I love Lost Lake. The view of Mount Hood is spectacular from the middle of the lake. It’s a beautiful, moderate drive from Portland. You’re close to Hood River and all the great fun there. The water is clear and pleasant in the shallows. There’s a little store to rent SUPs, pedal boats and more. You can buy ice cream. It’s a kid paradise, basically!

We were able to snag a relatively private site this past June. The bugs were buggin’ though, if we had a breeze it would have helped immensely. Nothing to do about that but just an FYI to bring all the citronella.

Like others mention, it’s hard for those camping to get into the water since day users come with everyone (and their mom) for the day. So, claim a lakeside spot for swimming EARLY. None of this camp breakfast at 8 AM business. Eat a bar and then grab your spot. It was just super mayhem busy. I would strongly advise to avoid weekends or just understand that it’s sort of like carnival camping. There is no cell service BTW.

It’s not cheap to camp, we paid about $75 for two nights. I think the people running the park (third party for the state?) could have invested more in picking up sites and trail maintenance. Some trails were impassable due to downed trees presumably from winter storms.

Just a heads up, for FCFS camping, you’re supposed to set up your tent then pay. This caused a minor argument when we set up camp and someone drove up claiming to have dibs to the site. Set up your tent first, then pay.