🏕️ REC PARK
Where veterans and families come to rest, reconnect, and remember what peace feels like.
Tucked along the beautiful South Prairie Creek between Orting and South Prairie, the VFW 969 Rec Park is a veteran-owned, veteran-run campground where members, families, and friends of the Post gather all summer long to camp, cook, laugh, and celebrate what we serve for.
Open annually: May 1 – September 30.
📍 15409 Pioneer Way E, Orting, WA 98360
Set on the banks of a working salmon stream in the shadow of Mt. Rainier, VFW 969 Rec Park is a slice of the Pacific Northwest that Post members have been enjoying and maintaining for decades.
On the property:
🚐 RV spaces with power and water hookups
⛺ Tent camping in a grassy open field
🏐 Sand volleyball court
🧒 Children's play area
⚾ Baseball field
🔥 Large community fire pit
🏡 Community house / meeting facility — with kitchen, dining area, restrooms with showers, and paid laundry
🐟 South Prairie Creek access — a legendary salmon and steelhead stream
⛰️ Views of Mt. Rainier
Throughout the May–September season, Rec Park hosts a mix of social events — potlucks, holiday cookouts, veteran gatherings, family days, and impromptu campfires. Watch our Facebook page for the current calendar.
Every Fourth of July, Rec Park is home to Post 969's flagship community event — Families Behind the Uniform, the America 250 celebration honoring military families of our nation's founding, wars, and present-day service.
Contact: Terry Hicks
📞 253-279-5809
✉️ post969vfw@gmail.com
Reservations recommended — especially for holiday weekends and July 4.
VFW 969 Rec Park
📍 15409 Pioneer Way E, Orting, WA 98360
From Tacoma: Approximately 40 minutes via WA-410 E
From Puyallup: Approximately 25 minutes
From Post 969 (3510 McKinley Ave, Tacoma): Approximately 35 minutes
Landmarks nearby: Located between the towns of Orting and South Prairie along the South Prairie Creek corridor. Just minutes from the Foothills Trail, the Puyallup River, and the Mt. Rainier scenic byway.
South Prairie Creek is one of Puget Sound's most important salmon-bearing streams — home to spawning runs of Chinook, coho, chum, pink, and steelhead. It's a protected watershed and a spectacular natural feature of the park.
Please respect the creek:
🚫 No dumping, no soap, no gas or oil near the water
🎣 Follow all Washington State fishing regulations
🌿 Pack out what you pack in
Rec Park is a family-friendly, veteran-owned space. To keep it welcoming for everyone:
✅ Quiet hours: 10 p.m. – 8 a.m.
✅ Pets welcome — must be leashed and cleaned up after
✅ Fires in designated fire pits only
✅ Alcohol permitted on-site (Washington State law applies)
✅ Children must be supervised
✅ All campers must register with the Rec Park manager on arrival
Full rules provided at check-in.
VFW Post 969 — Eric G. Sandstrom Post
📍 3510 McKinley Ave, Tacoma, WA 98404
📞 253-272-1405
✉️ adj@vfw969.org
🌐 vfw969.org
📘 Facebookfacebook
Rec Park direct:
📞 Terry Hicks — 253-279-5809
✉️ post969vfw@gmail.com
Camp by the creek. Rest under Rainier. Come home to your VFW.
No one does more for veterans — including making sure they have somewhere to unwind.
Our programs support our service members while they are on the front line, as they are being discharged and long after they return. Your tax-deductible donation will be immediately directed to the VFW programs where your support is most urgently needed.