Camping near Crater Lake National Park
Campgrounds encircle Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, offering various accommodation types ranging from established campgrounds with amenities to dispersed camping in the surrounding wilderness areas. Mazama Village Campground serves as the primary camping option within the park boundaries, featuring tent sites, RV spots, and cabin options. Beyond the park, public lands offer free dispersed camping at locations like Mount Thielsen Wilderness and NF-70 Dispersed Camping. Diamond Lake Campground, located north of Crater Lake, provides additional options including glamping accommodations alongside traditional camping.
Most campgrounds in the region operate seasonally from late spring through early fall due to heavy snowfall at higher elevations. "The campground has multiple loops and is the bigger of the two campgrounds in the park. Mazama is the only RV campground at Crater Lake," noted one reviewer who visited in September. Primitive sites typically lack drinking water and require campers to pack in their own supplies. Lost Creek Campground has experienced periodic closures, with one visitor reporting in 2022 that it was "closed to the public and has been for a couple years. Only fire crews working in the park are allowed to stay here." Temperatures drop significantly at night even during summer months due to the 6,000+ foot elevation, and visitors should prepare for potentially cold conditions regardless of season.
Established campgrounds near Crater Lake typically include amenities such as toilets, picnic tables, and fire pits, though availability varies by location. Several campers mentioned difficulties with overcrowding at Mazama Village during peak season. According to one visitor, "The sites are huge, at least the two that we got. I wish I could've chosen our sites, but you don't usually get to with concessionaire campgrounds." Finding privacy can be challenging, as another camper observed that "campgrounds were so close together we could see 6 campgrounds and their tents from our fire pit." For those seeking more solitude, dispersed camping options on forest service land offer more isolation but fewer amenities. Most sites require bear-resistant food storage, with Mazama Village providing bear boxes at each campsite.
