Best Tent Camping near Crater Lake National Park

This is a great campground only about 45 minutes from Crater Lake National Park. It is a very large campground with spots on the river, sunny spots, spots with rock fireplaces, very large spots, a wide range of spots to choose from. There was heavy smoke from nearby forest fires and fires from California that caused a lot of people to not visit the campground, making it very quiet and relaxing for those of us who did visit. Due to the smoke, I did not visit any of the nearby hiking spots but did take a photo posted on the information board. However the park is so large with many roads and paths that just walking around the park was great. There were also several people and kids riding their bikes around, I definitely recommend bringing bikes. The small village of Union Creek at the entrance had a couple restaurants, a food truck, a general store, an ice cream shoppe, and another campground. The general store sold bundles of wood for a couple bucks cheaper then the Campground Host, and the Huckleberry ice cream at the shoppe was a perfect summer treat.

I was in spot 78. It was a large spot with the river running about 200 yards behind it. There was enough room for several tents. The path to the river, led right to a private sand bar in a slow moving part of the river. Great for families. The bathroom was also fairly close to the spot.

The cons for this spot, the water and trash were very far away. If you were filling up anything more then a water bottle you would have to drive to fill up on water. There were also only a couple locations that had trash bins making it possible to walk to, but again if you had a large amount of trash or leaking trash bag you would have to drive.

Overall I highly recommend this campground, especially the spots near 78.

This campground is an excellent choice for an overnight stay when visiting Crater Lake National Park. The sites offer flat ground, making it easy to set up a tent. Although it is close to the road, it is secluded enough to provide a peaceful night's sleep. Be aware that during our visit, we encountered many hungry and persistent mosquitoes, so I highly recommend bringing insect repellent and other mosquito-prevention measures.

The tent sites can be found by following an unpaved road downhill from the large parking lot. There are two basic restrooms located at the entrance, but there is no potable water available, so be sure to bring your own. If you don't use the entry restrooms, please practice Leave No Trace principles to keep the area clean and natural. The proximity to Crater Lake allows for convenient early morning starts to explore the park. Overall, it's a great spot for both solo travelers and families looking for a comfortable camping experience.

One of two campgrounds officially in the park, outside of a backcountry permit, Mazama Village is certainly not a place of solitude, notching in around 200+ sites, but if amenities are your m.o.—camp store, restaurant, showers, gas station—for $21/tent site, you won’t find a better option, other than the historic lodge on the rim of the lake. 

Combined with RV spots, and the popularity of Crater Lake as a Seven-Wonder of Oregon bucket-list spot, the village is pretty much at capacity all season long, as such you’re bound to have a diverse social experience from tourist to family to rowdy glamper, but in my handful of experiences here, everyone pretty much respects the 10 p.m. quite hours in favor of waking up to those gorgeous ponderosa pine blanketing the grounds.

Otherwise, re: solitude—giddy-up a dash for Mazama’s much more low-key, tent-only 16-site sibling a few miles closer to the rim, Lost Creek, which ditches reservations entirely, instituting a first-come, first-served option, and Pro-Tip 🤫 : is only $10!

Campground Review: Mazama Village Campground at Crater Lake National Park

Despite the crazy-hazy smoke surrounding Crater Lake, my family had an absolutely amazing time camping at Oregon's only national park. We made our reservation less than a month in advance for a Thursday night and managed to grab one of the "12x12-foot" tent sites. We'd read about the reservation process beforehand, so arrived around 1pm at the Mazama village store to receive a map and told to look for any "blue" post camp sites that were open. We headed straight for the tent-only loop (G) and grabbed what I think is one of the best spots in the entire campground. Absolutely huge campsite for a national park, amazing views, and near a water spigot. We were pretty far from the flush toilets, but otherwise quite perfect.

Mazama "Village" is right at the entrance to the campground and has a small store, showers, laundry and a nice enough restaurant. We were 4 miles from the National Park headquarters where there's a video of the lake and junior ranger activities and another 5 miles after that is Crater Lake with its tiny store, nice lodge and a few lookouts. The days we were there the smoke from regional wildfires was so bad we couldn't see the water in the crater, but we still had a great time and are excited to try again next year with hopefully better visibility.

Ranger Review: Oofos Slides

 A campground with full hookups, clean bathrooms& showers& access to a very nice lake. Off the beaten path-you're camping in the pines of South Central Oregon. Yes, it's dry& dusty, but it's summer& they're in a drought. We were in site 28, which is by the bathroom. Convenient for us, since we have no shower in our trailer. Laundry has 2 washers& 2 dryers, both worked while we were there. There's cabins for rent as well.

  The tent sites by the lake looked outstanding! If I was tent camping I'd totally want one. There's also some tent sites at the main campground facing the woods. This is an old fashioned campground. There's no jumping pillows. Swimming is done in the lake. The kids camping next to us entertained themselves. There's a boat ramp, fishing& a very small camp store.

 When they say you're "away from it all", that means stock up on supplies BEFORE you get to your campsite. There's restaurants at Crater Lake& I think Diamond Lake. 

The worst thing I can say about this campground is that I hated the tokens. The girl who registered me told me the reason & I understand it. The tokens for the showers are free to registered campers & given out every day for the asking. This campground sits alongside a Forest Service campground within easy walking distance. No showers or laundry there. Maybe a business opportunity for the KOA? $5 for a shower for the unregistered & stinky? I wish there was a way though to insert the tokens INSIDE your shower so you don't have to trot back to your shower wrapped in a towel!

My husband & I liked this campground very much. I would recommend it if visiting Crater Lake& the surrounding National Forests.