Howard Miller Steelhead County Park

[Sharpie]

** UPDATED**
We are car camping here next week so this is a place holder for a campground review. I hear this park is a hidden gem along the North Cascades Scenic Byway (http://%5Burl=http://www.cascadeloop.com/index.php). I've been to the park a few times over the years on the cycles and it's nice place to spend some time along the river. We're looking forward to a few days camping there. The rates are cheap too $18 a night and they have full services. I'm so excited :D
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Location:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=howard+miller+steelhead+park&sll=48.52138,-122.070465&sspn=0.150537,0.439453&ie=UTF8&ll=48.489733,-121.609511&spn=0.017634,0.054932&t=h&z=15&iwloc=A

5110 Railroad Ave, Rockport, WA‎ - (360) 853-8808‎

Date of visit:

August 17-19, 2009

Weather:

* Daytime was warm 85 degs F but dry. Evening was very windy as the campground is in a canyon. Gust to 50 ~knots.

* Nighttime was cool, high 50's. Wind was calm.

Campground Condition:

* Campsite was very clean and was primarily grass which was nice. Picnic table was in good shape as was the fire ring area.
* All tent sites are walk in. The parking lot was about 50 yards from our site T1.
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=38&pictureid=658
* Site was level and large.P^
* Bathrooms and showers were very clean. The hot showers are pay (quarters).
* There is a gas station right outside the campground area that has a convenience store too.
* One garbage receptacle and one water tap for the entire tent site area.
* Campground was very quiet after hours.
* Bring DEET. It was very buggy in the evenings.
* The tent sites are right on the beautiful Skagit river where it confluences with the Sauk River.
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=38&pictureid=660
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=38&pictureid=659
* Bald eagles nest in the area and we saw many fishing along the rivers.
* Looking behind our site towards the RV pads.
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=38&pictureid=664
* Burning meat shot
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=38&pictureid=665
* We had an excellent camping experience !
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=38&pictureid=661
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=38&pictureid=666



Area Riding:

* The campground is along the North Cascades scenic byway. There are many sites to see and travel too in the area.
* My favorite place to visit is the Cascade Pass trail head (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=48.450354,-121.139331&spn=0.018843,0.054932&t=h&z=15). It will require a dual sport/4x4/(car that does well off road) to make it to the trail head. This is one of the most scenic areas of WA state IMHO. Here are some pics of the area you'll be traveling through. (Well worth the 50 miles roundtrip from WA Route 20.
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=38&pictureid=667
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=38&pictureid=670
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=38&pictureid=668
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=38&pictureid=669


Additional Park Info:

Howard Miller Steelhead Park (http://www.skagitparksfoundation.org/howardmiller.htm)

[Jeff in Ferndale WA]

I've ridden and driven past there dozens of times and have never stopped.I will be looking forward to your review.

[Sharpie]

Updated with campground review and pics. A great place to camp !

[Mellow]

Very nice... man... I got to get there...

[Jeff in Ferndale WA]

Seems like every time we ride over to Winthrop for lunch,we take a break at a gas station in Marblemount.This would be a much better place to take a break.
I don't know why,in more than 30 years of driving that road,I've never stopped there.
I will now!

[Sharpie]

Seems like every time we ride over to Winthrop for lunch,we take a break at a gas station in Marblemount.This would be a much better place to take a break.
I don't know why,in more than 30 years of driving that road,I've never stopped there.
I will now!
If it's the Shell station in Marblemount, the kid that works there (and lives behind the station in a trailer) helped me out greatly when I had a breakdown last year. Spun the rear rim on the KLR and cutoff the valve stem on the inner tube. Kid let me use his tools and threw me an old 18" tube he had to get me back home. Even helped me get it up on my third world centerstand. :o

http://www.motocampers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=38&pictureid=671

After you pass the gas stations in Marblemount and have to make a hard left on WA20, if you keep going straight over the bridge, that's Cascade River road which winds up at the trail head in the above pics. It's 22mi from the bridge. On a GL you can more than likely make it about 10 miles in before the road gets nasty.

[Jeff in Ferndale WA]

If it's the Shell station in Marblemount, the kid that works there (and lives behind the station in a trailer) helped me out greatly when I had a breakdown last year. Spun the rear rim on the KLR and cutoff the valve stem on the inner tube. Kid let me use his tools and through me an old 18" tube he had to get me back home. Even helped me get it up on my third world centerstand. :o

http://www.motocampers.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=38&pictureid=671

After you pass the gas stations in Marblemount and have to make a hard left on WA20, if you keep going straight over the bridge, that's Cascade River road which winds up at the trail head in the above pics. It's 22mi from the bridge. On a GL you can more than likely make it about 10 miles in before the road gets nasty.


Yup,that's the place.

One of these days I'm going to get a dual sport,but I'm not much for riding the wing off pavement.

[bigTom]

Man, when the sun is shining that is about as pretty a place as there is on the planet. It's not too bad when it's raining, either:)

Hey. I have that exact same centerstand on my KLR. What are the odds?

[Sharpie]

...

Hey. I have that exact same centerstand on my KLR. What are the odds?

I got mine as an upgrade from the dealer. :)

[Jeff in Ferndale WA]

I stopped in there in October for a quick break on the way to Winthrop.I stopped because I remembered this post.
Very nice place! It's now on the list of places to camp.
While we were getting ready to go again,we ran into some friends that were camping there in their RV.