Big Twin Lake Campground, Winthrop WA

[bhayden]

It's nice to stay in different places but for our second trip to Winthrop this year we opted to return to Big Twin Lake Campground . Not only was it closest to where the bike race was starting but it's a great place well deserving of repeat buisness.

One of the main attractions, as you might have guessed is Big Twin Lake. Look carefully and you can see an Airstream parked on what looks to be a newly developed lot on the far side of the lake (the wife spotted this one). We were offered a prime spot out on a point overlooking the lake but it had only water and power and with the puny gray water tank in our trailer we had to pass.

All of the campsites are grass and the entire place is kept green and park like. Naturally the deer think this is great! While a gravel or paved slab for parking can have it's advantages it would just ruin the beauty of this campground. Besides, it's generally so dry in Winthrop that the grass is no problem.

-Bernie

[silverleeper]

Hi Bernie, Thanks for the photos and the information. Looks like a great place to go.

[3Ms75Argosy]

Hi Bernie! Looks like the fires are out? We were at the Winthrop KOA over the summer... I kept thinking I wished I had my MTB as the trails around the Sun Mtn lodge looked fun! Were you mtb racing or road racing? How'd it go?

What's your favorite way from Seattle to Winthrop? We came back over hwy 2.... love the area, just seems like a LONG drive to get there. We traveled down from Canada (stayed in Kalowna BC - loved that area too!), stopping in Republic to dig up some fossils, Grand Coulee, and then to Winthrop (where we also went to Omak for the Stampeede).

Thanks for the camping tip! I travel with a 22 gallon blue boy for our grey water needs. I just dump it every day. Gets me out of those water/power hookup "blues."
Marc

[bhayden]

Yes indeed, no sign of the fires at all. Next time we go I'm thinking of trying the KOA in Winthrop. They're one of the sponsors for the Fall Bike Festival and would be a great place to start a float trip down the Methow River.

We rode the trails from Sun Mountain Lodge on Saturday and it was stellar. Bright blue sky and 65 degrees. Not bad for October and the fall color was awesome. Here's a picture overlooking the Beaver Pond which I like so well I'm using it for my desktop background and Patterson Lake where you can rent cabins but no trailer camping:

There's no shortage of good road riding and they offer several supported rides both on and off road as part of the Methow Fall Bike Festival. Since most of the activities (except the racing) are centered in "downtown" Winthrop the KOA might be a better choice.

You're right that it's a fair haul from Seattle so next year I'd really like to plan it so we can leave the trailer up there for an extended period. This summer we took the North Cascades on the way over and came back via Stevens. This last time we reversed the route. You get a different perspective each way. Steven's is by far the easier drive. Mapquest claims you can do it in a little over four hours but with the trailer and stops it's a solid five hours using Hwy 2. One tip is to use the "alternate" route on the east side of the Columbia River and cross over north of Chelan to avoid the lights and 25/35mph stretch going through Chelan.

A Blue Boy or even just a 5 gallon blue plastic jerry can would have done the trick for us this trip. Getting the Kings spot out there on the point would be a fantastic site. Oh well, we really didn't have any time back at camp to enjoy it this time anyway. I guess that's the downside of having so many things to do in the Methow

-Bernie

[jglabrown]

It's sure hard to beat SR20. I'll grant you it's not "Going to the Sun" (Glacier), but it's awfully close in terms of rugged beauty. Another lovely drive is to continue east on 20 to and through Eastern Washington.