Best Equestrian Camping near Umpqua National Forest

We stayed one night on August 17 through August 18, 2019, in campsite A5, the overnight cost was$24, there was no electrical or water service). The site was level, only needed 2 inch lift to level left side. The campground is at an elevation of 5180 ft. 

Access to the campground was right off hwy 138, which is a few miles from the north entrance to Crater Lake. Our 28 ft travel trailer easily fit with room to spare in our site. Once we enter the campground, the asphalt pavement surrounds the campsites as we drove directly to our campsite, each campsite pad also asphalt. Weather was sunny upper 80's, the nights low 40's. 

This is a very quite campground, there was no noise from main road entering the campground. Activities we enjoyed at the campground to keep busy was hiking and moutain biking. The restroom was a couple spaced down from our campsite. The free showers were also easy to find and had great water pressure. The lake is very nice, smooth water and a few mosquitos, but not that bad. 

My wife and I enjoyed the campground, we will stay again next time we travel to Crater Lake, Oregon.

This is a very large campground with over 200 sites.  I stayed overnight, July 3, 2023.  I was a walk in .  The ranger office was closed when I arrived and they did not have a list of available sites posted.  I found a site, K11, without any reserved tag and spent a wonderful night.  There was a very strong onshore breeze from the lake that kept the mosquitoes grounded and I didn't really need repellant.

The campground is two halves.  In the upper half, the campsites are higher, above the lake.  To the south or east, the sites are closer to the lake.  Water was only available (non threaded faucets) outside the flush latrines, which were not very well kept (mostly due to the dead bugs).  There is not electricity and I was only able to get 2 bars on Verizon.  I could get a text through, but rarely a photo.

I have camped throughout Oregon and what impressed me as different were the large number of tent campers.  More than half were tent camping, though the site would fit small to medium size rigs.  I only saw one Class A and few trailers.  Noisy neighbors can be a problem, as the sites though not exactly next to each other, are still close.  The roads and parking for sites are paved, but some have very steep driveways.  Be careful in your site selection if you have a long trailer or RV.

There are some nearby stores and gas station if you need, but very little else.  A very beautiful spot with lots to do and see nearby.

My car and I climbed over 5,000 ft from the Oregon coast to get to Waldo Lake in the Willamette National Forest. The drive along was well worth it. There are three campgrounds at Waldo Lake and North Waldo is the largest. I didn't have a reservation and attempted to find a site in the smaller two campgrounds first but neither of them had space available. Of the almost 100 sites at North Waldo I'd estimate that about a dozen were unclaimed the second weekend of September.

The campground was definitely crowded. There were many large groups with people of all ages. There was noise until about 11pm. Be warned that it gets VERY chilly at night. There are pit toilets but when I was there the majority were closed for maintenance and had been replaced by portable toilets. There are also water spigots and each site has a sump for dish water. The majority of the sites are removed from the water and only a select few are near the lake. They all have trees between the site and the water. The campgrounds also all have boat ramps and swimming areas. In addition to the trails throughout the national forest, there is also a trail that runs around the lake and through the campgrounds.

The sunsets are not to be missed! I spent all of my phone battery taking pictures of the sunset and didn't get any of the campground...

You can book this campground ahead of time with recreation.gov. I wanted to book at Crater Lake, but because the national park only has 2 campgrounds inside the park, I ended up booking at Diamond Lake, which was only 20 minutes away!

Loved our campsite. We booked site H021, which was close to restrooms, a water spiget, and a short walk to the water. The amenities were clean! The only problem we had were bees at our site when cooking, but besides that I'd come back!

I spent 5 days tent camping here in a trailer spot. It was never crowded and extremely enjoyable. They do have a lodge and a place you can rent boats. If you pick a fight right along the water you very likely to see Eagles and other Wildlife early in the morning. I highly recommend Diamond Lake!

We loved this spot. The sites are clean as are the bathrooms and showered. We liked how spread out the sites were from each other. Most of the sites are pretty close to the lake but you have to book early to get a site right on the water. There is a general store close by where you can get most anything you might forget and you can rent bikes, boats,canoes, kayaks or paddle boards. It was great having access to so many trails close to the campground and we went on several of them. The only draw back for us was the mosquitos. I highly recommend camping here just be prepared for the mosquitoes.

we love this spot. we've camped here a few times on the way to crater lake and/or california. the lake is sweet and there's a lodge/store for perusing. the sites are nice and the campground is situated in a beautiful area so you can explore on foot. there are water craft rentals if you're into that. if you go early june it's likely you'll run into midge fly time. i think it's a one week infestation if i remember correctly. they don't bite but are a huge nuisance. i mean you will lose your mind trying to deal with them. we still find carcasses in our gear from time to time. during the summer smokey the bear comes around to teach the kids about fire danger. it's cute.

ps. photos are on my camera so i'll be back with some of those :)

I liked diamond lake because it was close to crater lake. We saw the stars at night, the Milky Way was amazing!! The next day we saw it during the day and it was also really cool seeing the blue water. Diamond lake was nice cause there is a big lake that you can go boating and fishing on; they have a really nice place to cut up ur fish. They also had a great please to swim and eat, and down the road there was a pizza place called south side pizza. All and all it was a very nice set up and a very nice place to stay with showers and bathrooms.

We stayed in loop H. I would stay in loop A or B because you are right next to the lake and the boat ramp. The site does fill up fast, so I would reserve a site.

Seriously beautiful! We were in a tent, and I would recommend a trailer/camper if you have a waterfront spot like this one, as it gets very windy on this side of the lake in the afternoons, and extremely cold at night, even in the middle of summer.

This place has everything you could need. It's a 5 minute drive to the visitors center at majestic Crater Lake. Want to hike up to a mountain peak? The trailheads to both Mt Thielsen and Mt Bailey begin here. There is an 11-mile loop around Diamond Lake perfect for hiking or biking. The campground has a lodge/resort with a restaurant and a (lake) swimming area, water sports and amusements, and boats etc to rent for fun on the water. They also have a restaurant/store/laundromat at the other end of the campground. The only thing I'd add is a few small playgrounds scattered around.

Definitely a destination campground, not one to just pass through.

We stayed at this campground over Memorial Day weekend in a C loop single site, and there was no disappointment! The mosquitos were fairly tame, the water was pure and clean, other campers kept quiet and to themselves, and the facilities were above our expectations for a state-run campground. No shortage of large, flat spaces of soft ground in campsites all ready for tents. Only a two minute drive from the resort and store!

its crazy how pretty the view is.. we had a campsite on the lake it was by far one of the biggest campsite we saw. but its very windy spot.. the bathrooms are a good walk away. and the showers are in a different area, they are nice and hott. umm u cant buy firewood there u have to go up to the resort and its $6 a bundle. u can also rent boats.

There are so many sites here, that you could almost get lost. We almost gave up finding the camp host it was so big. We found a site along the lake, looking at the mountain. You could tell the people prior to us were slobs. There was garbage all over and they had their own bathroom spot in the woods adjacent to the site even though the bathroom was a short walk. There were a lot of black flying bugs around which swarmed our site and made doing anything nearly impossible.

I was on a solo road trip this last week and was searching for campsites near Crater Lake and I stumbled upon Diamond Lake. I really like how they have two loops dedicated to first come first serve, thats pretty cool. I got a spot right along the water, bugs weren't bad, and the sunset was amazing that night. The camp staff are super inviting and are pretty awesome! I had an amazing night at the campsite.

The surrounding area is great for recreation, bring your bike and cycle the loop that goes around the entire lake. You get mountain views the entire time. There are loads of hiking, ask the camp staff for trail maps. There is apparently great fishing but I didn't have fishing license.

What more can you ask for.m? Clear waters, spectacular Mountain Views. Swimming, hiking, camping, fishing, the possibilities are endless. Fill the tank, and hit the road

camping was good. the lake is close to most of the camp sites so it is easy to go kayaking. Crater Lake National Park is only about a 20 minutes drive...the only thing bring bug spray

Two weekends after Labor Day we arrived without reservations at the campground where we enjoyed a lakeside site. This is a beautifully located, well maintained campground. Hot showers are available on an honor system; donate for the time under the spray.

Enjoy the outdoors.

Nice campground near Diamond Lake. There is a resort, swimming, bike path, fishing. It’s not too far from Crater Lake, and awesome waterfalls down highway 138.