Changes to two Wynoochee Lake campgrounds in 2024
Effective January 1st, 2024, the Coho and Satsop Center Campgrounds at Wynoochee Lake will be managed differently.
According to the US Forest Service, a new concessionaire, D5 Recreation, will operate and maintain the Coho Campground and the Satsop Center Campground will be closed temporarily due to deferred maintenance.
“To ensure the safety of visitors and the resource it’s important that we take this time to do the necessary work on the site,” said, Al Watson, Acting Forest Supervisor, “We’re committed to providing safe experiences for visitors and economic opportunities for local businesses.”
A historic site, the Satsop Center area dates to 1927 when the Forest Service first identified timber sales in this area. Since then, operations at the site have varied including the construction of multiple facilities, including the Guard Station, that was used as a work center, administrative site, and provided lodging for Forest Service employees and partners.
The temporary closure of the Satsop Center Campground will allow for planning and implementation of work that will address safety concerns and maintenance needs, as well as explore future opportunities for administrative or public use.
In 2022, the Olympic National Forest accepted Requests for Expressions of Interest for both campgrounds.
After reviewing the viability of the Satsop site it was determined that safety risks were too high to continue utilizing the site, as is, in the immediate future, without any remediation.
Through this process D5 Recreation, a locally owned business, was identified as the operator for Coho Campground exclusively.
Reservations for Coho Campground will be available in mid-January 2024 at www.recreation.gov.
To ensure that the planning and implementation of remediation processes can occur at the Satsop site, no public entry will be authorized.
For updates regarding operations at Coho Campground and the status of the Satsop Center Campground visit the Olympic National Forest website and follow them on social media @olympicforest.
