Best Tent Camping near Christmas Valley, OR

High camp with great views. Road from Christmas Valley is all washboard until Crack park, then it gets better. For BLM, it’s nice. Cold May morning at 17 degrees.

Back in July 2019, my buddy and I rode our motorcycles to this camp/hot spring.  I had heard of this place from another friend on Facebook & this was our  destination.  A wonderful ride to this easy-to-find site.  Everything from full-service cabins to rent and RVs, down to what we used, tent camping.  Beautiful but spartan tent camping area, portable toilets (clean), and cable spools used as tables.  The hot springs were WONDERFUL, with both indoor (bathhouse) and outdoor pools.  If I recall. clothing optional after 9pm.  The operators of this facility are extremely "green" in thinking, with the re-use of most building materials, etc.  Their website is excellent and gives more details.  Highly recommend!!

The good: Dogs allowed, sites directly on the lake, huge site! The 5-yr-old had a great time and the geriatric dog thoroughly enjoyed the lake. Nice hiking in the park and not too far from LaPine.

The bad: The site is on volcanic land, and the campsite is are pretty heavy on fine, silt-like dirt that gets into everything. Ground vegetation is Sparse and full of ants, which is fine if you’re in an RV but not great for tent camping.

The Ugly: The lake allows motorized boats which are disruptive. The posted lake speed limit is 10mph but is not enforced. The park also ran out of annual passes (interagency) so we had to buy day passes.

Camping at Juniper Camp is free. Easy access to the sand dunes; somewhat rough road into nearby Lost Forest. Best access is from the west. One porta-potty for the whole area; pretty nasty, so best to bring your own toilet system. No designated campsites; set up camp anywhere. This is a popular OHV area. If you are into quiet, wilderness camping, this area is not for you. Very noisy, and you may have to tolerate drunken and behavior, and loud music at night. However, if you are into OHV adventuring, this appears to be a good area to explore on OHVs. Finding a level site for your rig may be challenging, but it's possible. Tent camping is definitely possible. Not enough trees together for hammock camping. No water. Some sporadic T-Mobile service, but good AT&T service.

Spent two nights in this great isolated spot- the first night we were the only ones there! The second night we were joined by several people who had car tents but we never felt like we were on top of one another. Wonderful flat area at the top of a hill that boast amazing views of the valley- gave us one of the best sunsets and moon rises that we have ever seen! There is a central pit toilet for all of the sites to share.

There is a fire tower a short distance away from the sites that you can walk up to the base of and hike around. Sites are also close drive to "Crack-in-the-Ground", which is a fascinating lava formation that makes for a good spot to hike around for half a day.

The road up to the site is washboard, so be prepared for a bumpy drive. There is a small store at Christmas Valley before the turnoff that has the essentials, including an emergency eyeglass repair kit when my husband was head butted by the dog. Oops!

East Lake Campground is very popular because many spots, tent and RV, are available right on the shoreline. The trade off is that you are also right on top of each other with little privacy.

The beach is beautiful, and the lake fun to play in. A good location to all of the rest of the Paulina Lake trails and activities. Flush toilets, fresh water. Boat launch available.

One of the more popular campgrounds, it is often full due to its popularity.

Entrance is free. The sites are strung through the trees and overlook the Badlands of Central Oregon's high desert. Cool temps in summer

In other places I've seen this place reviewed as dingy. What someone expected from a privately run campground on the edge of a massive salt pan expected...I don't know. If you're not into the perfectly imperfect it ain't for you, then again very little in the Oregon Outback will be. There are a few rusted cars hanging around, but the cabins are clean and well kitted, the spring pools are absolutely pleasant, and the scenery outstanding.

Campground Review

About 25 miles south of Bend, Oregon, Paulina and East Lakes are twin calderas located in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument area of the Deschutes National Forest that have an amazing amount of fun things to do including camping, fishing, paddle boarding, boating, hiking, biking and hot springs.

We pulled into the Paulina Visitor Center just before 5pm on the Fourth of July to scope out our walk-up camping options (we didn’t make reservations) and the rangers let us know that Paulina Lake Campground still had two or three spots open, or we could keep on heading to Cinder Hill on East Lake, which had several spots. The East Lake campground, they said, was pretty much always full, so no need to stop there to check.

We ended up grabbing a great spot at Paulina Lake Campground even though it was a holiday weekend. Large camp sites, lots of trees, flush toilets, and access to Paulina Lake all made this a great spot for camping.

There’s tons to do in the area. My two favorites were the hot springs near East Lake boat ramp (when facing the water, walk left about 8 minutes along the shore line…pass the first couple spots until you get to a good one around two bends) and the trail up Obsidian Butte. There’s also a lodge nearby with delicious food (homemade rum butter apple cobbler…yum) and the beautiful Paulina Falls day use area. We’ll definitely be heading back to spend more time here, next time maybe with some paddle boards.

The main down side to this site is there doesn’t appear to be specific hours for generators, so they can run loudly whenever.

Tips:

Parking. You’ll need a day pass ($5) to park at various day use areas at the lakes, but if you have a National Park Pass it will get you in for free. Ask at the Visitor Center and they can give you a holder to hang your pass from your rear view mirror.

Firewood: Unlike many national and state parks, you can harvest camp firewood for free here, which is pretty awesome. Check with the rangers at the visitor center, but the rules are pretty basic (pick up dead wood instead of chopping it down, etc.).

Other Area Campgrounds. If you’re looking for reservations and Paulina Lake is booked up, they hold many of their sites for “walk-ups” only. There’s also several other campgrounds in the area, both private and public, if for some reason Paulina Lake is full.

From West (at the Visitor Center) to East, campgrounds and cabins on the lakes include:

• Paulina Lodge (Private I believe. All cabins, some right on the water).

• Paulina Lake Campground (this campground review. No beach but does have a boat dock and water access)

• Newberry Group Camp Site. Three group sites. $75-$100. Didn’t stay here but looked fun.

• Little Crater Campground. Didn’t visit, but listed as one of the“most popular” campgrounds in the entire Deschutes Forest. Books up Thursday for most weekends.

• East Lake Campground. Great lake views from most spots and flush toilets.

• East Lake RV Park. Newer, clean but somewhat cramped and dusty.

• East Lake Resort Cabins. (Homey in a good way).

• Cinder Hill Campground, East Lake. Some sites are better than others. Amazing beach.

Product Review: Firebiner by Outdoor Element

On our recent trip to Paulina Lake we got to try out several products by Outdoor Element, including their Firebiner, in exchange for our reviews. The firebiner is a carabiner with a "spark wheel" that can start fires and also includes a bottle opener, screwdriver tip, and a very sharp tiny blade for cutting strings and other lines (like fishing lines):

https://www.outdoorelement.com/product/firebiner/

The whole concept is pretty cool, and we had extra fun with the "EverSpark" technology trying to get the fires started. Nearly every time we turned the wheel it sparked, but we quickly learned the power of having a good "tinder" (a dry bit of material used for starting a fire). When we tried starting fires with items such as dry moss, napkins, or small kindling, the sparks didn't catch. But when we used the tiny "Tinder Quicks" from Outdoor element, we normally could start a fire within 2-3 turns. We even tried other options for tinders...from corn chips to cotton balls covered in Vaseline, and as long as the tinder was good, the sparks caught quickly.

Overall, a fun addition to our camping packs. The carabiner itself is handy for keys and hanging on backpacks and probably the element we'll use most, while the Spark Wheel is a fun, handy back-up when we need to light something on fire.

I stayed here on the first night of the Oregon Outback. It is a very small simple designated camping area with a very clean pit toilet and a few picnic tables but nothing else.

A few loggers and Forest service trucks passed on the road, but mostly traffic was cyclists.

Listened to birds and coyotes and enjoyed being under the canopy of stars. Great little spot.

Small campground along the edge of the lake; every spot has a beautiful view of the mountains and the lake, and has quick access to the water. Spots on the eastern side of the campground are bordered by a steep hill or thickly forested area, great for providing morning shade and a fun area for kids to hike up and play "I'm king of the world!" Spots on the western side sit right on the lake and all have unobstructed sunset views. All sites have picnic tables and fire rings, nearby vault restrooms, & dish washing stations. The camp host sells firewood.

Campsites are a bit close together, with trailers and tents all in the same area. Some are much bigger than others, but each is unique. Sites near the boat ramp get more traffic, but it's not too busy.

Great for kayaks, paddle boards, or just floating. Hiking trail from the campground goes all the way around the lake, with natural hot springs on the way. There's also the nearby Paulina Lake Lodge, serving meals & cocktails.

This was fantastic. Biggest complaint was how busy it was and the lack of privacy between campsites. But I was there on memorial weekend so busy was expected. Lack of privacy is due to lack of trees, they're there, just not that thick. We set up our tent about ten feet from the water and had some friendly little chipmunks running about, but they never bothered us. Camp host and his dog were awesome. Made some new friends here. Soaked in the natural hot springs at dusk. Hiked to the top of Paulina peak the next day. Awesome area to camp and explore. Even though we were there on a holiday weekend this place didn't fill up and we didn't need a reservation. But it does have a day use area and another campground a shirt distance around the lake. There's a hiking trail that goes all the way around, and you can hike to East lake or up Newberry volcano. There is beautiful obsidian all over the place. The hot springs were full of people during the day but at dusk and into night they really cleared out.

We keep most of our fave spots "secret" from others, as I've made the mistake of inviting some friends along to our family trip, swear them to secrecy (lol)  they end up loving it of course , tell some friends inevitably, and then it gets harder and harder every year to book!  We have a pop up camper, nothing uber fancy, but bring lots of toys (kayaks, paddleboards, bikes) and our kids love love it. Paved pathway for the kids to safely bike on while you're setting up or cleaning up.  

Be wary of camping in too early of June (can be snow and very windy), or late August (smoke can settle here from fire season nowadays), but July is usually the sweet spot.  It can get very windy on the water from midday-4pm most days, and as we learned one trip, don't attempt a paddleboard across the lake to the hotsprings..it's a BEE-yatch to make it back safely!  My arms and legs nearly fell off from THAT treacherous paddle.  We always bring tow lines for our younger kids when they tire out of paddling their kayaks too, and the best time on the water is morning until noon, then again between 4-6pm, when things usually calm down.  Motorboats are allowed (lots of fisherman hit this lake early morning), so the parking area in middle of campground can fill up, but the views, the sunsets, the easy access to some fantastic obsidian hikes up the Butte to the right of the lake, the steep climb /  big Paulina hike or bike ride (whew!) , and Paulina and East Lake lodge a hop skip jump away for when mama is tired of cooking ...this place cant be beat!  Bring sunscreen!  And a Shade Tent!  Many campsites are not very shaded, and don't let the 75 degree and a lovely breeze fool you.

Great spot for cost effective camping just a few minutes from fort rock