Best Campgrounds near Clearwater, OR

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Campground was very quiet. Amenities close by.

Found the location to be good. Close to Crater Lake and other outdoor nature spots. The bathrooms and showers were clean. The laundry was reasonably priced and convenient. Will stay again.

It was first come, first served when I was there.  What you expect from free USFS campsites. Fire rings.

Google will take you down some crazy roads. Look at the map before getting on the dirt road and choose the roads that are the straightest; those will get you there easiest. Panhandle rd on the north side of the creek will take you most of the way.

I stayed here three nights while visiting the redwood Forest and I went to the casino one night. It's very clean you can't hear the highway noise at night. There is a chance that a medevac helicopter comes in. It did while I was here.

After parking right off the trail head and hiking down about 0.8 miles, you have three “established” spots to chose from. I say established in quotations because they are marked with plaques but are all the way rustic sites. The middle sight is definitely the biggest and is where me and four others stayed for two nights. This is a very busy national park in the summer months but going the first week of October (as suggested by the ranger) made it so that we were the only ones in this area. We did have a couple backpackers stop for the night at the first site but other than that is was really quite. The lightning springs trail itself is incredibly long and we only went to where water was flowing so that we could fill up. We opted to hike out the first day and then drive to the Watchman Lookout Trail head and do that one first. It was only 0.8 miles long but I believe a 400 foot elevation change. Absolutely incredibly view. After that we drove north and did the Cleetwood Cove Trail which was around a mile with a 600 foot elevation change. This allows you to get right next to the water. Both hikes we semi challenging but well worth it. While the backcountry campsites do not allow fires, there are other location around Rim Village that have established sites that you can. When we went it was a little colder and windy but the tree coverage offered some shielding from that. There are plenty of other longer hikes as well in the area and other established sites if you are looking to have a more traditional camping experience. The Rim Village center was open and we were able to get a meal and visit the gift shop as well as go farther south and get our NPP stamped. Definitely recommend checking the NP website to see what is opened and closed as well as fire bans. We were lucky that the entire loop was open and got to drive all the way around the second day. While not directly at these sites, there are trash and bathroom areas really close. Really all around incredible views and an incredible weekend stay.

Great spot. Go all the way to the end of the road to reach the top. There is ample room to turn around, in spite of a step climb.

Was able to pull 15' trailer up with 4wd.

Wide open sky for solar and starlink.

Mid 60s f during day in early October. 40 f at night.

Well groomed, park like sites, with a backdrop of this epic lava flow, and Davis lake water.

Toilets nearby, away from main highway.

If you get the right spot at edge of campground, there is ample sky exposure for solar and starlink

Only about 70 yards from main road. Super fine dust, everything will be dirty.

Tall trees so no good vantage point for starlink or solar.

No water features right at site.

Another fabulous camping experience. We loved this place.

Only 3 sites allow you to hit the trails from your site with your ATV and they have power and water too.

Nous avons passé 2 nuits dans ce camp très agréable même si les couches sont tièdes à froides. Possibilité de faire du feu

Close to Cottage Grove, COE spot accepted the Passport for half priced camping. 

The campground roads can be tight if you have a big rig so be careful. Because there is no power in the sites people were running generators for hours, even the tent campers.

Large groups were utilizing the group areas when we stayed, lots of children having fun. 

It would not be a destination place but okay for an overnight stay. 

Alchol ban in the park but based on the trash bins it was not enforced.

I camped here last year before the Ride the Rim bike ride and it was great. You cannot reserve sites this time of year - it is only first come first served. I planned on doing the the same thing this year and when I drive up on Friday September 13 the website still said “open” but when I got there the gates were closed. There was a sign that said “sorry for the inconvenience”. Luckily Thielspn View campground was open on the west side of Diamond lake.

Vault toilets had no toilet paper, but otherwise a really beautiful small spot. Would stay there again

Quiet camping area off 138. You come up to what looks like a county shop, but keep going to the left, and you're here. A handful of sites. We were easily able to park out jeep a ways in.

Great campground. Well kept and sites far enough apart for some privacy. Plenty of hiking throughout park. Stayed while there were several fires around so smoke blocked many views.

Great place to be. Close enough to a lot of hiking trails, waterfalls and crater lake itself. Structure is good and the staff is super welcoming.