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Good fishing/RV camping on the dry side?

3K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  MT_Flyfisher 
#1 ·
I recently purchased an RV and I'm anxious it out with the family. I'm looking for some good RVing spots with moving water? I'd settle for a still-water location as the run-off will be on for some time, but i'll take any help I can get. If you'd rather not say your spot aloud, maybe you could PM me?

Or, ...if any of you have any private land that would make a great RV (boondocking -no hook-up(s)) site for me and the misses, i'd be interested in that too. I would be willing to pay you. It doesn't have to be right on fishable water, but it would be helpful if it were close.
Thanks,
Frank.
 
#2 ·
We did not do it this year, but usually take a week and stay at Wanapum or Potholes state parks with our trailer. Both are very nice located right on water (in our case for our two labs). I drive to fish, but Rocky Ford and the basin lakes are all within an hour. The lakes can get windy for float tubes, so if the wind is up we hit Rocky Ford. Getting late in the year though, we usually take this trip in March.
 
#4 ·
Running water is far and few over here unless one heads north. Lakes on the other hand are a dime a dozen.

Beda, Lenice/Nunnally both have free camping in the sand. Can't say how Beda is fishing as I haven't been there. Or.... there's a bunch of seep lakes below the Potholes Reservoir that have trout in them. Road to them is east of MarDon about 6-8 miles.
 
#5 ·
Lakes only at this point; way too much runoff coming down right now, and we expect higher temps next week. There's always the Ford, and there's usually someone camped in the paved lot. Make the trip to Don's restaurant in Soap Lake. I also cant' tell you what shape the campgrounds are in on the newly reopened section of Icicle Road above the slide.
 
#6 ·
I drove to Leavenworth with the family (and airstream) last weekend, it was fun. It being our maiden voyage, I was a little nervous so we opted to stay at a place with full hook-ups. My wife did some research and came up with a KOA by the Safeway in town. Since we usually stay on Icicle creek road (either camping or in a condo) I'd never seen the campground before. It was ok at best. If it's sitting around too long at a KOA, I think they paint it yellow just so no one takes it. Anyway, it was great practice for me and for settling my nerves about RVing.
One good thing about the KOA, it had a kids play structure. My daughter loved it. So, although we didn't have the best weather, it was fine because the play structure provided a great source of entertainment.
We knew from previous visits that there was an RV park on Icicle creek Rd., but neither of us knew much about it. So, after breakfast we moseyed on over and were blown away with how clean and nice it was! Plus, not one thing was painted yellow!! So, I booked the last available spot for memorial day weekend!
Because we were over that direction, we drove up to 8 mile and Johnny creek. I think 8 mile was open, but uper and lower Johnny were snowed in still.
Cheers,
Frank.
 
#8 ·
Another vote for Potholes State Park. One of the best we've stayed at on the east side IMO... Nice sized spots and a lot of amenities/full hook-ups. It also has a really nice play area for the kids. We went in late March for our RV season opener and it was a blast. We went to Wanapum the first night, but it was really really windy (the kids never went outside the trailer) so we rolled the dice and moved to Potholes. Night and day difference between the two parks - Potholes has expansive green lawns and is flat and somewhat open. Wanapum is more hilly and is surrounded by sagebrush (but a decent lawn area at your site). Really nice views at Wanapum, but there was no escape from the wind.

We drove around the whole area near Potholes SP and I found at least 10 different lakes I'd like to try out with a float tube. I didn't get a chance to fish, but I will bring my tube for sure next time and check some out.

We always venture to the East side for our early and late season trips - the weather always seems to be better and you avoid the super hot and more crowded summers.
 
#10 ·
Well, This is it. It's a 94' 21 foot Sovereign. It has a table in the front that makes into a bed, and a bed in the back with a lav. A 3 burner stove, oven, refer, freezer, stereo, furnace, hot water tank, double sink, blah blah blah. We love it! So much fun. I got rid of that lexus GX 470 and got a truck. It wasn't just because of the Airstream, we have two boats, the airstream, and a 5 ton dump trailer. Anyway, it's good to have a truck that is equivalent to the the dog wagging his tail,
Automotive parking light Wheel Tire Land vehicle Automotive side marker light
and not the tail wagging the dog.
Wheel Tire Land vehicle Sky Mountain


Not sure how to put picture in order, but not sure I really care either. Well, that's the airstream and my family, and then the truck is above that. It's a 2008 Super Duty king ranch. It's a very nicely appointed truck, and it pulls stuff around like it's not there.
I showed my set up, anyone want to show me there fishing/camping set up?
Frank.
 
#11 ·
I love the brown trout spots idea! Anyway, It's all about having fun, camping and fishing. If I was single, that's a great set up, but this was what was available, so I jumped on it. It's been a good time so far.
Frank.

Who else has a set up?
 
#12 ·
Wheel Tire Vehicle Motor vehicle Automotive tire
I love the brown trout spots idea! Anyway, It's all about having fun, camping and fishing. If I was single, that's a great set up, but this was what was available, so I jumped on it. It's been a good time so far.
Frank.

Who else has a set up?
Even further down the evolutionary spectrum is my little flatbed that I pull with my Mustang. This makes Bucks lil rig look like the Ritz; but it's fun to camp out of.
Wheel Tire Vehicle Motor vehicle Automotive tire
 
#13 ·
We checked out the upper campgrounds on the icicle for an emergency elk camp once the forest (un)service screwed us out of our spot on Blewett Pass-which was nowhere near the fire, by the way. They're not bad at all, and the road isn't terrible, either. Lots of washboard on the new section above the slide, but they have some newer spots upstream at the Rock Island campground, which is the last one up the road. They're a little tight for an RV though.
 
#15 ·
I recently purchased an RV and I'm anxious it out with the family. I'm looking for some good RVing spots with moving water? I'd settle for a still-water location as the run-off will be on for some time, but i'll take any help I can get. If you'd rather not say your spot aloud, maybe you could PM me?

Or, ...if any of you have any private land that would make a great RV (boondocking -no hook-up(s)) site for me and the misses, i'd be interested in that too. I would be willing to pay you. It doesn't have to be right on fishable water, but it would be helpful if it were close.
Thanks,
Frank.
Frank -

I just came across your post, and although I'm a bit late it looks like there's still some recent replies on it.

I had a 2004 30' Classic Ltd Airstream for several years before selling it in 2007. My wife and I stayed in it for those summers, traveling around the Pacific NW. including onto Vancouver Island and up into BC, plus all the northwestern US states, chasing fish as we went. We never boondocked though, unless you count Walmart parking lots as such.

However, for quite a bit of info on boondocking (and fishing) in an Airstream, you can go to: http://www.airforums.com/ and do a search on boondocking locations. There have been some rather lenghty discussions on that there in the past several years; plus there a quite a few fly fishermen who are Airstream owners/members there.

John
 
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