After months of waiting, our first real camping trip of 2026 finally happened.
Our first attempt earlier this spring in Oregon ended before it ever really began, so I was more than ready to spend a couple of nights outdoors. This time our destination was Swift Creek Campground on beautiful Baker Lake, with Mount Baker towering over the southern end of the lake in northwest Washington.
I’m already beginning to understand why so many people love this place.
Discovering Baker Lake
Baker Lake has quickly become one of my favorite places in Washington.
Fed by glacial runoff and mountain streams, the long, narrow lake winds through dense evergreen forests with Mount Baker standing watch above it all. It has everything I’ve come to appreciate about the Pacific Northwest—emerald water, towering firs, moss-covered forests and a peacefulness that’s completely different from the granite basins I spend so much time exploring in the Sierra Nevada.
Earlier this winter I made a scouting trip to Swift Creek Campground, and it immediately caught my attention. Sitting on the northern end of Baker Lake where the pavement finally ends, the campground has a rugged feel that’s hard to describe.
Winter storms had left their mark. Along the Swift Creek inlet, piles of logs and driftwood still lined the shoreline after washing down from the mountains during spring runoff. Looking north, Mount Blum dominates the skyline, while the campground itself sits tucked against the hillside, protected from much of the wind that funnels down the lake.
It simply felt like a place where life slows down.
A First Test for the Napier SUV Tent
This trip also became the first real test for my new Napier SUV Tent.
Because Swift Creek is a developed campground with designated parking pads, I already knew I wouldn’t be attaching the tent to my Jeep. Instead, I loaded up the Avalanche with enough gear for a comfortable base camp and planned to pitch the tent on its own.
Then, at the last minute, my wife had to work.
That left me camping solo until the rest of the family arrived later that afternoon—and it created the perfect opportunity to answer a question I’d been wondering since the tent arrived.
Could one person set it up alone?
I purposely showed up about an hour before everyone else so I’d have time to find out.
Setting Up Solo
After picking out my campsite, I spread the tent across the pad and immediately remembered a lesson from an earlier setup.
Stake it down first.
A light breeze coming off Baker Lake reinforced that decision.
With the four roof poles assembled, I decided to simply go slow and systematic. Rather than wrestling the entire tent into position, I focused on one side at a time.
The roof went together quickly using Napier’s rubber grommet system, which creates just enough tension to lift the roof into place. From there, each wall pole slipped into position one after another until suddenly the tent was standing.
Would two people make the job easier?
Absolutely.
But I walked away convinced that one person can comfortably set up the tent without much frustration.
From start to finish, including organizing my gear, the process took right around thirty minutes.
The rainfly turned out to be the trickiest part. Instead of trying to throw it over the top, I found it much easier to clip one corner first and simply walk it around the tent.
If you’re setting one up for the first time, that’s probably the biggest tip I can offer.
Once everything was in place, I inflated my Exped sleeping pad and couldn’t help but laugh.
The queen-sized mattress looked tiny inside the tent.
There was room everywhere.
One feature that immediately stood out was the oversized screened porch. At first I wondered how useful it would really be without the vehicle attached.
I’d get that answer the following night.
Jasper’s First Camping Adventure
Soon the rest of the family arrived, dinner was cooking, and camp settled into that familiar rhythm that reminds me why I love camping so much.
This weekend also marked another milestone.
It was our grandson Jasper’s first camping trip.
Up until now he had been strangely cautious around enclosed play spaces, refusing to crawl into simple play tents or ball pits. I wasn’t sure what he’d think about sleeping inside a camping tent.
As it turns out…
He absolutely loved it.
Whether it was the oversized tent, the sleeping bags, or simply being surrounded by the outdoors, he quickly made himself at home. Watching him discover camping for the first time may have been my favorite memory of the entire weekend.
A Great Night’s Sleep—and an Unexpected Visitor
I slept incredibly well.
The Napier tent performed exactly as I’d hoped, the Exped sleeping pad felt like sleeping on a cloud, and my new Marmot Wraptor sleeping bag kept me warm throughout the cool mountain night. The zipperless quilt-style design took a little getting used to, but it made regulating my temperature surprisingly easy.
I’ll have much more to say about all three pieces of gear in future reviews.
The following morning I wandered down toward Baker Lake with my coffee.
On the walk back to camp, I spotted a black bear quietly making its way through the campground.
What struck me most wasn’t its size—it was how healthy it looked.
Compared to many of the rugged, weathered bears I’ve encountered over the years in the Sierra, this one looked almost pristine. Thick black fur, healthy, confident, and completely uninterested in me.
By the time I thought about grabbing my camera, it had disappeared into the forest.
Some moments are simply meant to be enjoyed.
Rain Is Part of Camping in Washington
Our second evening delivered exactly what the forecast promised.
Rain.
Steady Pacific Northwest rain.
It also answered my question about the oversized porch.
The vestibule became the perfect place to stash chairs, coolers and gear overnight while keeping everything dry and out of the sleeping area. It turned out to be one of my favorite features of the entire tent.
The only downside came after we got home.
A tent this large doesn’t dry in an hour. My garage became a temporary drying room for a couple of days while every panel aired out.
Welcome to camping in Washington.
I’ll gladly make that trade.
A Weekend I’ll Remember
As much as I enjoyed discovering another beautiful campground on Baker Lake, this trip wasn’t really about a campground.
It was about firsts.
Our first successful Washington camping trip.
The first real test of several new pieces of camping gear.
Jasper’s first camping adventure.
And one more reminder that every mountain range has its own personality.
In the Sierra, I often camp for the granite peaks, alpine lakes and wide-open vistas. Here in Washington, the forest becomes part of the experience. Towering evergreens surround the campsites, glacier-fed creeks tumble into the lake, and everything feels quieter—more enclosed in the best possible way.
For a Sierra guy learning a new mountain range, Baker Lake felt like a pretty good place to begin.
Now it’s time to start finding a few dispersed campsites.
After all…
Developed campgrounds are wonderful.
They just get a little expensive after a while.
