Little Diamond Lake – Campground Review

1002 McGowen Road, Newport, Washington 99156

Little Diamond Lake is a member of the Thousand Trails and KOA Campground system. Located 20 minutes from the Idaho boarder and 80 miles from Canada, Little Diamond is the most northeastern 1000 trails campground in the northwest zone. However, don’t let that remoteness discourage you because I found this campground to be a small slice of paradise.

Campsites

Each campsites is large and surrounded by trees. The setting to be more like a state park or Corps of Engineers Campground than the typical commercial campground. Each campsite comes with a picnic table, fire pit and a nice sized gravel pad to lay out a mat if desired. There is no on-site sewer connection (2 dump stations) but each site has 30/50 amp electric and water.

Internet was a bit of a challenge but Little Diamond offers wifi through Jabba Communications and can be purchased daily, weekly or monthly depending on your needs. Since I am still working full time I opted to purchase a week at $15.00 and it provided all the services I needed. If you rather not pay or don’t need much of a signal then there is free wifi around the office/store area. The park has placed a few picnic tables in this area if you don’t mind working outside and with the general public.

Amenities

The Little Diamond campground is loaded with amenities. Some of them include a playground, basketball court, camp store, laundry facilities, a dog park, softball field, a frisbee golf course, swimming pool with hot tub and public showers.

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Of course the biggest attractions is Little Diamond Lake where you can swim at the beach, enjoy a picnic lunch, rent a boat or just lose track of time gazing.

The lake is a good size and includes a 1-mile nature trail that traces the perimeter of the lake. I hiked most of it on a smokey Sunday afternoon and found it to be an easy hike full of great views of the lake.

Local Attractions

There are two major population centers close to Little Diamond. The closest is the quaint City of Newport. The City of Newport, with a population of 2215, is located on the Washington/Idaho border just west of the Pend Oreille River. Here you will find 2 large groceries stores, several gas stations and some local eateries. If you have read any of my previous blogs you know I enjoy to eat, so while here I made stops at the Cowboy Pit Barbecue, Audrey’s Restaurant (great pie & all you can eat Fish and Chips on Friday), and of course I picked up a pizza at Newport Pizza. All were excellent and highly recommended!

Spokane is the second option if you need a town with more options. The City of Spokane is the largest city in Eastern Washington and a moderate drive (less than an hour) to most things needed. Here you can catch a flight at the international airport, pick up groceries, get gas, shop for RV needs at one of many RV dealers/stores or see a doctor. Of course there is also a ton of food and ICE CREAM options here as well.

Summary

This is truly a great campground with a great staff! My only regret is that I did not do more hiking and exploring in the area. I am sure there are many great sites in the area but I found myself just losing track of time hanging out at the campground and enjoying what it had to offer! Guess I will have to come back and check out those other things!