Best RV Parks & Resorts near Summer Lake, OR

This place has great little grassy areas next to each pull through—each one has a newly planted tree and a picnic table. The sites are level. Contrary to listing they do have 30 amp service. There’s a little playground for kids, as well as a warm, clean bathroom with showers. There’s a laundry room, which I didn’t use. This park is very near the Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge, which is a great place for birdwatching. Lots of little quail were hanging out in the park on my recent visit. If you need supplies, head over to the Summer Lake store, which has a very friendly owner. Otherwise the nearest real grocery store is about 72 miles away. Take a drive up to Fremont Lookout for a breathtaking view.

For a small campground, which could only accommodate small RV’s and tenters, this campground has everything you might need. Along the banks of Sage Hen Creek, this intimate campground offers well-spaced out sites, with a fire ring and picnic table each. The two vault toilets were very clean and well stocked. The campground has trash, a returnables bin and drinking water. 

With the large ponderosa pines overhead we had to be strategic about our parking situation for our camper’s solar array. In many of these situations we set out our portable panel so that we can keep our camper in the shade and still collect solar energy to keep our small battery charged. 

There are plenty of hiking trails and opportunities for cycling and fishing throughout the National Forest area. There was a recent forest fire on the other side of the creek so the views are stunning in their own haunting way. Just a few miles back down the road, the town of Paisley has a few services, a small cafe, gas station/ convenience store, post office and of course a drive-thru barista. The closest larger town is Lakeview with a few more services, but don’t try to do your laundry there!

Private “campground” near Lakeview, Oregon (right along the Northern California border) functions more like a year round RV park; most of the residents are permanent although there are spots for travelers passing through. Call ahead for availability to make sure there’s space and they can accommodate your rig.

In total, the owner told me that they have 18 versatile sites they keep for travelers that can accommodate tents. Six of them are pull thrus with electric hookups, and five of those have water hookups. Dump station is not available on site. Friendly folks in the off chance you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods!

Free. Nice location. Except for generator noise from larger rigs on both sides of our site, this free campground is quiet. Only a few campers here. Sites are not numbered. Picnic areas are mixed in. There are a handful of sites. We were in a pull-thru site along the reservoir. Not level, but okay. Clean picnic table & metal firering on site. Gravel campground road & site driveways. The single vault toilet is stocked & reasonably clean. Several cows were grazing in the area. Some waterfowl on the reservoir. Access to campground from Highway 31 is on a wide & well maintained gravel road. There were a few folks bank fishing. Volcanic rock is everywhere; may make tent camping in some spots hard. Didn't see opportunities for hammock camping. Did not see hiking trails. This was a good campground for an overnight stay. Convenient to Highway 31. T-Mobile LTE service. No AT&T cell service.

We were headed to Thompson Creek reservoir, but opted for this lovely little FS campground.  We had the place to ourselves the first night and another camper came in for the 2nd.  Easy pull-through site, pretty level and fit both rigs.  Otherwise plenty of room between sites.

It was a bit of a trek down gravel roads to get here.  Took it easy, though, and no problems.

 Lovely walks and hikes to be had.  Beautiful stargazing.  Clean pit toilets and clean overall campground.  There were corrals at one end for horse camping.  No cell service. (in 2020)

4 stars only because of the sometimes-washboard road to get here.

From here we visited Crack in the ground, Cowboy Dinner Tree, The Sand Dunes, Fort Rock and Christmas Valley.