Govt. Mineral Springs Campground

About

Government Mineral Springs Campground occupies a historic site in an old-growth conifer forest within Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the campground in 1937, and today its tent sites are configured in an unusual layout around the stone foundation of the Government Mineral Springs resort hotel, which was built in 1910 and burned in 1935. The resort once featured bath houses, a dance pavilion, and the Iron Mike Bubbling Spring, which visitors believed had medicinal properties. The campground provides vault toilets but no potable water, electricity, or hookups. Cell reception is poor. With an 18-foot maximum vehicle length, this is strictly tent camping territory. Sites cost $10 per night, payable by cash, check, or the Recreation.gov Scan & Pay app. Interagency Senior and Access pass holders receive a 50% discount. Trapper Creek Wilderness is within walking distance, offering 6,050 acres of diverse habitat with cascading streams, waterfalls, and huckleberry fields near Observation Peak. A free self-issued wilderness permit is required at the trailhead. Falls Creek Falls Trail, a family-friendly 3.5-mile round-trip hike to a 250-foot waterfall, is a short drive away.

Directions

From Carson, WA, travel north on Wind River Highway/Forest Road 30 for about 13.5 miles to the Fish Hatchery. Just past the hatchery, Forest Road 30 forms a V with Forest Road 3065. Take the left fork onto FR 3065 and continue about one mile to the campground.