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After leaving Cle Elum we decided to do some boondocking at Quincy Lake in Central Washington (a Discover Pass is required). We did some research on Campendium and found the area was highly reviewed. This place was in line with the general direction we were headed so we wanted to check it out.
After scoping out the area in the car we found multiple sites that were spacious and right on the water, or very close to it. The road leading in was gravel and was washboard in some sections, but overall, I would say it was a good road. All sites appeared to have a fire ring and most were fairly level except the first few on Quincy Lake (where we parked). There were some large piles of garbage within a few sites, this is truly unfortunate because the area is beautiful. We spoke to someone who was from Fish and Wildlife who was cleaning up the area and said they closed the south entrance in order to stop people from dumping all their garbage around the lake. Many sites did fill up with campers toward the end of the week but we showed up on a Monday, so we had many sites to choose from. It seemed popular with fisherman during the week.
This lake is within close proximity to the Gorge Amphitheater and having attended multiple concerts there before we knew that the weather in this area can get hot, and it did. By late afternoon it was 88° inside the RV while trying to get some dinner prepared for the barbecue. Just be prepared to take a swim in the lake every now and then and you’ll be fine.
We went on multiple walks within the area and met other campers, who were all very friendly. Everyone we talked to was a local that had been coming here for many years. They warned me that the horse flies and mosquitoes tend to come out toward the end of June. Personally, I would probably only visit this area in the spring and fall due to the heat. I prefer a little bit cooler weather while boondocking.
Shortly after arriving we set up our lawn chairs in the shade and began to listen to the orchestra of birds and frogs that seemed to be attempting to talk over one another. They were very vocal the whole time we were there. We brought out the binoculars to do some bird watching, many birds had very vibrant colors and were beautiful to look at. We ended up watching all those different birds for hours.
There were a few hiking trails in the area but we never went on them, we will as soon as we make it back, especially the Ancient Lakes trail. We took many walks while there but they all ended up revolving around the lake.
The AT&T 4G LTE was great there, so we were able to get caught up on the things we needed to do online (although this blog post is about 2 months behind). We never turned on the TV, so I can’t tell you what local channels are available. I wouldn’t hesitate to come back here again, as long as it’s not 100°F+. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here!
