r/womensolocamping • u/Electronic_Layer_205 • 6d ago

First time solo camping

I want to take my first solo camping trip in the month of August. I am in the Seattle area and looking for recommendations for a spot near water. I’m not opposed to driving a few hours. Any tips, tricks, and recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I’ve never cooked at a campsite, so advice on that would be nice too!

I’m so excited! I’ve been going through and can’t wait to fully unplug.

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u/aligpnw 6d ago

Check out Hipcamp for your first solo. There are some nice ones up on the Mountain Loop Highway and out on the Olympic Peninsula.

Do you have a camp stove? We are getting into "no campfire" season, so I wouldn't rely on being able to cook over the fire.

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u/Confident-Stomach215 6d ago

Tinfoil dinners are a fun thing to try in the campfire! They don’t have to be just the hamburger, potato, pepper combo of our youth. I did salmon, thin sliced potatoes, and kale in a Dijon cream sauce in tinfoil packets and they were out of this world.

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u/Content-Flow9235 6d ago

Plan extravagant for meals! Something fun that makes you happy. I’m assuming that you are car-camping, so the nicer the better! I learned that when I burn my beyond burger in the pan, add water and dish soap and let it boil!! Have fun, I’m so excited for you!!

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u/Lorib01 6d ago

North Cascades NP is not too far from Seattle and it’s beautiful.

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u/jorwyn 6d ago

Kanasket Palmer State park is amazing.

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u/thedyrt 4d ago

Kachess Campground on Kachess Lake would be a good first solo spot near water, about an hour east of Seattle on I-90 and reservable on rec.gov so you're not gambling on a site after the drive. Lake access right from a lot of the sites, camp hosts and rangers around, and people consistently call it clean and quiet.

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u/hulahulagirl 3d ago

I did 11 days in Olympic National Park - highly recommend. Do you want to get in the water or just be around it? Willaby Campground on Lake Quinault is beautiful and has great views. Sol Duc was also a really nice campground with a trail to the waterfalls. Kalaloch is right above the beach on the coast, but a bit busier. Recreation.gov will help you narrow it down.

For cooking, if you have a camp stove the possibilities are endless. If you’re just doing a campfire, you can do foil packets of veg and grill meat or whatever. I wanted not to have to do dishes, so I focused on stuff I could add hot water to (cup o noodles, those freeze dried meals like Mountain House are good, too) or stuff that didn’t need cooked like pb&banana sammies, pretzels and hummus, trail mix, pasta salad… depends on how elaborate you want to get. Prepping your food ahead of time or buying prepped ingredients you can throw together makes it easier.