Cougar Rock Campground

Cougar Rock is a wonderful campground inside the park. The sites are well-kept, the grounds are clean, and the staff and rangers were truly amazing—helpful, friendly, and welcoming throughout our stay. Even though the main water system in the park was temporarily out, there was still plenty of water available within the campground itself, so it wasn’t an issue. We were lucky enough to snag a first-come, first-served site near the washroom, which was very convenient. Nights here were unforgettable—the sky was absolutely filled with stars, and it made for a perfect camping atmosphere. Overall, Cougar Rock is a great basecamp for exploring Rainier, with excellent staff and a classic national park campground feel. I’d definitely stay here again.

The generator use policy is too restrictive and outdated . It encourages people like me who rely on charging their RV batteries for powering a CPAP to miss enjoying the park. It only provides for use at mealtimes 8-10am, noon-2pm and 5-7pm. Many ppl these days need CPAP overnight and there aren’t enough sites offering power connections for them so batteries and charging them is a safety issue.

This is a great national park campground! The sites are somewhat close together but the foliage makes it feel more private than it is. I really enjoy that they can't accommodate huge RVs here, it takes away a lot of the issue I normally find at campgrounds. It was also very quiet at night and you can hear the river which adds to the ambiance. The bathrooms were also extremely clean! Some of the sites are better than others, I would avoid sites super close to the main park road if possible. I was at D14, plenty far from the road, but it had the downside of getting the bathroom lights shining on it all night but being SUPER far from the bathroom, as there is only one bathroom on each loop and it was all the way on the other side with no way to get to it without having to walk all the way round the loop. There also seems to be a lack of rule enforcement sadly, people were having a fire when there is a strict fire ban and several small RVs (shocking it's always them breaking rules) rolled in late and set up in sites marked as not available for camping. I wish people that came to enjoy our amazing national parks had the decency to respect the place and follow the rules. All in all, I thought this was a fantastic campground and would definitely stay here again!

Great place to camp. Very convenient to trails in the Paradise section of the park. Portable water is by the bathrooms making it super easy to fill up. The rangers were super helpful too

Stayed at Cougar Campground for 3 nights and we appreciated the location since we made it our base camp to explore Mount Rainier National Park. We travel in a 25-foot long motorhome and stayed in loop C on site 36. We could maneuver fairly easily with our rig but leveling it was a bit difficult. Not many rigs in this campground, more tents than anything else. No services and flushable washrooms were so so. Relatively clean but old. No showers and no washing dishes station. First the pros, quite cheap 20$/night and just 20 mins from Jackson Visitor Center on the Paradise side of the park. That was the big plus b/c the parking up at the VC fills up very quickly. By 7:30 am the first two parking lots at the VC were full and we used the pic nic area about 10 mins from the VC. It was crazy to see many kilometers of cars waiting to park at the VC. The campground is also close to the trail to get to Longmire, about 2 miles and to some falls close by. It is a nice campground but don’t expect a view on Mount Rainier. Lots of threes and our site was quite large but some are super tiny, read the site details closely if you have a rig. There were activities for junior rangers at the amphitheater which was fun. The cons now, this is a noisy place. Not b/c of generators but it is a crowded place, very crowded. Don’t hope to site down and read in peace! We had loud neighbors but maybe we were also loud! There is a lot of traffic as well. Sites are a bit chaotic with a lot of downed threes and very rocky.

Here, you can fall asleep to the sounds of Nisqually river on a nice plot with well-kept bathrooms stocked with TP. Cons: plot are very close and people will light up the entire block with their camp lights, penetrating your tent, and children were playing and screaming, running through strangers' plots well after midnight with no patrol to help out. Also, it's a very sought after area, so it's full very often (even though tons of plots are not used each night, probably people who couldn't make it and didn't cancel. Totally worth it since it's right down the road from everything that Rainier has to offer!

An amazing campground. Directiona to the place are easy to find. Clearly marked camp sites. Clean restrooms. Had a great time attending the presentation from park ranger about the diverse flora in Rainier national park. Potable water is available but we didn’t consume it. But we did see folks filling up water. A separate sink to wash dishes makes life so easy.

I was up here for the afternoon at a campsite for a birthday party. I liked the layout of the group sites plus the bathrooms were decent for campsites. It was in the middle of Paradise and the entrance of the park. About 20 minutes to either place. The kids enjoyed running around the area and going up to Paradise. I look forward to going back for a couple of days.

I stayed in the Cougar Rock campground for two nights in June, and I absolutely loved it. It's in the Paradise area of Mount Rainier, so it's super close to a lot of the best hiking trails in the park. My absolute favorite one (Wonderland Trail) is actually within walking distance. If you need anything from civilization (s'mores supplies, caffeine, gas, etc), it's only like a 30 minute drive into town as well. The site came with a metal bear box to put food and scented items in, as well as a fire ring. I would highly recommend bringing your own firewood, because the ranger station runs out quickly. I stayed in loop B, site 8. It was honestly perfect because it was a short walk to both the bathroom and the ranger station, but not so close that we dealt with heavy foot traffic, noise, or smells. It was also one of the few sites with a looped "driveway," which was great because backing in and out on a narrow slope would be difficult. The campsites are close enough together so that you don't feel like you're out in the middle of nowhere, but there are enough trees and space between them that you have privacy. I definitely plan on staying here again on future trips to Mount Rainier.

After having stayed here over the Labor Day weekend, I'm of mixed minds about this campground. There are some big pros and some big cons - all of which are valid. In the end, I think I'd give it around a 3.5 star rating. Pros: -Handy location...just up the road from Longmire, and not too far from Paradise, several waterfalls, and hiking trails. -Nice amphitheater with ranger talks on some evenings. -Pretty with lots of trees, mountains, and the sound of the nearby river. -Small sites that keep most large and loud RVs away. -Great price ($20/night). Cons: -No firewood. You have to drive back to Longmire for the closest availability of firewood, which costs $16 for a tiny bundle of about 5 sticks. Crazy. -The quality of sites varies tremendously. Some are simple pull-throughs right on the road with next to no ambiance while others have huge forested clearings. Seemed very inequitable. -No electric or water. We had a small camper and it would have been nice to have these amenities. -Dump station has been closed for at least 3 years. -Apparently there used to be a shuttle up to Paradise. This would have been really handy and cut down on the park's carbon footprint.

Nice campground within the Mt. Rainier National Park, very close to the Paradise area. The site is quite big, there is drinking water, clean restrooms with flush toilets, a movie theater and it is connected to many trails, even wonderland trail. Each campsite has a big metal box in which you can store items that you should not leave outside. It is recommended that you not leave food or other smelly items out (or in the tent) during the night or when your not there, it will attract wildlife, bears included.

We camped a night here while staying in Mt rainier national park. This campground was great for us. Easy to find and Someone there to help us check in and get us to our campsite. Everything worked perfectly.

We stayed here for three nights in September 2020. Finding a sight was pretty easy because you drive until you find an empty site and then go back up front near the entrance to pay at the station. The amenities were well kept. They have a bathroom with flush toilets and an outdoor potable water station. We stayed in the C loop. All sites include a picnic table, fire pit, and bear box. Many of the sites were closed due to hazardous trees. After two nights there, we renewed our stay around 8:30am for one more night. However, when we returned later in the evening someone in an Airstream had taken our site and removed our paper from the marker. The ranger on duty was apologetic, but couldn't help us because the person wasn't on site. She told us to find a new spot and she'd make a note to the next ranger on duty the following day that we paid even though we didn't have a paper slip on the new marker. We got lucky because there was only one more site available when all this went down, otherwise I'm not sure what would have happened.

Pros: Clean site, great location near popular hikes/ trails, only $15, online reservations allowed, there is a shuttle that will take you up to Paradise if you don't want to bring your car. Cons: Sites are very crowded/close together (not very private). We had a bad experience with one of the Park Rangers at the campsite being very unhelpful. We needed to buy firewood so we could cook our dinner, and the sign stated that firewood was for sale until 8pm. We saw a large pile of firewood around 6pm and asked to buy some. The ranger told us he could not sell it to us because his sales staff went home. WTF? He told us we would need to drive 12 miles round trip back to the entrance of the park to buy some. This is not even the half of story... What you need to know is bring your own firewood and don't count on help from the rangers.

Our Meetup group camped here last weekend in order to hike around Mt. Rainier. I came up early to reserve sites to find that two loops were closed. Some of the spaces in the B loop were very small while others very spacious. You do camp kind of tucked away though so it felt spacious between neighbors. I was surprised that they didn't have bear lockers, especially as it is bear country. So having to keep coolers et. all in the car wasn't very convenient. They did have firewood, the site was clean as were the bathrooms. The first stall never did have toilet paper in it but it didn't seem to be too much of an issue. Overall I thought that the campsite was decent.

Great park, super nice hikes. Just a quick ride to Paradise and beautiful Mnt. Rainer. Book your spot early as the campground is usually 100% full. Great thing: No generators allowed. Tip: No showers.

The campground is really clean and well laid out. Very close to sunrise near mt. Rainier. And there are ranger shows at the ampitheater every night. The quiet time is like 9-10pm, clean bathrooms, $15 a night, reservations available, and group campsites also. Overall, very nice and would definitely go there again in the future. The only con is that there is no showers.

My main complaint about this campground is the bathroom and general untidiness. The bathrooms were disgusting. Dirty. No toilet paper. Trash at my camp site. I do not blame the NPS for this - they are woefully underfunded - thank you Republican congress. Please fund our National Parks so there are more people to help keep it clean!! I also agree the sites are not that private, but that's the case in a lot of campgrounds, so not a huge deal. Close to Paradise, which is nice, but the A loop in particular (the only first-come, first-served loop) is right on the road and there's lots of road noise.

Our favorite Mt Rainer campground. Always clean and quiet. Adjacent to a nice family-friendly river / waterfall hiking trail with views of the mountain and glaciers. Ranger talks with slide show & campfire every night during summer and fun for the whole family. Nearby Paradise has lots of paved hiking trails that are perfect for strollers or wheel chairs. (some are steeper than others) Correction of previous poster: Cougar Rock is closest to Paradise, not Sunrise. Paradise is a 15- 20 minute drive and does have showers available if needed.

I stayed at Cougar Rock in Loop E, which seems to be quieter than the rest. It's a beautiful, quiet, well-covered area. You are in the shadow of Mt. Rainier, and can catch glimpses of it from the right place in the campground. You can get a lot of traffic noise from people driving to Paradise, but it dies down at night. If you like hiking, you'll love the many trails accessible here. If you're not a hiker, there are lots of spots to stop and park to see some great sites as well. They didn't have the shuttle running up to Paradise (2013), so if you want to go up, you'll have to drive. Go very early or in the evening to ensure a place to park. Lots of hiking options and sites to see from Paradise too. Had an amazing time at Cougar Rock and plan on coming back. Would recommend to anyone.

we stayed here in august of 2012. we were pleasantly surprised at the size of the ( b loop, site number 26) as compared to ohanapecosh campground in the park. bathrooms were close and rangers gave a talk that night. they do sell firewood but i would bring your own. ranger talks are given Monday thur Thursday at 8:30 p.m. they are quite good. don't expect to find a ranger, though, for assistance of any kind. if you go in a big group, try the f-loop. it seems private. also, we stayed on a weeknight so i dont know how the weekends are.