A Frank Review of Washington Lake

A guest post by Frank

Hi, I’m Frank, Paul and Cheri’s traveling companion.  You can read my story at The Story of Frank.  Last year I wrote the review of Shady Dell and Cobblerest to rave reviews.  OK, so there were no reviews, but here I am again to write about Washington Lake.

Washington Lake has 39 campsites.  Nine are on the lake; another eight are across the road from the lake, all campsites are an easy walk to the lake.  The campground is completely paved.  Each campsite has a concrete patio with a picnic table, raised fire pit, and dutch oven table.  Talk about luxury!  They forgot only one thing – water.  There is no water system at Washington Lake.  We send our campers to either Shady Dell or Lost Creek.

Washington Lake is the newest campground on the Mirror Lake Highway.  As such, it was built to accommodate larger trailers.  Most of the sites will fit a 32’ trailer easily; some sites will accommodate those 40 – 45 footers that have such a difficult time finding a spot in the National Forest.  So, to all of Paul and Cheri’s friends who couldn’t come to see them at previous sites because the sites didn’t have a spot large enough – now’s your chance.

But be warned!  This is a very popular campground.  So far they’ve filled up every weekend.  Fourteen of the campsites can be reserved at www.recreation.gov; the other 25 are first-come, first-served.  There are also five group sites, but since they haven’t opened yet I don’t know much about them.  I do know that they are only available by reservation, again at www.recreation.gov.

The campground sits at 9,980 feet according to Paul’s GPS.  It is surrounded by evergreen forest and some of the most famous peaks in the Uintas – Bald Mountain, Haystack Mountain, and the Notch.  The views are spectacular, the air is clear, and the stars seem to have all congregated in the skies about this delightful spot in the mountains.

To reach Washington Lake, head up the Mirror Lake Highway from Kamas.  Make a left turn toward Trial Lake just past mile marker 25, but instead of turning right toward Trial Lake, keep going up that road.  You’ll see a sign marking the right turn to our campground – the same road as the Crystal Lake Trailhead.  Paul and Cheri’s trailer will be the first one you’ll come to, and they’ll be the first to welcome you to beautiful Washington Lake.