Cougar Park & Campground

Erin Glasser

My family made reservations at Cougar Park Campground for the nights of July 6 and 7. We drove over from Spokane and had to make a long stop in the Tri-Cities due to needing to pick up some forgotten medication at the pharmacy as well as a dinner break. We arrived at Cougar Park at 9:45 after many hours on the road and were shocked and upset to find the entry gate closed and locked as well as tire spikes to prevent us from going in the exit. I have camped my entire life and have never had a campground close its entrance at night like that to prevent people who have paid for a reservation from accessing their site. We have always been able to show up at any time and claim our reserved campsite at any time of the day (or night). As we sat there in the dark with three tired and cranky kids trying to figure out what to do, I pulled up my reservation email and sure enough, near the bottom of the lengthy email there was a short note about closing the gate at 8pm buried in the list of rules and regulations. To say that we were upset is an understatement. PLEASE either change this policy OR make it very, very clear and upfront when confirming a reservation online. We had to drive over an hour to the nearest town on I-5 to get a hotel at 11:30 at night after trying to find any nearby campground that was open and available. Then we had to make the hour long drive back in the morning to continue our trip and see if our second night at the campground was available or if it had, in fact, been cancelled. This put a serious dent in our experience and we will not be returning to any campground run by PacifiCorp again unless this policy is modified. The campground hosts were polite and understanding of our frustrations. It was not their fault for enforcing this ridiculous policy. The campground was clean and well cared for with plenty of shade and privacy. My one-star review is solely for the lack of transparency of their 8pm check-in policy.

dotz dee

This was a wonderful camp the location is close and the sights are nice and private. clean park and good Host . The lake is Beautiful and relaxing trip with water everything so close . One of my favorite places

Sheana H

Great view, close to many water access points. The water front area here is pretty rocky. You do need to drive to go find a place to hang out by the water. However they were full online and I showed up and they were able to accommodate me. We will be back next year

Jackie Guthrie

I would have given this review four stars or even 4.5 if the camp enforced it's quiet time rules. The campground is located on a bay so noise is going to carry and its a campground- there is noise right? I certainly make noise and expect others will too. The campsites are set up so as to be very friendly with your neighbors, which is appealing to large groups of friends and families. We happened to be in the middle of two such groups who were having a great time with their friends and families until well after midnight, one group even ran their generator until 0100! I ended up leaving my tent and sleeping in my car because the noise from the campers was so loud. The campground itself is nice, clean and the facilities were clean and well stocked. There's a trail to Beaver Bay within the campground and it's well maintained and a nice walk. Ape caves are nearby as is access to some hiking trails. I would stay here again, but I would bring ear plugs for sleeping.