Best Tent Camping near Powell Butte, OR

Our first time here at East Lake Campground in the last week of September 2023 just 1 day before the park closed for the season. Because East Lake Campground is 6500 feet in elevation the nights were very cold, from 44 to 31 degrees but normally the days were in the morning windy and about 62*. The camp has 29 sites and NO hookups.

There is flush toilets, NO showers, but had drinking water. East Lake also had 1 boat launch but the water was very low, some 40' down from the edge of the bank to the water. Great fishing and a great place for kayaks. Each site has a picnic table and fireplace. Most Sites on the lake side has pull-thru that were about 50' long. Some back-in sites were only 35'. Very quite campground and not too close to each others camp site. We camped at East Lake Campground in a Travel Trailer.

Restrooms Flush toilets, faucet water. No hookups, No electric, No water hookup, No sewer hookup. You can fill your water tank FREE at the ($10) Dump Station so you don't have the weight in your rig. Dog-friendliness Lots of space to run and play.

So when I first found this campground I wasn't sure what to expect being as reviews and info were sparse so I'll do me best to sum it up. Things to know that arent stated. It is free may require NW forest pass. It's a drive, hike, bike and walk in. I didn't see any spots big enough for RV but there is space to park that isn't officially a site.

Location: Beautiful sits about 5,000 feet right off McKenzie Pass Road (closed from November to June)

Sites: I saw 6 drive in with fire ring, picnic table also 2 vault toilets.... There's more walk/ hike in but we had to much gear to do that.

Directions: Very easy to find spots all along lake and Google maps took us right to spots.

Activities: Great! Had a kayak/boat launch also had the Scott Mountain TH right there within 1/4 walking distance on dirt road. It seems that a forest fire was pretty recent ontop but the grounds seemed kind of untouched

Warnings: This was my first time up this pass. Elevation is very high which means incremental weather. Aka woke up in October with snow which happened to us.

Overall 5 stars must visit. We will be coming back next year when less snow and road reopens

This CG is right on Paulina lake in the middle of Newberry Crater. There are 50 sites along the shoreline. They all have the standard picnic table and fire ring. We had the first site on the left as you enter the CG. It had a great view of the lake and surrounding ridgeline and Paulina Peak. It also allows for a wonderful sunset.

The campground is generally crowded. The sites are decent but you will have other campers relatively close, The CG is easily accessed by foot, car or boat. It does have a boat ramp. RV's / Campers can get into most sites. There are 5 Vault toilets, drinking water, no showers, no hook ups. each site is in close walking distance to the lake. The CG is accessible to various trails in the area including the Big Obsidian Flow trail. A bonus hike should be taken to the Paulina Lake hot springs on the north side of the lake. You can also get to the hot springs by boat.

We kind of stumbled into this free spot while heading to a more formal campground near Pelton Dam. As the daylight faded I spotted a pullout/turnaround area which then led to a rather private loop with a great view of the Deschutes River and Lake Simtustus. I had to confirm with the Dyrt BLM map overlay, but I was glad to find myself on public land. It’s not really a place I’d choose to spend more than one night, since it doesn’t really connect to any trails or walking areas, but it was a handy en-route overnight spot, complete with a nice view and bright sunset. It’s only a few miles off Rt. 26, following signs to Pelton Dam. There was plenty of room to turn around my 26’ skoolie. However, I didn’t really see a good place for a tent, but I didn’t look very hard. There were signs of previous users, including a fire ring (which I didn’t use). Since it was the eve of Earth Day, I did collect a bagful of empty cans and trash. Leave no trace, people!

There are several National Park owned campgrounds along the Metolius River this one might be the the prettiest view in my opinion. It's on a bend in the river and still 20 minutes to the town of Sisters.

If you would like to be closer to town the Allingham Campground on the river is only 10 minutes to town. The sites at Allingham are more suited for RV's and trailers if you are traveling big. Allen Springs has some easy pull in car camping spots and some walk in tent sites. It's located on a bend in the river so the view of the river is stunning. We even saw painters set up along the river to capture it's beauty.

The campground itself is somewhat primitive like other National park sites. Pit toilets but no water.

This CG, like most on the Metolius is a hikers or fly fisherman's dream. The CG has twenty sites along both sides of the CG road next to the river. There are two vault toilets both with M/W. There is also water spigots located along the road. Each site has a fire ring and a picnic table. You can make reservations on recreation.com. There are also walk up sites too. However it might be tough on the weekends or during the summer to score a site. All the CG's along the Metolius are pretty popular. Stay away from site 7, its too close to the northern vault toilet.  The CG can support RV's, trailers, and tent camping. I didn't see any hook-ups for power, and there is no dump station.

The CG gives you immediate access to the river. You can hike the various trails leading up or down the river. The Wizard Falls fish hatchery is less than 3 miles away and is worth the trip. The Metolius is supposed to be tricky for fly fishing (the only kind of fishing you can do) but if you do a little scouting you will find a good spot. Most of the CG's were teeming with fly fisherman. You'll find rainbows, bull trout, cut throat, and Kokanee to test your skills. 

Make sure you bring everything you need. We brought wood and it was a good thing, the camp host was sold out.