Camping and Beer in Washington.

A couple near me. About 7 miles south of the Fairhaven neighborhood (thus 9-10 from downtown, where most of the breweries are) is Larrabee: http://parks.state.wa.us/536/Larrabee . Plenty of water access, hiking trails that connect to the Chuckanut trail system. Nice park.

Between Anacortes and Oak Harbor is Deception Pass: http://parks.state.wa.us/497/Deception-Pass . The pass itself is awesome, and amazing amount of water access on several sides, and (especially if one is an airplane nerd, like myself) it's right by NASWI, so, depending on the Navy's schedule, you can watch F/A-18s come and go.

Between Burlington and Anacortes is Bayview: http://parks.state.wa.us/473/Bay-View

Not as beer convenient, but still nice, is Birch Bay: http://parks.state.wa.us/170/Birch-Bay

About 30-35 miles east of Bham is a county park: http://www.co.whatcom.wa.us/1937/Silver-Lake-Park

Right by Mt. Baker Natl Forest, endless hiking and stuff, but not really near anything. Closest beer is North Fork, which is a must hit when in the area.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

There's always the areas around Leavenworth which puts you close to Icicle.

Likewise isn't there stuff around the Methow near Winthrop which would be convenient for Old Schoolhouse?

 

Also, http://parks.state.wa.us/511/Fort-Worden is in Port Townsend, and is where they filmed "an officer and a gentleman". PT has has a couple good breweries, and the ferry runs right across to Whidbey Island.

Moran, on Orcas Island is nice, but not near beer: http://parks.state.wa.us/547/Moran . There are several parks on some of the islands that are accessible via ferry, and a few more that are boat only: http://parks.state.wa.us/844/San-Juan-Islands-Region

 

An easy getaway for car camping we take from Seattle is to Scenic Beach State Park in Seabeck. Quick drive to Silver City Brewery in Silverdale.

 

Milkersylvania, right outside Olympia is pretty nice. Minutes from Three Magnets, Eastside Tavern, and Oly Taproom.

 

Not a state park, but my wife and I stayed here last summer (tent) -
http://www.timberlakecampgroundandrvpark.com/
Very clean bathrooms and showers (big plus for the wife). Real close to Backwoods Brewing Co and the various other breweries in the gorge.

 

i really like cape disappointment. easy to visit Astoria on the way in/out.

 

I've camped at both these areas (and drunk beer at Icicle and Old Schoolhouse, needless to say).

Winthrop is a long way from anywhere, but beautiful. Old Schoolhouse is very good. The campground is at Pearrygin State Park, just outside Winthrop. Yes, I did spell that right.

The nearest state park to Leavenworth is Lake Wenatchee, 16 miles away. You can camp closer by going up the Icicle Creek Road to a Forest Service campground, Eight Mile, which is, yes, eight miles from Leavenworth. Nice CG, but check with the FS to make sure it's open if you're there in the winter.

 

I think the Winthrop area and Old Schoolhouse are pretty special, but there are campgrounds and breweries of equal caliber that are not quite so remote. I would guess that a Winthrop trip for you, @Reidrover, would be 8+ hours; you can get a great WA camping + beer experience with less driving time.

 

FWIW, I have friends that swear by the KOA in Winthrop. Ols Schoolhouse is walkable from it.

I gotta disagree with @sharpski , I think Winthrop/Leavenworth/Wenatchee/Methow is worth the drive. You could do one night in Winthrop, and the next in Leavenworth. There are beer options both coming and going. Plus, if you've never been, stop in Roslyn, grab a Brookside Lager at the brewery, and a bite to eat at The Brick. ( yes, I'm a bit of a Northern Exposure geek). Whipsaw Brewing in Ellensburg is pretty solid.

 

Every time I've been through Ellensburg recently Whipsaw has never been open.

And Iron Horse still being 21+ is a pain in the ass.

 

I had a couple Whipsaw beers at The Brick in Roslyn. They were closed when we went through Eburg.

 

Black Pine Lake was pretty awesome and close to Twisp/Old Schoolhouse.

 

Note - most if not all County Parks are "no alcohol" camping (seriously not sure how that is camping, but anyway!) so you need to make sure you aren't being obvious about it. State Parks are fine, but County Parks can be problematic.

 

And then you could stop at Snoqualmie Pass summit, and hit DruBru. Then drive 30 miles or so, and stop at Snoqualmie Brewery, and don't miss the Falls while you're at it. Nice mix of great scenery and pretty good beer.

If you're stopping at Roslyn, the Summit, and the town of Snoqualmie, three beer stops within about an hour's total driving, you better have a designated driver. And try to time your summer westbound trip to avoid Sunday afternoon, as I-90 becomes a parking lot well east of Cle Elum, filled with folks headed back to Seattle at the end of the weekend.

 

Don't want to thread-jack, but I've got a related question - so seems better to post here than a new thread:

I'm going to be visiting the Seattle area this summer, we are flying in and then doing a 2 week roadtrip driving around to the 3 National Parks - Olympic, Rainier, and North Cascades. I've been doing a lot of research and planning, since most camp site reservations opened at the 6 month prior mark. A general beer related question for the locals:

-Should I plan on stocking up on any local beer on our way out of the Seattle area, or are their plenty of good beer stops out in the more rural areas to keep us well supplied with tasty brews?

Just looking at a map I see there are a few breweries in the Port Angeles area, and a few along Route 97 between Rainier and the east side of the Cascades (a few mentioned in this thread). But I wasn't sure how those compare in quality to the breweries in Seattle that can/bottle beer?