Camping at Fairholme Campground on Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park

Looking for more great things to do during your stay at Fairholme Campground?
Check out my Explorer’s Guide to Lake Crescent.

AMENITIES

• Flush toilets
• Drinkable water from spigots near the restrooms
• NO electrical or water hook-ups available
• NO showers
• Fire pits and picnic tables at all sites
• Firewood may be for sale seasonally (when no fire ban is in effect)
• Kayak and SUP rentals are available seasonally, from roughly Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Look for rental kayaks and SUPs by the beach in the day use area.
• The Fairholme Store, a small convenience store, is typically open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend
• Limited cell service

ABOUT THE SITES

• Fairholme Campground has a total of 88 sites.
• From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, all campsites can be reserved up to six months in advance through recreation.gov. Some sites open for reservations six months in advance, while others become available just two weeks or four days in advance. Keep in mind that sites often fill very quickly once they become available.
• Outside of peak season, all sites are first-come, first-served only. For information on how to secure a first-come, first-served site, see “Tips for Claiming a Campsite” below.
• Around 20 of the sites are walk-in, so suitable only for tent camping. These are some of the most desirable sites because they are the closest to Lake Crescent. Some of them are even situated directly on the lakefront. To reach these sites, you must park in one of the designated spots on the main campground road, then carry your gear downhill to your site. Lakefront sites are the furthest from the parking area.
• Drive-in campsites are grouped into three loops: A, B, and C. Parking for walk-in campsites is located below loop B.

• There are no electrical or water hook-ups at Fairholme.
• Most sites are too small to accommodate large RVs. The recommended maximum RV length for the largest sites is 21 feet.
• Campsites cost $24 per night. Pay when you reserve online. For first-come, first-served sites, pay with credit or debit card only at the campground.
• Fairholme Campground is open from roughly late April through September. Please check the Olympic National Park campground status webpage for current information.
• Expect some road noise. The campground is located just off Highway 101, and trucks can be heard (but not seen) as they pass Lake Crescent.
• The campground is forested and shady, with a reasonable amount of privacy between most sites. Some sites have partial lake views, but most drive-in sites do not. Site size varies. Most are moderate, with some that are quite small, as well as a few larger ones.
• We stayed at site #53. It’s a fairly large site, with partial views of Lake Crescent. It was also more open than most sites, enabling us to easily recharge our trailer battery using our solar panels. Since we were located directly above several walk-in sites, we occasionally had other campers walk past our site, but that didn’t cause any issues. For us, this site was just about perfect!

TIPS FOR CLAIMING A CAMPSITE

As of 2022, peak season campsites at Fairholme Campground must be reserved in advance. But if you are planning a visit before Memorial Day weekend or after mid-September, sites will be available first come, first served. It may not be difficult to snag a site on a weekday, but expect that weekends could be crowded. Below are some tips on how to claim a first come, first served campsite during those times.

• Arrive early. It’s especially important to arrive early if you have an RV or camper that may be too large for many of the sites.
• Avoid arriving on Fridays or Saturdays if possible. Saturday is especially tough because not as many campers are leaving.
• Check first for unoccupied sites. Please note that the site must be completely vacated — if a camp chair or other personal items are there, that means the site has been claimed!
• Check the registration board, located by the restrooms for each campground loop, to see which sites will be vacated that day. If you don’t find a vacant site you like, this is the next step. Each campsite has a place on the board where campers place their registration stubs. Once the camp host has cleared the board for the day, the slots for available sites will be empty. If the board has not been cleared, check the departure dates on the stubs.
• When you see that someone is planning to vacate a site, you can go to that site and politely confirm if they are leaving. If so, they may allow you to leave a personal item at the site to claim it, such as a camp chair.
• Once you’ve claimed your site, go to the registration board near the restroom for your campground loop. Fill out one of the campsite registration slips as instructed.
• Tear off the stub from the registration slip and place it in the window for your campsite.
• Put the payment portion of the registration slip in the locked box next to the board. Payment is by credit or debit card only! Provide your account information on the payment slip, or go online to make a payment. Information on how to pay online is included at the board, but this can be a challenge since cell service is poor at Fairholme Campground. I found that my T-Mobile plan had limited service at some points along the main campground road.

FUN STUFF

• Swim and paddle in Lake Crescent! The day use beach is within easy walking distance of the campground. Bring your gear and enjoy an afternoon on the water. If your kids don’t have lifejackets, you can borrow one here for free! Those with boats can drive and park in the day use lot above the beach. You can also park briefly near the water to unload your boat and gear before driving back up to the lot. Please note: there are no restrooms at the day use area, only in the campground.
• Go on a nature walk. There is a 0.8 mile loop through the woods in Fairholme Campground. Look for the trail entrance at the top of loop B.
• Go to a ranger talk or on a guided hike. These activities take place at Lake Crescent Lodge or the Storm King Ranger Station, but the schedule is posted on the bulletin boards at Fairholme Campground.
• Have kids? Don’t forget to check out the Junior Ranger program! You can pick up Junior Ranger booklets and get sworn in at one of Olympic National Park’s visitor centers. Check for scheduled Junior Ranger activities as well.

NEARBY & NOTABLE

• Lake Crescent is a wonderful area to explore. Head to Barnes Point to visit historic Lake Crescent Lodge, the Storm King Ranger Station, and take a short hike to Marymere Falls.
• Devils Punchbowl is a favorite swimming hole on Lake Crescent. Our family loves it! Getting there involves driving to the northeast end of the lake and walking one mile along the paved Spruce Railroad Trail. The Spruce Railroad Trail extends further along Lake Crescent, and is a beautiful trail for hiking or biking.
• Sol Duc Falls is another lovely place to hike, located in the hills only a short drive from Fairholme Campground.
• Sol Duc Hot Springs is the perfect place to relax and unwind after your hike to Sol Duc Falls (or after a day spent kayaking on Lake Crescent).
• Hurricane Ridge is another must-see when visiting Olympic National Park. Head here for panoramic views of the Olympic Mountains. The hikes are incredible!
• Granny’s Cafe is the place to go for towering cones of soft serve. The cafe is located a few miles east of Lake Crescent right off Highway 101, and a good place to stop en route to or from Hurricane Ridge.
• Lake Ozette offers a wilder, more remote experience than Lake Crescent. Make the drive out to the northwest corner of Olympic National Park to kayak, or take a hike to a wild Pacific beach.

THE VERDICT

Fairholme Campground on Lake Crescent is a gem. The beautiful forested setting and easy access to Lake Crescent make it an understandably popular spot. If you like to kayak and swim, it’s an ideal location. Plus, it’s easy to spoke out from here to visit other sights across the north Olympic Peninsula.

There are a few considerations to keep in mind when camping here. Yes, you will hear road noise from nearby Highway 101. The cars are barely audible, but you will definitely hear the trucks. In our case, we didn’t notice the noise much once we settled in, although every so often a particularly loud truck would drive past. Still, it didn’t have a big effect on our overall enjoyment of the campground. Go with the understanding that this is not wilderness camping and some noise is to be expected, and you’ll have a great experience.

Another issue is the popularity of Fairholme Campground. Weekends can feel especially crowded, and we noticed a large number of tents popping up in the walk-in sites. Cars were parked along the campground road wherever there was room. There were definitely larger parties staying in individual campsites. There were also a number of people washing their dishes at the water spigots, a personal pet peeve of mine (please wash your dishes at your campsite — thank you!). Since there are no signs at Fairholme Campground saying this isn’t allowed, however, I wasn’t surprised.

But really, was any of this a deal breaker? No. Overall, other campers were considerate, and by 10pm all was quiet. We spent five nights here and had a fantastic time. Whether you want to relax at your campsite and walk to the lake, or get out and explore more of what the Olympic Peninsula has to offer, Fairholme Campground is a great place to do it.

We left Mora Campground on the Northwest Washington Coast around 8am on a Tuesday morning. After a quick stop in Forks for a drive-through breakfast from Mocha Motion, we were on our way toward Lake Crescent and Fairholme Campground. “Will we be in time?” I wondered. Keep in mind that in 2021, Fairholme Campground accepted no advance reservations, and I couldn’t help feeling a little concerned. But then again, it was Tuesday, and that had to make things easier, right?

Fortunately, yes. We arrived at Fairholme shortly past 9am and were happy to find a vacant site at the bottom of Loop B. I left Michael and T at the site while I drove on, looking to see what other options might be available. Then, I found it — site 53, just above the walk-in sites with a glimmer of Lake Crescent visible through the trees, was open. I pulled in, and before long our family of four was busy setting up camp while I registered the site in our name.

As we set up, the kids were delighted to discover we had a visitor. From a nearby trees, a raccoon was checking us out. The “trash panda” (as we fondly call them after one of our favorite camp games) peered at us from a lower branch, then scrambled up the side of the tree trunk. The crows, meanwhile, were not pleased. They cawed noisily at the intruder until it finally left.

It was certainly an exciting start to our five-night stay. We eased into our time at Fairholme, and spent the first day at our site and down at the day use beach. The aquamarine water of Lake Crescent was cold, but was it just me, or was it less cold than I remembered? I hadn’t swum in Lake Crescent for well over a decade, but still remembered the glacial touch of the water on a warm summer day. On this trip, too, we were blessed with gorgeous sunny weather, perfect for enjoying a dip in the chilly water.

We brought our inflatable kayak down to the lake for an afternoon paddle. Michael took the bow, while I sat in the stern with T in the “jumpseat” between us. J, eager to join in on the fun, grabbed the carry handle on the stern for a tow as he floated behind in his inflatable tube. Before long, he, too, joined us in the boat, squeezing his narrow body into the gap behind my seat. We oohed and ahhed over the lakefront cabins we passed on our trip. What did it take to score a vacation home on Lake Crescent?

Back at the campsite, I cooked dinner from our trailer’s outdoor kitchen, always one of my favorite camping experiences. Through the trees, the water of Lake Crescent shimmered. Sure, the peace and quiet was periodically interrupted by the blare of a truck barreling down Highway 101, but that had little effect on my peace of mind. The next five nights would be good ones, I could tell.

Of course, nothing is perfect. The next day, T was stung by a wasp when playing in the ferns near our site. The day we departed, both boys were stung again. It appeared that the wasps’ home lay hidden near an innocent-looking fallen log. We comforted T and broke out the emergency icepack, and soon all was again well. Thankfully, none of us have wasp allergies. As one expects when camping near a lake in summer, we also had our fair share of bug bites. Lake Crescent isn’t bad as far as bugs go, but beware the tiny mosquitos that appear each evening.

I was a little sad when it came time to pack up. True, it was time to return home, back to work and the “real world”. We were in no hurry, however, so I lingered over breakfast, cooking sausages and toasting English muffins on the camps stove while taking in the view for one last time. Fairholme Campground, I hope we meet again soon on the magical shores of Lake Crescent.