RV travel in Washington
Washington packs three national parks (Olympic, Mt. Rainier, North Cascades), an ocean coast, the San Juan Islands, the Columbia Plateau wine country, and the Cascades into one drivable state. The catch is that everything on the west side gets weather -- the Olympic Peninsula is genuinely a rainforest, Mt. Rainier closes most of its high roads from November through May, and North Cascades' WA-20 closes the high pass entirely in winter. The east side (Spokane, Tri-Cities, the Columbia Plateau) is drier and stays drivable year-round. Ferry travel to the San Juans is RV-doable but expensive and you need reservations; Sea-to-Sky travel with a fifth wheel is a different exercise than with a Class B. Plan around the seasonality and Washington is one of the highest-density RV states in the country.
Last verified: 14 May 2026
Free RV PDF guide to Washington
Driving rules, RV-friendly and RV-restricted highways, NPS reservation rules, BLM and NF boondocking, propane, dump stations, weather, and emergency contacts. Save it to your phone for offline use on the road.
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Driving rules
Interstate (cars)70 mph (rural I-90 east stretches); 60-65 mph elsewhere
Interstate (trucks + towing)60 mph
US/State highway (cars)55-60 mph (posted)
US/State highway (towing)55 mph
Built-up areas25-35 mph (posted)
Drive onRight
RV passenger seatbeltsRequired for all occupants in all seats (primary enforcement)
Cell phone use while drivingHands-free only since 2017; all hand-held banned (calls + text); $136 first offence
RV-friendly and RV-restricted highways
RV-friendly
I-5Main north-south spine, Vancouver BC to Portland OR. Big-rig standard. Heavy traffic through Seattle 0500-1900 weekdays.
I-90Seattle east over Snoqualmie Pass to Spokane and on to Idaho. Snoqualmie is chains-required Nov-Mar in storms. Vantage bridge over the Columbia is wind-exposed.
I-82 / I-182 / I-184Yakima south to the Tri-Cities. Easy.
I-405Eastside bypass of Seattle.
US-101Olympic Peninsula loop. Two-lane, slow, but RV-friendly throughout. Hood Canal Floating Bridge is rare-but-real wind closures.
US-2Everett east over Stevens Pass to Wenatchee. Stevens Pass is heavy-snow chain-required area Nov-Apr.
US-97Goldendale north through Wenatchee and on to Canada. Blewett Pass (US-97) is open year-round.
WA-20 (North Cascades Hwy)Burlington east over Washington Pass to Winthrop. CLOSED mid-Nov to mid-Apr typically. Spectacular when open.
RV-restricted
Sunrise Road (Mt. Rainier NP, east side)Trailers prohibited; RVs over 25 ft strongly discouraged on the upper switchbacks.
Paradise / Stevens Canyon Road (Mt. Rainier)Long combinations (RV + toad) restricted on Stevens Canyon. Check current NPS vehicle rules.
WA-410 Chinook PassTrailers over 30 ft tough on the switchbacks; closed in winter (typically late Nov to late May).
Hurricane Ridge Road (Olympic NP)Open year-round in good weather; chains required winter. Narrow shoulders near top -- not for big rigs.
San Juan Islands ferriesVehicles over 22 ft pay much higher fares; over 30 ft and you may need a height-restricted lane. Reservations REQUIRED for vehicles in summer (Apr-Sep) via wsdot.com/ferries.
National parks and monuments
Mt. Rainier NP$30/vehicle (7 days), $80 America the Beautiful annual. Cougar Rock and Ohanapecosh Campgrounds reservable via recreation.gov; RVs to 35 ft (some sites). White River first-come; RVs to 27 ft only. Timed-entry reservations now required for the Paradise and Sunrise corridors mid-May through Labor Day -- separate from camping reservations.
Olympic NP$30/vehicle (7 days). Multiple campgrounds; Kalaloch and Mora reservable, others first-come. Sol Duc reservable summer only. RV size limits vary by campground (typically 21-35 ft). Many Olympic NP roads dead-end at trailheads -- pick a base and day-trip.
North Cascades NPFree entry. Newhalem Creek Campground reservable; Goodell Creek first-come. RVs to 45 ft at Newhalem. Park is only realistically reachable May-Oct via WA-20.
Lake Roosevelt NRAFree entry; camping $10-30. 27 campgrounds along the Columbia; most first-come, several reservable. RV-friendly.
Lake Chelan NRA (Stehekin)Free entry. Stehekin is boat- or floatplane-access only from Chelan. No vehicle access. Day-trip from Chelan instead.
Mt. St. Helens NVM (USFS-managed)Free; some sites $8. Iron Creek and Seaquest (state park) reservable; RVs welcome. The volcano monument is USFS not NPS strictly.
Whitman Mission NHSFree entry. Day-use only.
Fort Vancouver NHSFree entry. Day-use only; commercial RV options in Vancouver.
Ebey's Landing NH ReserveFree entry. Whidbey Island; Fort Casey State Park has RV camping nearby.
San Juan Island NHPFree entry. Day-use only; commercial RV camping on the island (book ferry well ahead).
Boondocking and dispersed camping
BLM: Washington has relatively little BLM compared to the rest of the West -- mostly small pockets in eastern WA around the Yakima Training Center, Methow Valley, and along the Columbia. Free 14-day dispersed camping where allowed. Don't expect Quartzsite-scale acreage; you'll mostly be on Forest Service.
National Forests: Olympic, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie, Wenatchee (now part of Okanogan-Wenatchee), Gifford Pinchot, Colville, and Umatilla National Forests cover most of the state's mountains. Free dispersed camping along forest roads; 14-day limit. Popular FR areas around Methow Valley, Leavenworth, and the Columbia Gorge fill summer weekends. Fire restrictions Jun-Oct east-side; less so west-side.
Stay limit: typically 14 days per location.
Service stops
Propane: Reliable in Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Yakima, Bellingham, Olympia, Wenatchee, and along I-5/I-90/I-82. Sparse on the Olympic Peninsula west side (Forks has one, Aberdeen reliable), the Methow Valley (Winthrop has seasonal supply), and the WA-20 corridor in shoulder seasons. U-Haul reliable; Les Schwab and many Co-op stations in eastern WA do refills.
Dump stations: Most Washington state parks have free dumps for registered guests. Flying J / Pilot stops along I-5 and I-90 charge $10-15. Seattle metro has multiple commercial options. Some city public works yards (smaller towns) offer free dumps for through-travellers -- worth asking. The wsdot.com state-park map flags dump-station availability per park.
Fuel: Diesel widely available along interstates. Long gaps to watch: WA-20 across the North Cascades (Mazama is the last reliable diesel before Diablo when open Jun-Oct; closed entirely in winter); US-101 northwest of Forks (50+ miles to next reliable on the west Peninsula); WA-21 across the Colville Reservation (60+ miles between Curlew and Republic). Washington fuel taxes among the highest in the country; fill before crossing into Idaho or Oregon (especially) if heading north or east.
Weather windows
Best monthsLate June through early October for the whole state. West side daytime 65-80 F; east side 80-95 F. Cascades cool quickly above 4,000 ft.
Avoid monthsNovember through April for any pass above 3,500 ft. North Cascades WA-20 closed entirely. Snoqualmie, Stevens, Chinook, White, and Cayuse passes all chain-required or closed in storms. West side stays drivable but very wet (Forks averages 100+ inches annual rainfall; mould risk in stored rigs). East side stays cold-and-dry but I-90 east of Vantage closes regularly for ground blizzards.
Washington's chain laws are enforced strictly Nov-Mar. "Tire chains required" means actual chains or studded snow tires for vehicles over 10,000 lbs GVWR -- and most travel-trailer rigs hit that. WSDOT inspects at pass entrances and turns rigs around. Carry chains for the drive axles AND the trailer if towing in winter.
Emergency and road conditions
State patrolDial *WSP (*977) from a cell phone for Washington State Patrol non-emergency