Best Tent Camping near Brothers, OR

Our first time here at East Lake Campground in the last week of September 2023 just 1 day before the park closed for the season. Because East Lake Campground is 6500 feet in elevation the nights were very cold, from 44 to 31 degrees but normally the days were in the morning windy and about 62*. The camp has 29 sites and NO hookups.

There is flush toilets, NO showers, but had drinking water. East Lake also had 1 boat launch but the water was very low, some 40' down from the edge of the bank to the water. Great fishing and a great place for kayaks. Each site has a picnic table and fireplace. Most Sites on the lake side has pull-thru that were about 50' long. Some back-in sites were only 35'. Very quite campground and not too close to each others camp site. We camped at East Lake Campground in a Travel Trailer.

Restrooms Flush toilets, faucet water. No hookups, No electric, No water hookup, No sewer hookup. You can fill your water tank FREE at the ($10) Dump Station so you don't have the weight in your rig. Dog-friendliness Lots of space to run and play.

This CG is right on Paulina lake in the middle of Newberry Crater. There are 50 sites along the shoreline. They all have the standard picnic table and fire ring. We had the first site on the left as you enter the CG. It had a great view of the lake and surrounding ridgeline and Paulina Peak. It also allows for a wonderful sunset.

The campground is generally crowded. The sites are decent but you will have other campers relatively close, The CG is easily accessed by foot, car or boat. It does have a boat ramp. RV's / Campers can get into most sites. There are 5 Vault toilets, drinking water, no showers, no hook ups. each site is in close walking distance to the lake. The CG is accessible to various trails in the area including the Big Obsidian Flow trail. A bonus hike should be taken to the Paulina Lake hot springs on the north side of the lake. You can also get to the hot springs by boat.

we were the only people that stayed here during our 4 day stay. First to note:  This is an off  grid campground NO potable water, NO Power, No Sewage dump, No cell phone service/connection. Yes pit toilet, yes garbage pick up, Yes picnic tables, Yes fire rings.

Sites 1&2 and 8&9 are walk in spots, site 2 is the most private of the walk in's.  None are far to walk, but not for a van or trailer. Sites 3-9 are on river, the rest are off the river itself but have a river view. Site 4 is the only pull through site.

When we stayed it was First come $8 a night.  The Ranger will drive through every day or so (there are several campsites in the near area, some with more ammenities).

I did video tape this campground if you would like see:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXJcw0zXZoI

We stayed here for three days, two nights. We took our 4 cylinder Hyundai up here packed full, and the gravel road leading up to the campsite was well maintained.

The campsite itself was clean and beautiful. There were very few people using this place, so for the most part we were almost totally alone. There is no garbage service; Plan on packing your garbage out. There was one restroom with a vault toilet. No water either, so bring plenty.

The wildlife was beautiful. There were chickadees that kept flying up to us, and these really cute golden mantle ground squirrels. They are cute, but watch out! One will distract you pretending to be cute and friendly, but then there's another one or two getting into everything you leave within their reach. They will steal your food. When you catch them, they'll run away with their fat little faces full.

They never really run far away either. They have tunnels and nests everywhere in the campground, so they'll hide and wait till you're not paying attention anymore. BAM, THEY'RE STEALING YOUR FOOD AGAIN!

There was a sharp shinned hawk who kept coming by our camp. My wife thought it wanted our small dog, but I think maybe it was looking for those chickadees that kept coming around.

The night sky was beautiful. Whether you're an astronomer, or just a casual star gazer, it's worth the drive down here. There's an observatory run by a local University here, and they offer tours to the public on weekends. You can call and inquire about how crowded the site is, weather, and other things.

There were some noisy campers having a party who arrived on our second day. They were kinda loud, and they kept walking all over the campsite which kinda distracted from the whole experience, but for the most part we were alone. There were fire rings and picnic tables at all the spurs. Some of the spurs we kinda close to each other, but there was hardly anybody here, so that made up for it.

We didn't get any cell service with Sprint here. That's fine with me though, I'd rather not use my phone.

Overall, I loved this place and I will definitely go back.

I stayed here for 5 nights. It is a Thousand Trails campground. They offered to apply the cost of my stay toward a membership which was a good deal but I declined. The campground nicely wooded, seemed quiet, slight distant road noise. Bathrooms are basic, old, clean. Roads are gravel, dry as a bone and very dusty. Campsite was level without using any blocks. Electricity, 30 amp, was fine and water pressure good. They had a very nice pool and clubhouse area, apparently defunct and “under repairs” for ages with no signs of active work. Air quality was horrible due to wildfires such that I left before my reservation ended. The dump stations are very tight for space and located in odd areas such that I would have had to meander through the dust and squeeze into the space. Water supply was in the center between the two stations so not ideal. Admittedly, if not for the horrible air quality and fire ban I probably would have noticed the rough edges less.