Jim Creek Recreation Area

 
4.3 (15)
96793 0 31 5 21

Location

Installation
Jim Creek Naval Radio Station, Arlington, WA
GPS Coordinates
48.221267, -121.942593
Location Information
Arlington, WA
RV Gate Coordinates
48.224723, -121.946520

Directions

Directions
From I-5 take exit 208 (Arlington). Go east on SR-530 through Arlington towards Darrington, for 7.5 miles. 1/4 mile past mile marker 25 turn right on Jim Creek Road (266th St. NE). You'll pass the Trafton Store & Gas station on your left just before coming to Jim Creek Road on the right. Follow Jim Creek Road approximately 7 miles to the end and you'll come to the front gate of Naval Radio Station Jim Creek.

Map

Google Map (Click on the map to enlarge)
Map of Jim Creek Recreation Area

Contact Information

Phone Number
(425) 304-5315/5363 - 1-877-NAVY-BED
Mailing Address
Jim Creek Wilderness Recreation Area, 21027 Jim Creek Road, Arlington, WA 98223-8599

Campground Information

Authorized Users
Active Duty, National Guard, Reservists, Retired Military, 0-100% DAV, Purple Heart Recipients, Former POW, Veteran Caregivers, DoD Civilians. Read this Article on Authorized Users
Season
May to October. Weekend camping only in winter. RV's are welcome anytime with a Reservation.
Reservations
Accepted and Highly Recommended. Active Duty may make reservations 12 months in advance. Retirees/Reserves/DOD Civilians may make reservations 6 months in advance. Reservations can be made at 425-304-5315 or 1-877-NAVY-BED
Internet Access
There is free Wi-Fi internet access in the 24-hour Lounge and cell phone reception can be intermittent, Verizon tends to works best.
Mail Forwarding
Must use local USPS General Delivery.
Pet Information
Pets allowed with usual leash and clean-up rules.
Campground Information
Jim Creek is divided into several individual and group camping areas.
Big Rig Friendly?
Yes
Facilities
Disc Golf Course, 24-hour lounge, Basketball court, Alpine Tower ropes course, Dog Park, Bike rentals, Equipment rentals, Camp Store, Laundry, Social Center, Outdoor chess, Bigfoot croquet, Fitness loop.
Amenities
  • Dump, Sewer
  • Water
  • Electric
  • Tent Area
  • Showers
  • Playground
  • Picinic Area
  • Fishing
  • Boating, Boat Rentals
  • Hiking
  • Fitness Center

Site Information

Type of site
Spaces
Hook-ups
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
RV Sites
14/div>
W/30,50A/S/Tele
$42
$238
$930
Camper/Tent
10
None
$15 - 24
N/A
N/A
Group Sites
2
None
$75 - $200
N/A
N/A
Cabins/Lodge
25
W/E
$55 - $145
N/A
N/A

Other Information

Firearms Policy
Privately owned firearms are not allowed.
DoD Interactive Comment Evaluation

The Department of Defense (DoD) Interactive Customer Evaluation (ICE) system is a web-based tool that collects feedback on services provided by various organizations throughout the Department of Defense (DoD). Click the ICE logo to submit your evaluation on this campground directly to the responsible department.

Weather Information

All of Jim Creek's camping areas include a picnic table, fire ring and garbage can with the exception of the remote hike-in sites.

  • Cub Camp consists of Cabins 1-4 situated in a small clearing. These cabins have electric lights and plug-ins, wood burning stoves and a porch swing and counter table on the porch.
  • Coho Camp sits on the banks of Jim Creek and features sites 6-11 suitable for tent camping as well as Cabin 12, which is a small rustic cabin with Jim Creek on one side and little Jim Creek on the other.
  • Coyote Camp also enjoys the sounds of Jim Creek with it's 10 tents sites and 5 cabins. The cabins in Coyote Camp are numbered 21 - 25 and feature electric lights, porch tables and swings and a full-size bed along with 2 bunks and a wood burning stove inside.
  • Both Bear and Coyote group camps are located in the valley at the base of Wheeler Mountain. Each has a large picnic pavilion, BBQ grill, fire pit and enough space for day use of up to 100 people and overnight tenting for 75 people at each site. They are also a short walk to a large playground, volleyball courts and softball field.
  • The Grouse Camp is the newest addition to Jim Creek. Featuring 9 two room cabins, the Grouse Camp is perfect for families with it's small playground, picnic pavilion and short trail to the shower house. Each cabin in this area has a full size bed, 2 bunks and a futon that folds down to an addition full size bed. They also feature wood stoves, electric lights and heat as well as a porch swing and counter top table.
  • The Eagle's Rest RV Park consists of 16 sites all of which have water and at least 30 Amp power (several have 50 Amp power and sewer hookups, please call for details.)

Jim Creek also offers a wilderness lodge and two apartment style facilities. The lodge has 11 rooms and sleeps up to 50 people in family style suites. Individual rooms can be rented during the summer months, or the entire lodge can be rented year round. Full lodge rentals includes the use of the dining room and galley style kitchen which is great for family, church or command gatherings. The Bear Den is a one bedroom apartment style lodging. With private bathroom, kitchen, small sitting area and air conditioning. The Bobcat Den is a two room apartment style lodging. It has a queen bed in the master bedroom and 3 single beds in the second bedroom. Additional features include a full kitchen with dishwasher as well as a bathroom with private washer and dryer for clothes. Internet Access: There is no internet access at Jim Creek and cell phone reception can be intermittent. We are truly a Wilderness Recreation Area.

Photos

Jim Creek Recreation Area
Eagles on the Lake
RV Park
RV Site
RV Park
Laundry
Lake
Laundry
Jim Creek Recreation Area
Dog Park
Lake
Group Playground
Entrance Sign
Disc_golf
Cougar Bunk
Jim Creek Recreation Area
Chess
Basket Ball Court
Cabin
Bath House
Bath House
Bath House
Interior
Jim Creek Recreation Area
Jim Creek Recreation Area
Jim Creek Recreation Area
Jim Creek Recreation Area
Jim Creek Recreation Area
Jim Creek Recreation Area

Attachments

  • File Description
    File Size
    File Type
    Downloads
  • Jim Creek Brochure
    732 KB
    122
  • Jim Creek Lodge Rental Brochure
    2 MB
    91
  • Jim Creek Map
    833 KB
    88
  • Jim Creek ID Requirements
    148 KB
    24
  • History of Jim Creek
    656 KB
    14

Map

Swap Start/End

User reviews

15 reviews
 
53%
 
27%
 
13%
 
7%
1 star
 
0%
Overall rating
 
4.3
Location
 
4.3(15)
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
4.5(15)
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.1(15)
Value
 
4.4(15)
Overall Experience
 
4.2(15)
To write a review please register or
View most helpful
Jun 17, 2018
Overall rating
 
5.0
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
5.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
This is a great place; we live locally, so we have not camped there, but we have been there often as day users. The place is clean, the camp staff is friendly and helpful. The lakes are smallish - probably a good place to take your little kids? A gorgeous area. Be careful, though, on the trails. Yesterday I hiked the trail from the lake to Cub Camp, mostly by myself. I saw the trail data - not much overall elevation gain. I thought it'd be easy. It wasn't. The trail was overgrown, trees were down across the trail, the trail goes through active creek beds (slippery), some of the stream crossings were fine, others were rickety. I was an idiot, too, to think of hiking this by myself, and I didn't have the 10 Essentials. A hiking pole would have helped for balance... It's easier hiking up toward Cub Camp, if you are going to do something like a car shuttle. There are brief views of the lakes, but the trail doesn't have any real exciting destination. Although it is kind of amazing to be out in the middle of the forest, without any of the crowds of hikers that you tend to see in other parks. Jim Creek is a wonderful place! It *is* kind of out in the country, so if you want to be near urban life, this won't work for you. But it's so gorgeous! Just be careful if you take the lake trail...
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 5 0
Feb 20-22, 2016
Overall rating
 
5.0
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
5.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
Friendly staff, clean accommodations, wildlife within campground, gathering place welcoming with various games and movies available. Nice place to relax or take walks. Would like to go back soon.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 3 0
2-7 Sept 2015
Overall rating
 
5.0
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
5.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
Great place and awesome stay we heard about this place but could never get a reservation but finally did and glad we did. I was in a RV site which was a nice concrete padded spot. The office staff was nice and friendly and very helpful both camp hosts were friendly and nice folks. A lot of things for kids to do upstairs in main off had a Wii, pool table, shuffle board, ping pong table, and a movie room. They have four or five books of DVDs you can sign out and we found out if you ask they will go upstairs and play the movie for you. They have Wifi but its a pain to sign on to it and not very good when you can get signed on, might want to buy wood someplace else other then the main office burned 4 stacks of wood a night when burn ban was lifted but cant really say anything bad about this place we will be back for sure.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 2 0
3-7 September 2015
Overall rating
 
5.0
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
5.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
Great stay!! Nothing bad to say about this campground. Very helpful staff and camp host. Clean restrooms, nice little gift/camp shop. Plenty of activities. Even showed an outdoor movie (latest Avengers, which is not even out on DVD yet) for the Labor day weekend. Only recommendation would be for a shuttle to go between the campground and Twin Lakes. It's about a 5 mile hike and we didn't have a car. We stayed at the RV park.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
July 5, 2015
Overall rating
 
1.9
Location
 
1.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
1.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.0
Value
 
4.0
Overall Experience
 
1.0
Jim Creek is in a nice wooded area of Washington north of Seattle. It is not convenient to get to and from if you are planning to visit Seattle while here. After leaving I-5 you have to travel 15 miles to get to the facility. Due to the narrow winding road it takes about 30 minutes to get there. The exit from I-5 is about 45 miles north of Seattle. This facility is actually behind a high security gate - must be opened and closed by the guard for each vehicle entering or leaving. At the gate is a sign that states that firearms must be declared. This is not an accurate statement. The guard asked me if I had any weapons before I could declare them. Once I told him that I did I was not allowed to remain on the facility. They have no provisions for registering firearms or securing them. If you carry firearms in your rig do not make reservations at this facility. Even though I was not able to stay I still had to pay for my first night!
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 3 5
July 2013
Overall rating
 
4.3
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.0
Value
 
4.0
Overall Experience
 
4.0
Anyone that goes to a location that titles itself "Wilderness" and thinks it's anything other then the "boom docks" (one assumes they mean boon-docks) is, well... The entire facility is clean and the best maintained MWR campground I have ever seen. Example, when we arrived and were walking the dogs there was a broken wicket on the soccer-ball/croquet court. The next afternoon that was fixed. Being there on week-days, it was quiet, quiet, quiet. If you are looking for a "fun time", you are in for a shock. There is nothing but quiet, critters, hiking, bicycling, games, small-boats, fishing, etc. The only real down-side, is there is no place to go swimming or wading. PS, they now have wifi in and around the main building, but it is not reliable.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 3 0
August 30, 2011
(Updated: August 31, 2011)
Overall rating
 
3.3
Location
 
3.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
3.0
Value
 
3.0
Overall Experience
 
3.0
This park is OK. Should have checked this site first because was SHOCKED to find a $15.00 charge to use the dump station. They have four (4) sites that have full hook-ups and three (3) of them were taken by the host (They have 3) and the fourth was taken by the maintenance man. The $25.00 is high when you add the dump cost. You must be here 5 nights before the dump charge is cancelled. I will not be returning as there is really not much to do here and you are in the boom docks. Only good thing I can say is that I could wash my car and coach.
Report this review Comments (1) | Was this review helpful? 5 3
August, 2011
(Updated: August 31, 2011)
Overall rating
 
4.2
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
4.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
3.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
4.0
My wife and I stayed here for 4 days and it was a great time. The over all rating I believe would be 4 to 5 Stars. The facilities were excellent to a point. I would suggest a couple of needed improvements. One was the equipment in the fitness Center, ie, Broken pullies, free weights were missing, but the free weight squats bar were there. The other was in all the very new bathrooms and showers. My wife and I found that the stainless steel toilets need seats. Sitting on the toilet on cold stainless steel without a toilet seats is very cold and wet experience for any one.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 1
June 2011
(Updated: June 29, 2011)
Overall rating
 
3.3
Location
 
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
4.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
3.0
Value
 
3.0
Overall Experience
 
3.0
Bottom Line: I would stay here again, but with the plethora of Camping spots in Washington, I would check out my other options before staying here again. Pros: The Staff was friendly, welcoming and helpful. The people that staff the main office were helpful and friendly to deal with. The Camp store prices are reasonable, as compared to most camp stores that will charge astronomical prices. The prices here were reasonable, albeit a small selection. A good selection of recreation gear is available for rent. Row Boats, Bikes, Canoes, Balls, Croquet, Disc Golf, Camping gear, the prices are reasonable. Playground equipment is new, and really nice. My kids enjoyed it. Cons: Quiet time seems to be more of a suggestion than a requirement. Check and see if the Sea Cadets will be there while you are there. They PT( LOUDLY) at 0500. The Sea Cadets also spent there days marching near our campsite, and reciting the General orders to a sentry. It was cute the first time, but after a couple of hours listening to kids screaming general orders....it gets a little old. The Sea Cadet Group also knows no boundaries, with the size of the park, they found it necessary to congregate near camp ground. There is not much in the way of hiking available on station. A majority of hiking trails are closed. No swimming location on station. Despite the lakes being "Stocked" no one in my group, or anyone we talked to at the lake had any luck the entirety of our stay. Not all recreation facilities are available. We found out after we rented the disc golf gear, that the course was being hydro seeded. Half the course was unplayable. I only saw one volley ball court...which is only a problem if you love volleyball, and another group is on the court....at the exact moment you want to play.
Overall, we enjoyed our time here. I would recommend checking to see if the Sea cadets will be there when you are there. They are loud, and they are active from 0500 until 2000. I was surprised to see them still marching at 2000. I would also recommend getting your firewood from the gas station outside Jim Creek or from the grocery store in town. It is three cents cheaper than MWR's but much larger. We burned through three bundles of MWR wood our first night, and two from the gas station on subsequent nights. The new Showers are nice, heated and clean. The private room has a toilet, sink and shower. They are nice. The other shower facility on station is clean, but is old and decapitated. The camp grounds are nice, when it is not busy. When it gets busy, there is not a lot of separation between you and your neighbors. Some neighbors don't understand being in a valley, with no ambient noise, your bass will travel for miles. Security was not helpful with this issue.
Report this review Comments (1) | Was this review helpful? 10 1
August 22-27, 2010
Overall rating
 
4.7
Location
 
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
Since there haven't been any reviews in the past 2 years, we just want to say this is a wonderful get-away FamCamp. It's far off the beaten path on a small Navy facility. No coyote sounds at night, no cougars appeared while we hiked the Twin Lakes Trail. The drive to the lakes includes hairpins, ups and downs and lots of gravel. Cement pads have water & electric. Showers, laundry, dump station. Staff members are very helpful and likable. Highly recommended as a place to relax.
BW
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 4 0
Sept 19 - 22 , 2008
Overall rating
 
4.6
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
3.0
Value
 
4.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
A very restful, peaceful place. This is our 2nd trip. Highly recommend reservations, particularly if its near a weekend. Satellite TV is marginal at best. Our Verizon air card worked this year, as did our AT+T cell phones. There are only 4 full hookups here with the camp host having one of them. The park is VERY laid back and the views are magnificent. Our cat was greatly disturbed by the smell of the coyotes who apparently visit often, if the scat is any indicator. He would not go out of the 5'ver, which is very unusual for him. Normally he can't wait to get out and makes every effort to. Not here. We plan to come again and highly recommend this CG.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
August 2008
Overall rating
 
4.7
Location
 
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
Visited Jim Creek for the first time, nice facility. RV sites 1-6 are open and without much shade, not the privacy of the other sites. Sites 7-12 are on the wooded site with better privacy. 7 is the most private, 12 is good, 8 & 9 are the least private. They do not have sewer hookups and the cost to dump is $14 even for park guests. This is due to the remote location and the tank is a holding tank that needs to be pumped. The sites have concrete pads, picnic table, bbq grill, fire pits, water and electric. The facility does a lot of things for activities in the summer on the weekends, ice cream social, free movies, etc. They have videos for free, just sign them out and return them. They have a fishing lake (2) about 5 miles up a logging road, boats to rent, etc. They also have rental cabins, so if you want to bring guests, the cabins are rustic and just a solid wall tent really. But the Grouse Cabin area is closest to the RV park so request that it you have guests. Arlington is close and there are a couple of good restaurants. Bistro San Martin, only open for dinner and reservations are suggested. Little Italy nice place for lunch, soups, sandwiches and salads.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 2 0
Many times since August 2004
Overall rating
 
5.0
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
5.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
Great site, wonderful staff and very well appointed family park. On weekends they open up the climbing tower for campers (check with staff). My granddaughter did this and it changed her life. She is now confident and outgoing and it is all because she was able to stretch her belief in her abilities. I can truthfully say that this campground and staff are the best we have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Fishing is great as well.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
Nov 2006
Overall rating
 
4.0
Location
 
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
4.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.0
Value
 
4.0
Overall Experience
 
4.0
Although we were snowed in for a week, we enjoyed the area and the camp hosts. The town of Arlington is a delight. If going in winter be prepared for bad weather and stock up because the road in/out could close. Looking forward to returning during good weather.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 1
Aug 2006
Overall rating
 
4.0
Location
 
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
4.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.0
Value
 
4.0
Overall Experience
 
4.0
Beautiful and secluded. Only a few sites have dumping.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 1