Camping Archives - Caffeinated Excursions https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/tag/camping/ Blog of a Traveling Coffee Addict Wed, 01 May 2024 01:55:48 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 https://i0.wp.com/caffeinatedexcursions.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/wp-1555570621336.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Camping Archives - Caffeinated Excursions https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/tag/camping/ 32 32 141833777 The Camper’s Guide To Conconully State Park, WA https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/the-campers-guide-to-conconully-state-park-wa/ https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/the-campers-guide-to-conconully-state-park-wa/#comments Thu, 08 Sep 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/?p=23799 If you’re considering a getaway to Conconully State Park in Washington, this is the blog post for you! Three friends and I just spent Labor Day weekend camping there, and I loved the dramatic landscapes and picturesque lakes in the area. Washington State is one place I’ve wanted to include on my blog for years now...

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The Camper’s Guide To Conconully State Park, WA

Published September 8, 2022

If you’re considering a getaway to Conconully State Park in Washington, this is the blog post for you! Three friends and I just spent Labor Day weekend camping there, and I loved the dramatic landscapes and picturesque lakes in the area.

Washington State is one place I’ve wanted to include on my blog for years now. That’s because I grew up in the Pacific Northwest! I lived in Seattle for almost a decade (from 2008 to 2017). If you’re curious to learn more about the Emerald City, check out my Seattle Winter Guide!

This blog post will provide a short overview of Conconully, then provide some tips for camping there! To skip down to any particular topic, click or tap on the corresponding link below.

Where Is Conconully?

The tiny town of Conconully is located in the northern reaches of Central Washington, not far from the Canadian border. With a population of only about 200 residents, Conconully is nestled in the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains. The nearest major town is Okanogan, about a twenty minute drive to the southwest.

To get to Conconully from Seattle, we took I-90 east to Cle Elum, then got on WA-970 for a short while. From there, we headed north along US-97 until reaching Okanogan. The entire drive takes between four and five hours each way.

Why Visit Conconully?

To be honest, Conconully was one of only a few Washington State Parks with vacancy when we booked back in April. In other words, be sure to book your own trip as early as possible! However, I think we still lucked out. Below are some of the reasons Conconully is a great camping destination!

The Drive out to Central Washington

Our mini road trip started in Seattle, and the drive from west to east through the Cascades is reason enough to go camping in Central (or Eastern) Washington! You’ll pass dense evergreen forests that eventually turn into rolling hills of yellow grass with sparse vegetation.

On the final stretch from Okanogan to Conconully, there are a few places to pull off and enjoy the view. The climate out here is dry, with hot days and cooler nights than you’d find west of the mountains.

Conconully State Park

This is where we stayed, but there are multiple other campgrounds in town. Conconully State Park (website | location) is pretty small. It occupies the northern shore of the Conconully Reservoir, which is one of the town’s two major bodies of water.

The state park has flat, grassy fields and massive trees that provide ample shade. There is a playground, a small historic log cabin, and a park office.

Conconully Reservoir

The Conconully Reservoir is a large basin directly south of the town. If you’re camping at the state park, you’ll have beautiful views of this reservoir and the hills further south.

Despite Conconully State Park’s location on the reservoir, it doesn’t really offer water access to visitors. That’s because there is a large marshy area between the park and the water. If you want to check out the water’s edge, you can walk along a short trail down to Liar’s Cove Resort. However, the water here looked pretty stagnant and murky, so we never went swimming.

Conconully Lake and Sugarloaf Lake

Conconully Lake is the town’s other main body of water. It’s west of the town, and you can drive along its northern shore via Sinlahekin Road.

The lake is more picturesque at its midpoint than at the edge adjacent to town, so I recommend taking a short drive out there to check it out.

Sinlakhekin Road eventually turns from pavement to gravel, but it will take you to the lake’s northern end, which tapers off to a narrow point. Directly north of there is Sugarloaf Lake. It’s tiny, but has a calm, glassy surface that beautifully reflects the evergreen forest around it.

Sugarloaf Lake

The Town

The small town of Conconully is mostly residential. There is a general store, two saloons, a post office, and a few other campgrounds, but not much else.

Camping Tips

The following tips are aimed at campers staying in the State Park, but some of them might apply if you’re staying at other campgrounds in the area.

Overview of Facilities

Overall, we were very impressed with how pleasant and clean the state park’s facilities were! There are five wood cabins that can be rented. Ours had a double bed plus a bunk bed (to fit a maximum of four people). It looked like all the cabins had the same size and layout, but I’m not completely sure if that’s true.

The interior of the cabin was cozy and well-maintained. It came equipped with a trash bin, a broom, a flyswatter, an air conditioning unit, and a door that locked with a key. The mattresses provided were a little soft and were covered in a plasticky cover (perhaps for bedbugs). We used sleeping bags on top of the mattresses.

Outside the cabin was a large picnic table that was great for playing board games and eating meals. The only thing I would note here is that wasps were relentless about food whenever we were eating, although they were never aggressive (e.g. trying to sting us). We bought a wasp trap on our second day, and although it helped, it didn’t fully draw the wasps away from our meals, snacks, and drinks.

I also really loved how clean the bathrooms were here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen cleaner camp bathrooms! Each bathroom was fully private with lots of space plus a shower. However, know that you will need quarters to operate the shower! This is especially tricky given that there is a national coin shortage.

Your best bet would probably be to see if you can get a roll of quarters at your local bank before you come out to Conconully. We tried to exchange dollar bills for quarters in Okanogan, but multiple businesses there said they had a two dollar limit for quarter exchanges. However, we were able to exchange more paper bills for quarters at Okanogan Laundry.

Where to Stock Up on Food

We actually did most of our grocery shopping for the trip at the Safeway in Cle Elum, but the nearest large grocery store to Conconully is the Okanogan IGA Market. We stopped there a few times to stock up on snacks and deli food. Conconully has a General Store, but it didn’t seem like it had a massive selection of food.

Okanogan IGA Market

In terms of restaurants, Conconully has two bar-and-grill type places: the Red Rock Saloon and the Sit’n Bull Saloon & Cafe.

The Red Rock Saloon

After lots of hotdogs and burgers on the grill, we wanted to eat something different for our final night in the area, so we passed those two places up. A Mexican restaurant called Los Agaves in Okanogan ended up being exactly what we were looking for! It’s in the back of a convenience store and definitely has a hole-in-the-wall vibe, but the enchiladas, tacos, burritos, and birria we got were all super tasty.

A Note on Campfires

During our visit to Conconully, the fire danger was rated as “extreme,” with a town burn ban in effect until further notice. Because of this, both wood and charcoal fires were prohibited. We brought a propane camp grill, and it’s a good thing we did, because there would’ve been no other way for us to grill our burgers, hot dogs, or breakfast sausages. The charcoal grill and firepit next to our cabin had plastic warnings zip-tied to the metal grating, so anyone brazen enough to defy the ban would probably have to answer to park rangers afterwards.

The aftermath of wildfires is apparent across Central Washington, where evergreen trees are charred and black and often missing lower branches, but still green on top. I honestly wonder if campfires will eventually become a thing of the past, since wildfire risk in dry areas seems to be high or extreme more often than not during the summer. That’s a little sad, but it is what it is. We didn’t get to make s’mores, but it’s not like our trip was ruined by the fire ban.

Wildlife

Most notably, we saw tons of deer at Conconully State Park! They don’t seem very afraid of people, but we never deliberately approached them. There are a number of “no hunting” signs near town, which suggests that there might be hunting grounds in the forests nearby.

The marshy ground around Conconully Reservoir also attracted lots of waterfowl. We didn’t see any signs warning of dangerous animals. Nonetheless, you can learn more about wildlife safety in Washington State by reading this article.

Cell Service

As of late summer 2022, no major carriers provide cell service to Conconully. It cuts out a few minutes or so after you leave Okanogan. I guess it’s good that we were able to disconnect more fully on our trip, but if you need to leave a message for someone, make sure to do it before you get to the state park.

Enjoy Your Camping Getaway!

If I’ve convinced you to book a weekend or longer at Conconully State Park, you can use this online portal to check availability! As I mentioned above, Washington State Parks seem to fill up quickly, so try to plan as early as possible. We might camp next year in Washington or we may go elsewhere. Either way, we’ll be sure to look even earlier than spring for Labor Day weekend.

Did you know the four of us also went camping last September? If you're curious about camping in Montana, check out the separate blog post I wrote about it!

Have you been to Conconully or Okanogan before? Are you heading that way soon? Leave a comment below and let me know! If you’re about to embark on a camping trip in Washington, have an amazing time, and thanks for reading!

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This post was published on Sept 8, 2022

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A Camping Getaway At Finley Point On Flathead Lake, Montana https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/a-camping-getaway-at-finley-point-on-flathead-lake-montana/ https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/a-camping-getaway-at-finley-point-on-flathead-lake-montana/#comments Tue, 14 Sep 2021 05:00:00 +0000 https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/?p=18305 Western Montana is an excellent region for camping! This part of the state is home to beautiful Glacier National Park, which has almost a dozen different campgrounds to choose from. But there’s another nearby destination you should also know about: Flathead Lake, and in particular, Finley Point...

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A Camping Getaway At Finley Point On Flathead Lake, Montana

A Camping Getaway
At Finley Point
On Flathead Lake, Montana

Published September 14, 2021

Western Montana is an excellent region for camping! This part of the state is home to beautiful Glacier National Park, which has almost a dozen different campgrounds to choose from. But there’s another nearby destination you should also know about: Flathead Lake, and in particular, Finley Point!

This little peninsula on Flathead Lake’s southeast doesn’t draw big crowds like the National Park does, even though it’s only a 90-minute drive away. Finley Point is quiet and relaxing, and a weeklong trip to the region will give you enough time to see both Flathead Lake and Glacier if you want to.

Three friends from high school and I had been talking about a camping trip to Montana for years now, and we finally decided to do it this year. Lots of people recommended checking out Glacier (which we did as well), but we chose to spend the first few days of our getaway on Flathead Lake, and it was a lot of fun!

This blog post will provide some basic information about camping on Finley Point, from reservations to day trip ideas, local dining options, and more! Let’s dive right in!

Camping Logistics

Flathead Lake is huge (about 90 miles in circumference), so there are lots of designated places to camp along its shores. If you want to make a reservation at the Finley Point Unit of Flathead Lake State Park like we did, you can check out the Montana FWP (Fish, Wildlife, and Parks) website here, or go directly to their booking portal here.

This campground has spots for both RVs and tents. If you’re staying in a tent, you’ll most likely be assigned to a lot right next to the water. It’s a perfect spot to watch the sunset over the mountains!

Finley Point Campground has reasonably clean bathrooms but no showers. They allowed campfires while we were there, and the most convenient place to pick up supplies and groceries is the nearby town of Polson. You can find a Walmart, a Safeway, and other stores along US-93.

One final warning: Finley Point is bear country! This doesn’t mean that it’s unsafe for camping, but it does mean that you need to make sure all food is stored in a vehicle overnight. In addition, all trash should be placed in one of the bear-proof metal trash containers on site.

Why Camp at Finley Point?

Flathead Lake is considered to be a well-kept secret that most visitors simply drive by as they head to Glacier National Park. That’s reason enough to check it out, but here are a couple of other highlights of Finley Point.

Sunsets & Stars

Since Finley Point is situated on the eastern side of Flathead Lake, it’s an ideal spot for sunsets! We only stayed for two nights, but the dusk views were incredible, especially with just a little bit of cloud cover.

In addition, this campground is great for stargazing! I knew that my phone had an astrophotography mode, but hadn’t had the chance to try it before this trip. The results were pretty impressive, but not as impressive as seeing that clear night sky in person.

Swim

You can swim at Finley Point if you like, but the water was cold when we visited at the end of August!

The multicolored stones on the shore are pretty, but they’re not the easiest to walk on. If you have water shoes, it might be worth it to bring them.

Vibes

In general, Finley Point is such a serene place away from any type of hustle and bustle. The campground there is surrounded by towering evergreens and high grass that waves in the wind. You’ll also probably run into a few deer, chipmunks, or other critters.

Day Trip Idea: Book a Fishing Charter

We found that the hours passed quickly during our camping trip and that there was always something to do: cook on the grill, go down to the lake, pick up supplies in town, build a campfire, etc. But if you want to schedule a day trip while you stay at Flathead Lake, I highly recommend booking a fishing charter, even if you’ve never fished before!

We went with Hooked On Montana, a company based in Somers on the lake’s northern shore. Two of us had fished before, but for two of us (including me), it was our first time. Hooked On Montana did a great job of accommodating us, and we even managed to catch two big ones!

Note that fishing licenses are required for anyone going on a charter. The specific license depends on whether you plan to fish in the north or south half of the lake, so clarify with the charter company you book with. We purchased ours at the sporting section of Walmart in Polson and the staff were helpful in making sure we got what we needed. We paid $42.50 per person for a two-day nonresident license.

More Info About Polson

As mentioned above, Polson is the nearest major town to Finley Point. It’s where we stopped to get groceries and supplies, but there are also a couple of waterfront parks (namely Sacajawea Park and Point Salish Park) that offer a different view of Flathead Lake looking north.

Sacajawea Park
Point Salish Park

It also looks like there are a couple of interesting restaurants in Polson, but we only had time to check out Glacier Brewing, a casual brewery with a large patio.

I personally would’ve liked to explore Polson a little more, but we only stayed at Finley Point for two nights. If you have a favorite bar or restaurant in town, leave a comment and let me know what I should try next time I’m there!

In Conclusion...

Whether you prefer to camp in a tent or an RV, Finley Point is an excellent destination for anyone heading to Western Montana. We thoroughly enjoyed two full days of relaxing, grilling burgers on our camp stove, sitting around the fire, and admiring Flathead Lake!

If you’re planning to visit the area and can take off a week or more, I highly recommend pairing a few days of camping here with a multi-day trip to Glacier National Park. The park offers jaw-dropping mountain views and incredible hiking. To learn more about Glacier, check out this separate blog post! Thanks for reading, and if you’re headed to Flathead Lake, have an amazing time!

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This post was published on Sept 14, 2021

The post A Camping Getaway At Finley Point On Flathead Lake, Montana appeared first on Caffeinated Excursions.

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