AYH Ranch Hostel and Campground

Jake, check out the laws regarding service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act. As much as you «don’t care what the law says, this is mom’s place,» it is the law. You are a pompus ass for threatening, intimidating, and implying the use of violent force against a blind child who camps at the hostel with his family and guide dog.
Worm.

I came here a few weekends ago with a bunch of friends from Seattle for a one night stay. It was a short ferry ride and subsequent car drive to the location, where we rented 3 super cool teepee’s. The spaces were all very clean and cute and the several bathrooms and community kitchen were very clean and in good shape. The staff were friendly and left us be, which was wonderful. There are many trails to walk around the site, and a really cool lake full of lily pads along the way. I came with 8 other friends and a lot of booze, but this place is also very family friendly… so if you’re thinking of coming here to go crazy, don’t. Just keep to yourselves and be respectful! The huge yard is great for playing sports (they have a lot of equipment for you to use!) and for chatting in the middle of gorgeous nature and sunlight. I definitely recommend this place.

We stayed here last night during our brief stay on Vashon island. The place was clean, the showers hot and the location pretty perfect about 3min from «town».
What made the place though was «Jake» at the front desk who stayed up to wait for us to arrive around 9:30 and was incredibly accomodating offering to shuttle us whenever we needed it.
I can’t really comment on the rooms as we stayed in our RV. While i appreciate their extreme flexibility in inviting us to stay there, the truth is they’re not really set up for RV’s. In fact, we felt really bad as we damaged some of their grass lawn just trying to get out.
If you were staying in one of the rooms or teepees though, I think it would be a great option on the island.

We stayed here one night in August of 2009 before another event on the island. I certainly liked it and we enjoyed staying in the teepee even if the area was experiencing a heatwave in the 100’s. The kitchen options for prepping your own food was nice. Places to hang out and read or play games were abundant. I will say the vibe was weird. I think that had to do with the staff. I understand the place is for sale but the woman on staff and her kids were putting out the strange… her kids were a bit of a challenge for us, in our space, upsetting the other guests, accusations of stealing and such. I hope that has all changed.
It was cheap enough for the facilities and unique accommodations. Not particularly clean. The other item that was a thumbs down was that we chose the teepee to have a fire and relax and when we finally settled in for the night, we realized all the wood they provided us was green and would not burn.

This place rocks. Very creative design; it’s all about cowboys and indians, if you like that sort of thing. Would be an awesome fetish camp. Set amongst meadows and forest, this place draws folks from all over the world to experience the island we know and love as home.

I have been here not over night but for events, and everyone is super helpful and professional. One thing is that some people did complain about weird noises like an animal eating another animal pretty close to their covered wagon.
There is also some guy who had surgically pointed teeth who hangs around there.
…
But other than that.

This place has to be a staple of Vashon’s «weirdness.» It was hysterically great, an unexpected highlight of our trip to Seattle. It really set us off into silliness, and we had some good laughs at the outrageousness of the place.
We were in need of a place to stay rather late that night, so used our GPS to search for hostels (after staying a night at the Green Tortoise downtown and not being impressed — not the GT’s fault really, but rather it’s residents) and the AYH came up. We followed the route, and just cracked up when suddenly the GPS said, «Turn left. Board ferry.»
The ferry ride over was fantastic from the upper deck, under a crescent moon, and equally as pleasant on the morning return. A bit pricey ($ 27), but worth it.
But I digress. The property is gorgeous and quiet. There are full-​sized teepees, a covered wagon, and log cabins to stay in. We requested a private room, and they gave us the «Merona» (I think it was called), which was the girls’ 6-​bed dorm. The accommodations were a little better than those you would get in a summer camping dorm (in fact, the whole place feels like summer camp), and the double/​queen bed was very comfy, the sheets and pillows were soft. We slept very well that night.
They have a full kitchen, with coffee maker, and free DIY pancake breakfast. There’s free wifi in various places, one of which is on the back porch of the main office. They offer free bicycles you can take around the island, and I think there was even swimming and horseback riding available.
It was a really weird, interesting place, and I wish we’d had more time to check out the property and offerings, but we had to go early that morning. Would definitely go back. Total cost for one night in a private room: $ 70 (plus ferry ride).