America’s Camping Report Card
Washington
#27 of 43 for camping
Better than 38% of graded states · overall grade B — campers like it.
Graded on 30,573 written reviews from Washington - no star ratings, just what people wrote.
The breakdown
Letter grades reflect how campers actually felt about each topic - A means they loved it, not that it beat other states.
What campers praised
- beautiful campground307
- beautiful place193
- beautiful park170
- beautiful lake155
- beautiful area152
What campers warned about
- windy conditions9
- hot weather5
- little shade5
- low water level5
- limited shade4
- Praised by
- 52.3%
- Warned by
- 1.8%
- Rank
- Better than 88% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.504 (±0.006, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- hiking trails44
- river access43
- beach access34
- nearby hikes31
- fishing28
What campers warned about
- not much to do6
- fishing not good4
- limited river access4
- no river access4
- limited hiking3
- Praised by
- 32.5%
- Warned by
- 2.0%
- Rank
- Better than 76% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.305 (±0.006, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- spacious sites197
- large sites87
- spacious site75
- nice campsites72
- private sites71
What campers warned about
- sites very close together48
- sites too close together45
- sites close together43
- small sites20
- not very private14
- Praised by
- 40.1%
- Warned by
- 12.2%
- Rank
- Better than 55% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.280 (±0.007, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- clean bathrooms478
- well maintained390
- clean376
- very clean330
- clean campground222
What campers warned about
- dirty bathrooms13
- bathrooms not cleaned10
- bathrooms could be cleaner8
- bathrooms not clean7
- no soap in bathrooms6
- Praised by
- 30.5%
- Warned by
- 7.7%
- Rank
- Better than 31% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.228 (±0.006, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- friendly staff140
- friendly host74
- friendly camp host64
- friendly camp hosts61
- friendly hosts59
What campers warned about
- no camp host26
- no camp host present16
- camp host absent14
- no campground host13
- no host on site12
- Praised by
- 19.3%
- Warned by
- 4.4%
- Rank
- Better than 14% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.148 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- clean bathrooms105
- bathrooms87
- restrooms66
- bathrooms and showers52
- full hookups47
What campers warned about
- no showers112
- no running water62
- no water available58
- no potable water52
- no cell service39
- Praised by
- 23.0%
- Warned by
- 14.2%
- Rank
- Better than 29% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.088 (±0.006, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- quiet492
- quiet campground294
- very quiet208
- quiet atmosphere136
- quiet and peaceful72
What campers warned about
- highway noise59
- road noise54
- highway traffic noise40
- sites very close together40
- sites close together37
- Praised by
- 16.4%
- Warned by
- 14.6%
- Rank
- Better than 2% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.018 (±0.006, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- family friendly47
- dog friendly22
- friendly campers16
- friendly people13
- family-friendly10
What campers warned about
- felt unwelcome3
- did not feel welcome2
- felt discriminated against2
- harassed for being from california2
- not dog friendly2
- Praised by
- 2.2%
- Warned by
- 0.5%
- Rank
- Better than 17% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.017 (±0.002, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- easy access57
- easy to find43
- close to home28
- easy to get to28
- close to town27
What campers warned about
- no cell service35
- close to highway14
- long gravel road7
- close to road5
- limited cell service5
- Praised by
- 9.9%
- Warned by
- 8.9%
- Rank
- Better than 57% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.011 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- great price15
- good price14
- free camping13
- reasonably priced12
- free campground10
What campers warned about
- too expensive9
- overpriced8
- firewood expensive5
- price too high5
- very expensive5
- Praised by
- 2.8%
- Warned by
- 3.4%
- Rank
- Better than 7% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.006 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- felt safe24
- safe17
- felt very safe9
- bear-safe food storage5
- bear boxes4
What campers warned about
- no cell service6
- felt unsafe4
- no cell reception4
- theft at campsite4
- zero cell service4
- Praised by
- 1.5%
- Warned by
- 3.6%
- Rank
- Better than 5% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.021 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- easy check-in10
- check-in was easy5
- easy booking4
- easy online reservations4
- walk-in site available4
What campers warned about
- hard to get reservations16
- hard to get a spot7
- hard to get a reservation6
- hard to book5
- hard to get reservation5
- Praised by
- 2.4%
- Warned by
- 4.7%
- Rank
- Better than 19% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.024 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- dog friendly22
- pet friendly14
- quiet hours respected9
- dog-friendliness7
- campfires allowed4
What campers warned about
- quiet hours not enforced26
- no campfires allowed13
- burn ban ignored11
- quiet hours ignored10
- rules not enforced10
- Praised by
- 1.0%
- Warned by
- 4.5%
- Rank
- Better than 36% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.034 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- no bugs15
- few mosquitoes12
- no mosquitoes11
- few bugs7
- very few bugs5
What campers warned about
- mosquitoes73
- lots of mosquitoes58
- heavy mosquitoes15
- lots of bugs13
- many mosquitoes13
- Praised by
- 1.0%
- Warned by
- 7.7%
- Rank
- Better than 21% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.068 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 30,573 written reviews, 54% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
We read every written review of a campground in Washington and used AI to label what each camper praised or complained about, across 14 topics. A topic’s score is the share who praised it minus the share who complained, and the letter is absolute: A means campers loved it, F means they were frustrated — on a fixed scale, not a curve. So a topic isn’t marked down just because another state scored higher. Switch to Raw numbers to see the share who praised vs. warned behind every grade.
The rank (Washington vs. other states) is shown separately, because most states are genuinely good overall — the ranking is what tells them apart. The overall grade is the average of the topic grades, weighted by how often campers raise each one.
Only states with at least 2,000 reviews are graded, and every topic carries a 95% confidence interval from its sample size.
Topic weights
- Scenery15%
- Campsites15%
- Cleanliness13%
- Facilities12%
- Staff & hosts10%
- Things to do9%
- Crowds & noise8%
- Getting there6%
- Bugs & weather3%
- Booking2%
- Value2%
- Rules & policies2%
- Safety2%
- Welcoming1%
Methodology v3-absolute-grade-plus-rank | 43 states graded | updated June 2026.