Best Tent Camping near Wallowa, OR

Tent campsites surround Wallowa, Oregon, with established options ranging from creek-side locations to high-alpine settings in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Hurricane Creek Campground, located about 5 miles from Joseph, provides tent sites alongside a rushing creek, while more primitive options exist at Aneroid Lake for backpackers willing to hike into the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Most established campgrounds in the area accommodate both tents and small RVs, though Boundary and Two Pan cater well to tent-specific needs.

Tent camping in this region generally requires preparation for basic conditions. Many sites include picnic tables and fire rings, with vault toilets available at established locations like Hurricane Creek and Williamson Campground. Water sources are limited, with only Mottet Campground providing drinking water; campers must typically filter from nearby creeks or pack in their own supply. Access to campgrounds varies considerably, with some sites requiring high-clearance vehicles on forest service roads. Walk-in tent locations often provide more seclusion and better creek access but require carrying gear short distances from parking areas.

The camping experience around Wallowa offers exceptional solitude and natural immersion. Sites along Hurricane Creek provide constant white noise from the rushing water, creating privacy despite relatively close spacing. Higher elevation backcountry camping at places like Aneroid Lake delivers pristine alpine settings but requires significant hiking effort. Tent campers specifically benefit from numerous small, secluded sites that larger RVs cannot access. Wildlife sightings are common, with reviews noting deer visits and occasional bear activity. A visitor commented, "The lake is super clear and worth a swim. The trail to summit Eagle Cap is close by and a great day-hike for amazing views." Tent-only camping areas typically fill quickly during summer weekends, but midweek availability remains good even during peak season.

Best Tent Sites Near Wallowa, Oregon (57)

    1. Hurricane Creek Campground

    9 Reviews
    Joseph, OR
    20 miles
    Website
    +1 (541) 426-5546

    "We scheduled three nights here but after two nights of amazing lightning storms, we skipped the third night. Still, this is a beautiful place, very private, secluded, and shady."

    "We car camped in this small campground along Hurricane Creek after getting rained out on a backpacking trip up to Eagle Cap. There are 13 sites, 3 of which are handicap accessible."

    2. Boundary

    1 Review
    Lostine, OR
    7 miles
    Website
    +1 (541) 426-4978

    3. Williamson Campground

    2 Reviews
    Enterprise, OR
    17 miles
    Website
    +1 (541) 426-5546

    "Space for 1 tent easily…maybe a 2nd in some. Good trees for hammock."

    "Nice little river near the campsites for gathering water or cooling off."

    4. Walla Walla Forest Camp

    2 Reviews
    Joseph, OR
    19 miles
    Website
    +1 (541) 523-6391

    "There are several campsites along the Lostine corridor, we decided just to drive until we found a spot we liked. We landed at Walla Walla Forest Camp and claimed site 4."

    5. Moss Springs Campground

    1 Review
    Cove, OR
    22 miles
    Website

    "Moss Springs is a quiet campground on the edge of the Eagle Cap about 9 miles up the a forest service road from Cove, OR (which is about 14 miles past La Grande)."

    6. Two Pan

    1 Review
    Wallowa Whitman National Forest, OR
    23 miles
    Website
    +1 (541) 426-5546

    "The camp has four spots for camping with picnic tables, fire pit, tie ups for horses and hay holders. There was some hay left over that attracted a deer very close to us as we camped here at night."

    7. Canyon Forest Campground

    Be the first to review!
    Enterprise, OR
    16 miles
    Website
    +1 (541) 523-6391

    8. Mottet

    1 Review
    Bennington Lake, WA
    29 miles
    Website
    +1 (509) 522-6290

    "First off - you will need a higher clearance vehicle to reach this campground, and signage may be limited so make sure you know your step by step directions beforehand."

    9. Aneroid Lake Backcountry Dispersed Campsite

    1 Review
    Joseph, OR
    29 miles

    "Aneroid Lake is one of my favorite locations in the Eagle Cap Wilderness."

    10. Wallowa-Whitman NF 21 - Dispersed

    10 Reviews
    La Grande, OR
    40 miles
    Website
    +1 (541) 962-8500

    "Primitive dispersed campsites with rock fire rings right off the highway. Down side is it's a little too noisy for my taste."

    "Light sleepers would have a hard time here due to highway noise but overall good rest stop. My dog wouldn’t stop trying to eat all the horse poop around the camp site."

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Tent Camping Reviews near Wallowa, OR

323 Reviews of 57 Wallowa Campgrounds


  • Paige P.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 20, 2025

    Wolf Creek Reservoir

    Sweet Spot

    A handful of great places to camp for the night- very clean and well taken care of so please leave no trace. Just a spot and a table, no water, restrooms ect.

  • Jim B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Mar. 10, 2021

    Hurricane Creek Campground

    A lovely place

    We scheduled three nights here but after two nights of amazing lightning storms, we skipped the third night. Still, this is a beautiful place, very private, secluded, and shady. The fast-moving creek creates a soothing white noise that we found calming. The campsites are spaced quite far apart, some only large enough for a tent. No hookups, but there is a clean vault toilet. We planned to hit the nearby hiking trail, but when we got to the trailhead, the parking lot was completely packed. When we go there again, we will stay and relax at the campground.

  • John 'n Sara D.
    Aug. 2, 2018

    Jubilee Lake Campground (Or) — Umatilla National Forest

    Peace & Quiet!

    The campground is somewhat primitive. There are flushing toilets on the lower loop, vault toilets on the upper loop. no showers, but you can refresh in the lake. The nights get chilly, so be prepared with warm socks and a beenie, especially if you’re tent camping.

    There are no power boats allowed on the lake, so it is raft, kayak paddle board friendly.

    The path around the lake is an easy walk, just don’t expect to sit on a bench and enjoy the view of the lake, the trees have grown up.

  • Nick B.
    Jul. 15, 2019

    Target Meadows Campground — Umatilla National Forest

    Rustic campground with a neat history

    We tent camped for the weekend in mid-July. The plan was to camp at Jubilee Lake, but it was full when we arrived Friday evening. Target Meadows is just a short drive from the lake, but there were plenty of sites available. The campground is heavily wooded with beautiful evergreens. Sites are private and well spaced. This is a rustic campground, so there is no water or power. Amenities include (very clean!) pit toilets, picnic tables, and fire pits with cooking grates. There is a lot of dry timber on the ground, so it is easy to collect your own firewood. There is easy access to hiking, including Burnt Cabin trailhead. Most campsites are trailer friendly, including a few with drive-through access. We really enjoyed the area and will be back again!

  • Emily C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 19, 2021

    Spring Creek Campground

    Good free FS campground

    Came here for an overnight stop while traveling through the area. Solid spot - 4 large sites with level spots, fire ring, picnic tables, vault toilet. Arrived around 5pm on a Saturday in October and 3 spots were available - the others filled up after me. Quiet and beautiful while being close to the highway. Perfect and pleasant for my overnight stop

  • J
    Apr. 18, 2018

    Bird Track Springs

    Excellent place to dry camp...

    Every time we camp here it has been quiet, wild life comes around to say hi. Vault toilets, no water, no trash pickup. Always clean,,, Nice place...

  • Hannah O.
    Mar. 16, 2021

    North Fork Catherine Creek Campground

    Peaceful and free to camp

    Lovely location in the mountains of Oregon. We drove a few thousand feet up a gravel road to get to this campsite. Easy access for my little sedan. I typed the latitude and longitude (found on the website) into my gps but lost service maybe 15 or 20 minutes before we arrived. Luckily it still was able to track our location and tell us “you have arrived” but as the campsite description said, these sites are spread out along the road, so it took us an extra 10 or 15 minutes to find the site we were going to stay at. The easiest campsites to find are at the trailhead of the North Fork Catharine Creek trail, which has a large parking lot with a minimal parking fee. The vault toilets are at this parking lot. For us, we crossed the bridge right before the parking lot and found a pull-off loop that had a few trailers with what seemed to be seasonal campers. They were cheerful and friendly. We went to the very back of the loop and found a nice secluded spot that was literally yards from the river. It was a primitive spot; it had no picnic table and only a fire ring made of rocks but since we had chairs we didn’t mind.

    The forest floor was extremely easy to drive stakes into, and the river made a lovely background noise to fall asleep to.

    The only thing I didn’t like was a couple bags of trash sitting on the side of the loop. We figured they were from the seasonal campers who put them at a distance so they didn’t have to deal with the smell. Not a great idea since an animal could get into it though. That’s something to keep in mind; THERE IS NO DUMPSTER so you have to pack all trash back out.

    We stayed in the middle of July and it was delightfully cool, in the mid 70s during the day and dropped down to the upper 40s over night.

    All in all a lovely overnight trip. I would go back.

  • Z
    Oct. 19, 2022

    Morgan Lake - TEMPORARILY CLOSED

    Beautiful Lake

    Beautiful campground. Maybe 15 sites, and totally free. 3 day camping limit. Sites have picnic tables and fire rings. Pit toilets are available, but no potable water. Almost every site has lake frontage. The campground is usually open until October 31. Paddle boats only. No motors.

  • Heidi P.
    Sep. 7, 2019

    Wallowa Lake State Park Campground

    Clean and quiet

    This campground is a nice well maintained place with clean facilities and well dispersed sites. It was a bad fire season when we were there so it’s pretty smoky in my picture.

    Clean bathrooms scattered throughout, water available. Nice tree cover and a River right at the edge of where we were. There’s trails and the lake close by too. Picnic tables and nice fire pits.

    It was a very quiet place and has several loops in the campground.


Guide to Wallowa

Tent camping around Wallowa, Oregon places campers within Oregon's "Little Switzerland," where granite peaks rise up to 10,000 feet surrounding the Wallowa Valley. The region experiences warm, dry summers with nighttime temperatures that can drop to 40°F even in July and August at higher elevations. Winter camping isn't recommended for most visitors as snowfall accumulations reach 6-8 feet at many camping locations.

What to do

Fishing mountain lakes: Aneroid Lake in Eagle Cap Wilderness offers excellent rainbow and brook trout fishing. A backpacker noted, "The lake is stocked every few years with rainbow trout, and has a good supply of brook trout." Access requires a 6.5-mile hike with 3,000 feet of elevation gain from the Two Pan trailhead.

Creek exploration: Follow Hurricane Creek at Hurricane Creek Campground where shallow spots provide natural wading areas. According to one camper, "The creek is very loud, so much so that I wore earplugs at night to sleep." The creek maintains frigid temperatures even in late August.

Wildlife viewing: Sunrise and sunset wildlife viewing opportunities exist at nearly all camping areas in the region. One visitor to Williamson Campground shared, "The river is a great backdrop and sound. We had no issues getting an open site here the week of 4th of July." Deer sightings are common at dawn and dusk throughout the region.

What campers like

Creek-side solitude: The rushing waters at Walla Walla Forest Camp provide natural sound barriers between sites. A camper mentioned, "There are several campsites along the Lostine corridor... Our spot was tucked back a little way, which we liked." Some sites require bug spray due to proximity to standing water.

Private forest settings: Many campgrounds offer well-spaced sites with natural privacy screens. At Hurricane Creek, a camper observed, "This is a small campground with limited amenities, but a nice amount of privacy for each site. The creek lives up to its name and is very loud."

Alpine access: High-country lakes like Aneroid Lake provide premier backpacking destinations. As one backpacker stated, "The water is very cold but worth the dip if it's a hot summer day." Most alpine camping requires wilderness permits and proper bear-aware food storage techniques.

What you should know

Water availability: Most campgrounds require water filtration or personal supply. Mottet is one of the few with drinking water from a freshwater spring. A visitor noted, "There's a pit toilet, and a freshwater spring. Great place for astrophotographers when conditions are right!"

Road conditions: Access to many sites requires high-clearance vehicles. For Mottet Campground, a camper warned, "You will need a higher clearance vehicle to reach this campground, and signage may be limited so make sure you know your step by step directions beforehand. The road is basically a forest service road with ruts and high bumps."

Bear awareness: Multiple campgrounds report bear activity, particularly during late summer berry season. At Wallowa-Whitman NF 21, a reviewer cautioned, "My dog wouldn't stop trying to eat all the horse poop around the camp site. Good level ground and easy to get back on the road in the morning."

Tips for camping with families

Kid-friendly water access: Select sites at Hurricane Creek Campground with gradual creek entry points. A visitor shared, "Close to town and service but back in far enough you lose the service and all you hear is the river. The river is shallow in most places but right off this site it has a deep area where you can dip."

Wildlife opportunities: Deer frequently visit Williamson Campground in early morning hours. According to one review, "Sites were great. The river is a great backdrop and sound. Space for 1 tent easily…maybe a 2nd in some. Good trees for hammock."

Space considerations: Most tent camping near Wallowa accommodates only 1-2 tents per site. At Hurricane Creek, a camper noted, "The sites are not especially big, just enough space for two small tents." Larger families should consider reserving adjacent sites or look for group camping areas.

Tips from RVers

Size restrictions: Many forest service roads limit RV access. For Boundary Campground, a reviewer mentioned, "This is a free First come First Serve National Forest Service campground and thus, there seem to be folks living here full time. Lots of trailers, cars that looked like they didn't run and dogs off leash."

Leveling requirements: Bring leveling blocks for Hurricane Creek Campground sites. One RVer shared, "Spent one night in that spot then took another closer to the river for the second night where I had to use my leveling blocks. But so worth it. Could hear nothing but the rushing river."

Turnaround limitations: Several sites lack adequate turn-around space for larger vehicles. A Hurricane Creek camper observed, "Several sites along the creek, some accessible by car only (no trailer turnaround). Sites private. Only a couple of people there on a Sunday evening."

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Wallowa, OR?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Wallowa, OR is Hurricane Creek Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 9 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Wallowa, OR?

TheDyrt.com has all 57 tent camping locations near Wallowa, OR, with real photos and reviews from campers.