On Lake Chelan's south shore the beach is gravel, the berm is logs, and the mountains come back at you across 50 miles of open water. The hookup campground is in the trees just behind that berm. You swim from the beach, you sit on the logs, and the lake is both the day and the place you sleep. That shore is the overnight the rest of the week is built around.
Chelan is the town on that water. Washington State Parks takes reservations for the campground and requires a Discover Pass, so lock the overnight before you lock the van.
Stehekin has no road in, and you reach it by boat, floatplane, or trail. The Lady of the Lake runs year-round and sells same-day round-trip tickets, so you boat up, walk the landing, and sleep back on the south shore.
Lake Wenatchee State Park
Lake Wenatchee is the second lake out of town, a state park weekend with its own water. The South campground is the loop Washington State Parks names for camper vans, tents, truck campers, and small trailers under 20 feet. The North campground has standard and partial-utility sites.
Reservations are required, and as of September 2026 the park is open while it monitors the Little Giant Fire. If you need more sleeping room than that cap, look at Washington RV rentals instead.
Leavenworth and Eightmile Campground
Leavenworth is a Bavarian village, the day trip the valley is known for. You park and walk the streets, then you leave for the night. Eightmile Campground is up Icicle Creek in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, a forest campground on the creek that takes the Leavenworth overnight.
Eightmile caps vehicles at 50 feet, most of the sites take reservations, and as of September 2026 a few are closed for storm repair.
Off Icicle Creek, the Enchantments walk climbs glaciated granite peaks and a chain of alpine lakes, past a trailhead checkpoint. Overnight access is a permit lottery. Day use is a free permit at the trailhead, and the van stays at Eightmile or back on a lake.
Cashmere is the small town on the way.
Wenatchee Confluence State Park
Wenatchee Confluence State Park is an improved loop on grassy river-confluence flats, with a paved trail through that grass. People camp, cycle, and boat here all year, and it is the close first night. Washington State Parks lists a 65-foot maximum on those sites, with limited availability, and the park's own page says "the longest loop trail in the state runs through the park."
East of the valley, Spokane is the next campervan city. West over the pass, Redmond is the first one on the other side. Seattle sits on Puget Sound beyond that.