Best Tent Camping near Crater Lake, OR

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.

We spent a full day exploring Crater Lake and needed a place to stay for the night.  Since the campgrounds within the national park were closed for the season, we searched The Dyrt for a nearby place to set up camp before dark, and found nearby Annie Creek Sno-Park. It's a big parking lot with a vault toilet, a warming station with indoor picnic benches and a few fire rings outside.  There are also a few spots down by the creek, which might be fine for tent camping, but not suitable for larger vehicles.  There were several other campers when we stayed in early October, and we enjoyed watching shooting stars and roasting marshmallows together around a campfire.  Convenient location and perfectly fine for a night.

This is a cute little campground, only a few miles from crater lake. We stayed here on our way through while we were exploring the crater. It has both RV and tent sites. All the ones I saw looked nice and flat and not too close to other people. The campground has a store, showers, food storage lockers, and a gas station. Everything you need really. 

Like usual when we camp, we didn’t spend a whole lot of time at the campground. I would definitely recommend hitting Garfield peak trail and Cleetwood cove trail. They had some beautiful views of the crater. The area has some amazing hikes that range from easy to super hard, so it is something for everyone.

Saturday night I pulled up to Crater Lake… It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and even looking at the pictures I took during my time there I can’t believe it was real! The amazing thing about Crater Lake is that if you sit in front of it for any amount of time the entire thing changes. The colors, the way the clouds reflect on the lake, parts start to look like glass while other parts look frozen. It was unlike anything I have ever seen. The first night we pulled up the water was a deep navy with areas of purple and even darker blue. The next morning we pulled up and the blue was so bright and intense I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. When visiting Crater Lake you have to take the drive around the Rim and see the lake from every angle, it is so worth it, and you have to take the hike down to the lake. Remember that you are at a much higher altitude than you are probably used to, so bring water, and pace yourself if you don’t hike much (especially on the way back up!) Make sure you at least touch the water, put your feet in it, your hands, your face! The water is so clear, so refreshing, and everyone wants to say that they put their hands in a body of water so majestic.

The campsite is about 7 miles from Crater Lake, a short drive, and honestly a great campsite! People complain about the dust, but I got much dustier on my hike down to Crater Lake than I did at the campsite. We paid for one of the small sites and had two 3 man tents and a hammock set up in it. We also had room for our jeep, had a picnic table, and a great little fire pit that even had a rack that we used to make popcorn and and corn on the cob. Once we set up camp we spent the evening eating and drinking warm drinks around the campfire (firewood can be purchased from the same area where you check in, and you must get firewood on site and not bring your own) , gazing at the amazing sky full of stars and the Milky Way, and as bundled up as possible! It was about 32 degrees by midnight and extra layers of down were much appreciated.

The freezing cold weather is where my Rumpl Iron Puffy became much appreciated! (http://www.gorumpl.com/collections/puffy-rumpls/products/iron-puffy) I was able to cuddle up in this blanket by the campfire and all of my friends were jealous! I got this blanket from my Cairn Obsidian box, which I got with my giftcard from the July Dyrt contest! I’ve cuddled in this blanket on every camping trip I’ve taken since, but especially appreciated it in the very cold Crater Lake National Park.

All in all I would highly recommend Crater Lake, and the Mazama Village Campground. Its pretty quiet, has bathrooms on site, and everyone is so in awe from Crater Lake that they can’t possibly be in a bad mood!

Great location minutes from Crater Lake. We walked in with no reservation and easily found a spot. They have some electric hook ups but we took a dry spot(same price, $31.00). Many pull through. Bathrooms and free showers. Store, gas station. Picnic tables and fire pits at every spot. My only gripe was since the campsites are so large you get lots of families utilizing one spot so it gets really loud once everyone gets back from day excursions. We had 2-3 families in one spot next to us with 4-5 screaming kids riding their scooters around until dark. So perhaps look for a spot that doesn’t have 8-10 chairs around it if you’re looking for a quiet spot.

I've been to Odell twice but always seem to pick a weekend with weather that makes you want to stay in your sleeping bag!

The campsites at Odell are a little on the smaller side and may not have the trees your looking for to hang a hammock. Not that you should if you're camping any time earlier than July!

The southeast side of Odell can be subject to cold winds coming off the lake, so be sure to keep that rain fly up on your tent and a fleece handy. If you're feeling a little too chilly, the resort keeps a fire burning in the den.

There are plenty of snowshoe trails around Odell as well as some hiking trails in the Diamond Peak wilderness that also connect to the PCT. The trail we took did give us a bit of elevation gain and later some nice views of the smaller peaks in the area.

If you're planning to camp here, bring warm clothing and rain gear! It may be a bit chilly, but the nice hikes in the area make it all the more worth it to get up and get moving.