It's close to the city and right on the water. It also has trains going by all night. Didn't take any pictures because it's not worth remembering. Camp hosts were nice though!
This campground is fairly open and you can see into quite a few other campsites. But other than that I don't have any complaints. It has plastic port-a-johns and one of those plastic sink things; a setup you'd be more likely to find at an outdoor concert than a campsite but it all worked. Nothing that really stands out too much about this campsite itself. If you're staying here it's for it's location. It's right on the edge of Ochoco national Forest and is about thirty minutes from the Painted Hills. I stayed in September 2017 when half of Oregon was on fire, so fires were not allowed at the time. It can get quit cold at night, around freezing when I was there despite being in the 70's during the day, so be prepared for that.
Crowded, but secluded. Our site had private water access and was a good distance from adjacent sites. I really can't say enough good things about my time here. Would've stayed longer if I didn't have to get back to the real world. This place has bear boxes and trash/recycling bins, showers, restrooms, a marina with rentals, a store, and they even had a movie night. But from our campsite, we sometimes feel like we were the only ones there. Absolutely loved it. Hot during the day, a little windy at night, make sure your tent is properly staked if it's close to the water.
This was fantastic. Biggest complaint was how busy it was and the lack of privacy between campsites. But I was there on memorial weekend so busy was expected. Lack of privacy is due to lack of trees, they're there, just not that thick. We set up our tent about ten feet from the water and had some friendly little chipmunks running about, but they never bothered us. Camp host and his dog were awesome. Made some new friends here. Soaked in the natural hot springs at dusk. Hiked to the top of Paulina peak the next day. Awesome area to camp and explore. Even though we were there on a holiday weekend this place didn't fill up and we didn't need a reservation. But it does have a day use area and another campground a shirt distance around the lake. There's a hiking trail that goes all the way around, and you can hike to East lake or up Newberry volcano. There is beautiful obsidian all over the place. The hot springs were full of people during the day but at dusk and into night they really cleared out.
A bit crowded and the sites aren't really spread apart, the road through it is paved, and it's full service, so not exactly the rustic experience that I usually go for. But it's also got a lot of trees so they help make it feel more remote and spread out than it actually is. Our camp host was nice. Parking space at our site was big enough for two cars. Not my first choice, but the proximity to St. Helens made it worth it, especially for a last minute back up plan.