Hoh Rainforest Camping: Hoh Campground, Free DNR Sites and Backpacking

The Hoh Rain Forest, on the west side of Olympic National Park, gets up to 12 feet of rain a year, and it shows: giant conifers, bigleaf maples wrapped in moss and ferns, and elk grazing the understory. One campground sits right in it, Hoh Campground, near the visitor center and the Hall of Mosses trail. Outside the park boundary, the state runs a handful of small campgrounds in the Hoh valley, free with a Discover Pass, and the Hoh River Trail leads backpackers about 17 miles toward Mount Olympus.

Hoh Rainforest camping at a glance

Hoh Campground

Best for: waking up in the rain forest. The park's campground in the Hoh Rain Forest (the park calls it Hoh Rain Forest Campground), with some sites along the Hoh River.

• 78 sites, $24 a night. Fire pits with grates, picnic tables, flush toilets, potable water and animal-proof food storage lockers.
• RVs: sites fit 21 feet, a few up to 35 feet. No hookups and no dump station.
• Open all year, though it may close temporarily in severe weather.
• Reservations: required in summer on Recreation.gov (June 12 to September 6 in 2026). Recreation.gov releases some sites up to 6 months ahead and others 2 weeks or 4 days ahead. Any site that's unreserved can be taken in person for one night only, at the B Loop registration board.
• First come, first served outside the reservation season: self-register at the campground.
• Stay limit: 7 nights during the reservation season; 14 consecutive days a year anywhere in the park otherwise.
• 8 people per site; keep vehicle wheels on the pavement where there is pavement. Quiet hours 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.; check-out 11 a.m.
• Summer ranger programs. Group sites can be reserved on Recreation.gov in peak season.
• Firewood is sold in season; you may also gather dead and down wood under 6 inches thick within 100 feet of the campground.
• Little to no cell service.

You also pay the park entrance fee: $30 per vehicle, good for 7 days, or an America the Beautiful pass ($80 a year for US residents), or the park's own $55 annual pass. The park doesn't take cash. Seniors can use the senior pass for entry.

Getting in on a summer day

Parking at the Hoh is limited in summer, and the line at the entrance station can reach 2 hours. The park recommends arriving before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m. If you camp, you only queue once: the next morning you're already past the entrance station.

Camping near the Hoh Rainforest: free DNR campgrounds

Just outside the park, the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) runs small campgrounds in and around the Olympic Experimental State Forest. They're open all year, first come, first served, and cost nothing beyond a Discover Pass ($10 a day or $45 a year) on your vehicle. Sites take trailers up to about 30 feet, though it varies by site. You can stay 7 days in any 30-day period; quiet hours are 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and leashed dogs are welcome.

• Minnie Peterson: 9 sites along a creek on the Hoh Rain Forest Road, on the edge of the Hoh Rain Forest.
• Hoh Oxbow: 8 sites and a toilet in mossy hemlock and fir by the Hoh River, just east of Highway 101 between mileposts 176 and 177, with a boat launch.
• Cottonwood: a primitive campground near the Hoh River off Oil City Road, 2.3 miles west of Highway 101 plus 0.9 mile of gravel.
• South Fork Hoh: a primitive campground on the Hoh River at the park boundary, about 14 miles in from Highway 101, the last part on one-lane gravel.

Campfires are allowed only in the DNR fire rings at these campgrounds, never at dispersed sites on the Olympic Peninsula forests. Check burn bans before you light one. DNR has had forest management traffic on the South Fork Hoh access road; drive carefully. For more DNR and national forest options, see Washington dispersed camping.

Bogachiel State Park

Near Forks on Highway 101, about a 40-minute drive from the Hoh Rain Forest, on the Bogachiel River. Standard and partial-hookup sites, hiker/biker sites, a tent-only group camp, showers and a trailer dump. It takes RVs up to 40 feet. It's a good base for the Hoh, Rialto Beach and Forks. Campers don't need a Discover Pass for the park they're staying in. Washington State Parks booking rules apply; see our Washington camping guide.

Backpacking the Hoh River Trail

The Hoh River Trail runs about 17.5 miles from the trailhead to Glacier Meadows on the shoulder of Mount Olympus, climbing from 600 to 5,000 feet; another 0.9 mile and 700 feet up leads to a view of the Blue Glacier. Day hikers can walk any part of it.

To camp along it:

• A wilderness backpacking permit is required all year, booked in advance on Recreation.gov, by phone at the Port Angeles Wilderness Information Center (360-565-3100), or in person at a Wilderness Information Center. There are no self-registration permits at trailheads anymore.
• Fees: a $6 non-refundable reservation fee per permit plus $8 per person per night for ages 16 and up (15 and under free), on top of the park entrance fee. A $45 annual Olympic wilderness pass covers one person's nightly fees, but not the $6.
• Quota camps: Martin Creek, Elk Lake and Glacier Meadows, plus every group (7–12 people) and stock site on the trail, have a nightly limit. Their permits are released in bulk and no more space opens later, so book early and stick to your itinerary.
• Summer permits (May 15 to October 15) are released on April 15 at 7 a.m. Pacific.
• Bear canisters are required for food; hanging food or soft bags don't count. Canisters come with your permit, first come, first served, from an open Wilderness Information Center: Port Angeles all year, Quinault and Hoodsport seasonally.
• No campfires at or above Elk Lake (including Glacier Meadows), above 3,500 feet anywhere in the park, or anywhere in the wilderness during a fire ban.
• Two stream crossings just before the Olympus Guard Station campsites must be forded and can be impassable after heavy rain. Check the park's wilderness trail conditions page before you go.
• Climbing Mount Olympus needs glacier travel skills and gear.

Day hikes from the campground

• Hall of Mosses: 0.8-mile loop through old-growth rain forest, 100 feet of climbing.
• Spruce Nature Trail: 1.2-mile loop to the Hoh River.
• Mini-trail: 0.1-mile paved loop, accessible with assistance.

Dogs are allowed in the campground on a 6-foot leash, but not on the Hoh trails.

Before you go

• It rains. Up to 12 feet a year falls here; pack rain gear and a tarp for camp in every season.
• No food, gas or supplies at the Hoh. Stock up in Forks.
• Keep 50 yards from elk, and store food, scented items and trash properly whenever you aren't using them.
• Don't swim or boat on the Hoh River: the park warns it can be extremely dangerous.
• Visitor center: closed in November 2026; from December 4, 2026, open Friday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Check current conditions for later dates.

For the rest of the park's campgrounds, from the coast at Kalaloch to Lake Crescent, see our Olympic National Park camping guide.