Colonial Creek Campground

Great campground! We stayed over labor day weekend, so it was completely full (and can get noisy), but still a lovely spot. We stayed at site 140, which was absolutely gorgeous and very private. It's a walk-in site, and it's definitely a bit of a hike from the car, but well worth the quality of the site. There is only space for one tent on 140, but 138, 139, and 141 were also private sites that had space for bigger groups. You can now make reservations for sites on the south loop (we made ours for the holiday weekend back in April, and it was one of the few left). The south loop waterfront sites that are recommended here are very close together, and I would not recommend them (also, you can definitely hear highway noise from any sites located near the highway, sites 64-73). Waterfront on the north loop is much better, but I don't believe you can reserve it (it's first come first serve). The Thunder Knob hike starts in the north loop is a beautiful, quick hike. We camped with our toddler, and I would guess the majority of the groups had children as well, as it's a good spot for little ones. There was a burn ban during our stay, so no campfires. Also, Diablo Lake is periodically lowered (this year from mid-August to mid-September). The boat launch didn't reach the water, so any kayakers/paddlers had to haul their boats over several yards of beach to reach the water. Not a big deal, just a heads up. The water is glacial and still pretty cold, but by early September there were several groups sunbathing on the beach and swimming. Overall, I would definitely recommend this campground. The North Cascades are a must-see and this site is a good location to access a lot of hikes and even more remote, boat-in campsites.