Best Dispersed Camping near Crater Lake National Park

These sno parks that are available for boondocking throughout Oregon are so handy!  Sno park is maintained by the Rogue Snowmobilers.  Free boon docking during off season (May to October). Otherwise you need a permit (November to April).

There is a huge lot that would fit many RVs, easy turnaround and plenty of room to spread out.  It is right on 62 so you'll hear cars go by but traffic was really light in May, and quiets down significantly overnight.  

In mid May there was a ton of snow at Crater Lake but only minimal snow on the ground here, and the weather was cool but not freezing, and was above freezing temps overnight.

There are restrooms and a really nice warming room, with firewood and wall plugs (that I didn't test).  I didn't see any garbage bins (though I didn't look inside the bathrooms).

Zero cell service anywhere in this entire area.  Crater Lake visitor center had good wifi for free though.

1,000 Springs Sno-park

We hiked to this spot from Union Creek Trail about a week before staying here.

Right off of Crater Lake Highway. There looks to be about 3 or possibly 4 spots to camp. Easily pull-in spots for larger campers and tent camping.

There is a large shelter house with a door on one end and wind flaps on the other. Two trash cans inside, two very large round wooden tables and an iron stove for heat. There is also a solar panel for lights and such.

We only stayed two nights as apposed of the 14 you can stay. Very spacious spots but not far enough away from each other. The second night we were kept awake by the people staying in the shelter, having a party and disco lights and loud music.

Two pit commodes are in the center of the camp. That meant a lot of traffic throughout the day and into the night by people stopping to use it, so the TP didn’t last long. Definitely bring your own just in case.

The road up to the spots from the parking area are dirt and wood chips. The stir up a lot of dust when people drive through, even if they aren’t going at a fast speed.

There are a few trails that go for miles and are very lovely to walk, or even take an OHV on.

We opted to stay the night here because we are traveling across country to DISPERSED camping areas. Would have stayed in the dispersed camping by Crater Lake but it was a $30 fee/ day to enter the park. So that’s not actually free.

If we head back up to Crater Lake in the future we may stay here again. It’s a very lovely spot, but do note that after Nov. 15th there is a fee in this Snow Park.

Might be a nice place to stay for a night, if you don’t like your privacy being invaded i’d suggest going down the road to Union Creek Trail :D

We absolutely loved camping here. During our off season stay it was fun and with all the ATV trails it was our favorite place to camp.

Our neighbor campers decided they could ride the trails without helmets and found out the hard way that is is a no no. They were brought back to the camp without their bikes and in the back of a National Forest Service Enforcement vehicle. After being spoken to about the importance of following the rules of the trails, they were left at camp and had to find their own way back to their motorcycles.

Fortunately we did not have the same experience. It can get very dusty so just be prepared for that. The trails are absolutely great and access to the Rogue River is just icing on the cake.

It was so nice to have areas provided for unloading bikes and ATV's so folks could safely load and unload their toys.