Best Campgrounds near Crater Lake, OR

Seems like it would’ve been a cool spot to stay out there, but there were some serious red flags.

First off, there was a rusted out old truck on one of the dirt roads by the spots. Next to that was a makeshift beat up tin shed and a pickup truck leaning on it. I went close to it, but didn’t feel great about truly investigating without a gun.

Second, there was trash everywhere. And not like camping trash. In addition to the beer cans and bottles were bags of who knows what in them. The few wrappers I saw were for frozen burritos.

Lastly was the furniture around one of the campsites as well as some rope tied around the tree and on the ground. Almost looked like someone got tied to a tree and freed themselves.

I didn’t take pics of everything but there was enough there to trust my gut and leave.

I’m an athletic man and confident I could defend myself, but something felt wrong about everything back there.

Maybe someone else is braver than I and will go investigate the trash and the trucks, but I’d advise you just to go closer to the park and even suck it up and pay a fee to avoid whatever is going on back there.

We had the place to ourselves for a week at end September/beginning of October which was great. We enjoyed the shaded campsites with a tent and the rest of our party parked their RV with ease. There are pit toilets, garbage cans and well with a hand pump.

Hiking in the area is nice with a 3.5 mile loop to the lake and back. There’s additional trails and tracks across the road from Lily Glen. We came just before hunting season… be mindful of hunters if exploring the BLM lands during season. The night sky was gorgeous.

The only drawback was the constant noise of logging trucks at night. They were coming from Keno Road so the noise included them gearing down to the stop sign and then getting back up to speed when passing the campground.

Beautiful forest camp near a lake.

We loved this campsite. There were fire pits available for use at the sites. We were able to see soooo many stars in the sky!!

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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.

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.

There’s nothing here except the highway but you can drive down the bike trail and stay there as well, just so your further away from the lot and the road.

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

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.

One night layover on the way to Crater National Park. Level sites. Well maintained and clean. Right off the river...love the views.