beautiful, modern clubhouse with seating area, television, and communal kitchen. There is also an outdoor cooking space.
Elwah Dam RV Park hosted no organized activities while we were staying, but again, this isn’t the sort of campground that folks hang out at all day. For most of our stay, we left early in the morning and returning late in the evening.
For more information about our trip to Olympic National Park, check out RV Family Travel Atlas episode #152: Greetings from Olympic National Park. Also make sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram feeds for pictures of our stay at Elwah Dam RV Park and Olympic National Park. We included a ton of information about campgrounds and destinations in our social posts!
See you at the campground!
Stephanie + Jeremy
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