Mount Thielsen Wilderness

BE CAREFUL got a nail in the tire here. Ended up with a flat giving me a headache 😒. Otherwise the campsite was amazing, would have been 5 stars if not for the nail.

Seemed to be plenty of spots when I got there on a Sunday. Far enough from the main highway, I didn’t hear any traffic in the middle of the night. A caveat however, the east side of hill itself seems to be an active rock quarry. That means if you are waking up on a work day, it may be somewhat of a rude awakening

Easy to access road. So so many spots below, and a few great ones up the hill. We stayed below since we arrived late at night. Nice little walk in the morning up the hill, good views. Quick drive to crater lake. There were mosquitoes, but some deet and no prob.

We drove to this little spot after a busy day at crater lake July 2nd. We arrived about 6pm. Having seen a YouTube video about this spot in advance, we 4x4 straight to the top in my f150. Little bumpy but no problem getting up. At the very top, another truck with a RTT beat us, but we took the sheltered spot deep in the “rock quarry” center area.

We were worried about mosquitos due to so many reviews complaining, but it was pretty clear overall. There were a few, but really not a nuisance at all. I did use deet lotion, but my partner didn’t and she didn’t seem to mind at all. We walked to the tippy top section where are are trees and there were swarms on misquotes, but down in the rocks was pretty clear.

Got a fire started under the full moon and had a wonderful night with my family. 10 out of 10.

Nice quiet spot off the main road. There are several flat spots for tents or small campers. The road is pretty good though we didn’t try to go up the mountain. There are lots of bugs and you can hear the occasional chainsaw, so just be aware.

Went the second week of June. Not hard to find off of given coordinates but once you're off the road you might have to do some non dirt off roading due to trees down in the road. There was still some snow on the ground with warmer weather. Bugs were swarming all around and it was nearly impossible to even sit by the fire. If there were less bugs it would've been a 4/5

Plenty of available spaces, and I think even in the heart of summer there would be availability. The dirt road isn't the kind you need to do a Hail Mary to drive down. Our van did just fine, and I think a big rig could handle itself. While outside you can hear the cars from the main highway nearby, but not close enough to be obnoxious. The stars were spectacular

We were on our way to Crater Lake later in the evening, decided to stay here before making the trip to Crater Lake at 5 am to catch the sunrise. We arrived past dark and there was a ton of smoke. We parked in one of the first pull offs so unsure if how the road is past where the pull of is. Very quiet. Woke up at 5, most of the smoke dissipated. Would stay there again, especially being so close to Crater Lake (45 min ish)

Met up with a Marine Corps friend after nearly 20 years. Crater Lake was the halfway point for both of us. I loved the area and the camping. Lots of options. Easy dirt trails.

This is a perfect spot for hammocking and it is so quiet. There were some other campers, but there is so much space to spread out that we couldn’t even see them. The road is manageable, if you don’t have 4WD take the first right and there are some good spots. If you go straight, the road gets pretty bad but there’s a beautiful view from the rocky cliff at the top. The bugs were surprisingly not bad at all. It’s only a few minutes drive to the park, would totally recommend!

Stayed here for 3 nights while visiting Crater Lake NP and it was the perfect basecamp.

Easy access to the Forest Road off 138 with lots of open camp spots. More private spots further up the hill — I didn’t venture too far but if you have AWD it shouldn’t be an issue.

I had no trouble finding a spot on Thursday afternoon, though there were definitely other campers around. Seemed pretty popular by the weekend though there were still unclaimed spots tucked away on Saturday afternoon.

Bring bug spray and make sure you’ve got screen window covers if car camping — otherwise a beautiful stay. Ten minute drive to the North Entrance of Crater Lake and about 20 minutes away from town with truck stop with showers and wifi.

This is one of my wife's fav wilderness spots. Great views. Great sights. Gorgeous evening skies. Close to the north entrance to Crater Lake National Park. It can be a little tricky to find off the forest road but worth the search. Only drawback was that it is a fairly popular spot.

We had trouble finding campgrounds since we were traveling just before the middle of May. This place was a real gem! A nice firepit set up for use. Plenty of space around us for our dog to roam around. Even though there was snow on the ground it was 65+ degrees, so it wasn’t a burden. We are car campers and this location couldn’t have been better.

I drove 4 hours to camp (dispersed) near Crater Lake. Well worth the drive and this place was prefect. The trails were pretty cool. Not tons of trails, but enough to explore. I took my lifted Suburban on some narrow trails and recieved some extra pin striping. That's what I have it for. You can bring a car, but not recommended. I went in late October and it got down to 14 degrees at night. It was not snowing. But, do pack snow gear for that weather and have hot coffee for the morning. Excellent scenery in this area. Perfectly quiet. Will be back again and again.

Good privacy, there was a lot of people there and fire pits in some spots. A lot of spots open despite it feeling populated. Felt very safe staying here!

Found a sweet spot in the rubble. Quiet, great view and amazing sun. Beautiful cotton candy sunset waking to a beautiful bright sunrise.

Drove to the top around 8 pm with our small hatchback 2WD, no big issue. Crowded closer to the top, this spot doesn't seem to be a secret on a Saturday night in July. Buses and sprinter vans have no issue reaching the top either so beware of large parties. Cool rocky features, and more camping in the woods where you drive in from. Great spot, free, and accessible. Our camp site did have a trash bag hanging from a tree from previous campers, though :(.

This spot had the best view and most privacy our whole vacation.

CLICK HERE For Full Video Review

When it comes to camping you simply can’t beat FREE!!! But often times it is hard to find a good campsite which is close to some of the larger National Parks that is not overrun with people. 

When I visited the Crater Lake area, I was well aware that finding last minute accommodations was difficult to impossible. Hotels in the area charge high premiums and depending on when you visit the campground is typically booked well in advance or even closed due to weather. It just so happened that I arrived late in the season, campground was already closed and I was wondering just what else would be out there for me as a tent/car camper. 

I found a small forest road, FR960 and took my chances driving down a few hundred yards before realizing that there were a few established campaigns for dispersed camping. My signal with AT&T was sparse so finding this site was strictly by chance(the Dyrt hadn’t yet released their offline PRO Version just yet). 

Driving down the road it was gravel and had a few small ruts here and there but nothing so serious I couldn’t make it down the path taking it at a slower pace. I discovered a small pull out right at the beginning of the roadway which looked to be about the size of a small RV, very level and established with a fire ring. As I continued onward a small campground road spurred off to the right with what looked to be several sites alongside it as well. I opted to keep going as there were already a couple people there and the beauty of forest camping is that you don’t have to be right on top of your neighbors unless you want to. 

Further down the road pull offs to both the right and left with spaces perfect for large rigs and smaller ones as well. The one on the left seemed to be calling my name as I noticed it was almost a cove of trees which would serve as a great protectant and blockade to the crisp night winds which I knew were coming this time of year. I settled in and explored the remainder of the camp on foot including a small climb which went to a few spaces with amazing views of the peaks above but looked pretty exposed due to new growth trees and low laying shrubs being the only vegetation. Sure this looked beautiful but I knew it would be cold!! 

After settling in for the night in my site I was able to cook dinner on my camp stove and cozy down. Due to the winds getting a bit high I was a little hesitant to use the established fire ring because this area in particular is very prone to forest fires, something which can be seen quickly driving through camp with residual charring and many new growth trees in place of old forest. 

By dawn, ice lined my windows of my car and snow capped the distant peak, the one which I would have been camping by had I have stayed up at the higher elevation campsite. But there was a sense of quiet which is unmatched by the commercial campgrounds in the area where you will find slamming doors and the sound of people moving around to get their day started. Though many were nestled into the campsites in various cubbies and enjoying their time at the forest camp, the feeling of solitude was still abundant. 

There were no frills with this campground other than the location itself. No restrooms, no running water, nothing!! You as a camper have to plan if you are visiting this location and be able to be off grid safely and responsibly. If you are choosing to stay here remember the Leave No Trace principles and make sure you fully extinguish your fires. 

The campground itself is only a few miles away from the northern most entry of Crater Lake. No reservations are accepted and no supplies are available without driving in to the neighboring communities of Crescent or Chemult.