Dash Point State Park

We spent seven nights here in late July and kept forgetting we were 20 miles from downtown Seattle. Mornings were bald eagles over the water and coffee on a driftwood log; afternoons we were at Pike Place Market in half an hour. Dash Point is the rare spot that hands you genuine Pacific Northwest coast — old-growth Douglas fir, 400 feet of Puget Sound beach, tide pools at low water — without making you choose between nature and the city.

Is it a good base for exploring Seattle?

Yes — it’s the best state-park base in the Seattle metro, because you get forest-and-beach camping with a 30-minute reach into downtown. Federal Way sits 20 miles south of Seattle, 15 north of Tacoma, and 10 from SeaTac, so it works especially well if you’re flying in and picking up a rental. We day-tripped to Pike Place, the Space Needle, and Point Defiance from the same leveled site. See our Seattle RV guide for more on the metro.

What does it cost, and does that price hold?

When we researched rates in July 2026, hookup sites ran about $40–$50/night — but Washington State Parks pricing moves with season and site class, so read that as a snapshot, not a promise.

Site type	Approx. rate (as of July 2026)	Notes
Full hookup (50 amp)	~$45–$50	Up to ~60 ft, water, sewer, paved pad
Partial hookup (water/electric)	~$40	Up to ~40 ft, 30 amp, no sewer
Tent / walk-in	~$25–$30	No hookups, near restrooms

That’s well below private Seattle-area resorts for comparable hookups. Your overnight fee also covers day-use access, so skip the separate Discover Pass. For how a nightly rate fits a whole trip budget, see our RV rental cost guide.

Which sites should you request?

Ask for an interior or western site and steer clear of the eastern row near the entrance road. Site choice matters more here than at most parks because of two things: arrival traffic and the SeaTac flight path.

• Request: a full-hookup site on the interior loop or toward the beach side — better tree screening, less road and aircraft noise.
• Avoid: the eastern sites closest to the road, which catch both.
• For smaller trailers: the water/electric sites are tighter but cheaper, and the dump station handles you on the way out.

Who is it best for?

Beach-and-forest travelers who still want the city close, and anyone flying into SeaTac for a rental. The water stays cold year-round (48–54°F), so this is beachcombing, tide-pooling, and sunset-fire country rather than swimming. There’s no park WiFi — plan on cell signal or Starlink — but eagles overhead and sound-side sunsets more than make up for it. Note the summer crowds and the airplane noise before you commit.

Bottom line

If you want real Puget Sound coast at state-park prices with Seattle 30 minutes away, this is the pick. Book a full-hookup site a few weeks ahead for summer, request an interior or western spot to duck the noise, and treat the posted rate as a moving target. Round out the trip with our Seattle guide and Washington state guide.