Beautiful lake on the cascade lakes highway with the most incredible emerald color of water when…read morethe sun hits! It's also the starting point for south sister and it's fun to camp here the night before to get an early start. The camp sites are phenomenal right on the water, complete with fire pits. Great Lake for water activities for just to come hang out/walk around. Do watch out for mosquitoes though!

Another jewel on the Cascade Lake trail. Plenty of camping here. Beautiful views everywhere…read more Lakes here were formed by volcanic activity. This particular lake is in average 9' deep. Very clean banks and areas surrounding the lake. Plenty of places for day use and picnicking.

Cultus lake was good and fun and very cool and fun to do stuff at while it was us super cool funread more

This is one of my favorite campgrounds in the Cascade Lakes area. It is pretty far from Bend, but…read moreworth it if you have the time. The campground itself is pretty similar to what you might find at the other Hoodoo ran campgrounds, though it always feels a bit cleaner than the rest. The sites come with running water, shared bathrooms, picnic tables, fire rings, and a parking space. You will want to bring plenty of cash for the fees and if you bring more than one vehicle you will need to pay extra. This campground is right next to the lake and has an awesome trail that runs around the perimeter of the lake. There is a boat ramp at the end of the lake and if you just have paddle boards and kayaks you can just launch them right by your campsite. In addition to the boat ramp, there is a very nice shallow swim area. This has a gradual slope that allows the sun to warm the water up pretty fast. Overall I would say that this campground is slightly nicer than the other campgrounds in the Cascades, but the location is what really pull it up to five stars. When I have the time and money, this is my preferred campground.

August 26-29, 2025 - La Pine, OR…read more We've stayed at La Pine Campground a few times over the years, and each visit reminds us why we keep coming back. The campground is divided into three loops, each with its own character. The North Loop offers water and electric hookups, with sites that are more widely spaced than the others--something I really appreciate. That extra room makes it feel quieter and more private, and it's probably where we'll book our next stay. The Middle Loop has full hookups, while the South Loop is the busiest, featuring full hookups as well as some cabins. . There are many hiking/cycling trails (dog-friendly), and the Deschutes River runs through the campground. There is a short hike to a waterfall, and a large dog park. Unfortunately, we were a bit restricted in our outdoor activities because of the smoke from the two fires in the area. There was actually ash falling on one of the days. Also, there had been several sightings of a mountain lion in the area, so that added a bit of caution to our activities. Nevertheless, we will definitely come back.

We just stayed one night, right before the campgrounds closed for the year. The grounds were nicely…read moremaintained, and we enjoyed a very peaceful and quiet stay. Some sites are fairly tight, while others had some nice room. The trails here were very enjoyable. Serene surroundings around the river and through the trees. We saw lots of deer, birds, and other critters scrambling about. I'm sure it would've had a slightly different feel during peak season, but we very much enjoyed our night and day of off season.

Nice good sized lake. Today the local fires were affecting visibility and it was smokey smelling…read more They picnic benches located throughout the area. Nice resort store to get the necessities. Also offer paddle board rentals. Not many boats on the lake, definitely not a busy lake. Very laid back comfortable vibe here. We stopped here and enjoyed our lunch.

Date camped: 1 night 7/1-7/2 Site: #17 tent only…read more I booked Lava Lake Campground on recreation.gov months in advance for 1 night. It was July 4th weekend, so all campgrounds in the area were full. Check-in online states 4 pm and checkout is 2 pm. We checked in with the camp host first, and bought a bundle of logs for $6. Then we headed over to our campsite and set up camp. Our site was right next to the lake boat launch area so it was nice to walk over there and enjoy the waters. There are women/men pit toilets. They were pretty clean and didn't smell bad, I even thought they smelled liked cinnamon apple when we got there lol. But then it got stinky as the weekend went on from the usage. Overall, I would come back and camp here again. It has awesome views of South Sister and Mt Batchelor!

Tumalo Falls was an amazing adventure and one of the highlights of our trip. We chose the loop…read moretrail so we could see all of the waterfalls, and it was absolutely worth it. One of the most exciting parts was crossing the river several times. In some places there were bridges, and at one point we had to carefully balance across a log, which made the hike even more fun and memorable. We visited in April, and there was still a little snow on the trail. The weather was beautiful, but I would recommend bringing traction spikes if conditions are slippery and hiking poles for extra stability. The waterfalls were spectacular, and the scenery along the trail was breathtaking. It was a perfect mix of adventure and natural beauty. I'm sure I'll return one day with my kids to experience it all again.

It's been awhile since my last stay here. We love the yurts here. Easy access, they have heat, a…read morecouple of tables and beds, and it's comfortable. The fire pits are nice to but they cemented the bottom of them. They need to have more holes for air flow. Still I'm grateful to have those. Love the river trail as well. So beautiful! It's been awhile since we've been here. No snow this time but that's ok. Still peaceful and beautiful and not far at all from Bend.

What an amazing place! This park and the surrounding scenery is breathtaking. Lots of things to get…read moreinto depending on your preferences - hiking, trail running, rock climbing, bird watching, picnic and park area for kids and those wanting a more leisurely day. Theres even Smith Rock Ranch nearby that has beautiful animals out grazing the farm, and different activities including fall seasonal events (check their website for dates/times before you go). Will definitely visit again when we're in the area, it's too beautiful to pass up!

Came here for part of a day and really enjoyed it. At the surprise urging of my kids, we ended up…read morehiking up the Misery trail to the other side of the mountain and then around the entire thing - took a couple hours and I was shocked they wanted to do so much. There's lots to see and the views are spectacular. We brought some food and ate at a picnic table before leaving. Would definitely come back.

Nice campground well taken care of. Clean restrooms and showers. Tons of deer walking through the…read moresites at all hours. So cool to see these majestic creatures with no fear. No reception or cell service so you really are able to disconnect and relax. Beautiful golden hour sunsets and gorgeous sunrises.

We stayed a couple nights at the Crooked River campground, which is a part of Cove Palisades State…read morePark. We had a great time. The campground was really nice and well tended. Staff and volunteers were very attentive and kept things in tip top shape. Our site was nice, which had water & electric. We went to a couple of the evening ranger programs, where I learned quite a bit. Bathroom facilities were really nice. Park was really windy, which may have just been when I was there but I suspect it's a common occurrence. There were deer that wandered through the campground, owls, and lots of other wildlife. Would stay here again if we were in the area.

Big Lake Campground is a lovely mountain campground near Santiam Pass. It's 34 miles northeast of…read moreBlue River, which is mistakenly shown on the Yelp map as the location. That's the ranger station at Blue River, not the campground, which is located off U.S. Highway 20 west of Sms isters. There's 49 campsites with varying lengths. We stayed in campsite 22. We had just enough room for our 25-foot travel trailer and GMC Yukon travel trailer. The rest of our site was huge, with wooden steps leading to a picnic table and a fire ring. Out the back window of our trailer we could see Big Lake and towering Mount Washington, one of the gems of Central Oregon. A short trail leads past prolific stands of bear grass and flowers, including mountain lupine, Queen's Cup, mountain meadowsweet and scarlet trumpet. There are numerous vault toilets and faucets offering drinking water. There are also boat ramps. We really enjoyed our time at this campground and highly recommend it.

I camped here a couple summers ago and it was one of the most beautiful campgrounds I have been to…read more Mt. Washington sits right over Big Lake and boasts gorgeous mountain views with tall green trees surrounding the lake. We actually had a small lake access from our campground and the campground was nice and private from other sites. We reserved online for $24 a night (I highly recommend reserving online to be safe because the campground does fill up) and after splitting the cost with everyone it was dirt cheap! It's very reasonably priced per night. When we came in no one was at the check-in station but we found our name on a post outside the campground. Bathrooms were your standard vault toilets and there was running water but I don't think it was potable. I came mid-summer and the mosquitos were only a little noticeable and not out of control. We didn't have any issues with animals like raccoons or anything and since it was car camping our cars were easily accessible. I wish we could have brought out a kayak but it was still a nice place to swim and enjoy a beautiful summer weekend on the lake. There was a camp across the lake and a few trails we explores. I really liked the terrain and how it changed as you walked further into the mountains. I will definitely be back!

I stayed at Quinn River Campground for a few days/nights as part of a field trip exploring…read morevolcanics in the Cascade Mountains in Oregon through university in August 2017. The campground wasn't too full when we stayed and had ample space for all of us. The parking spaces for each campsite were decently sized and we were able to fit the field trip vehicles (including school vans) in without a problem. Noise was not an issue here and quiet hours were observed. The campsites has picnic tables and even ground. This made setting up tents easy and meant we had options as to where to set our tents up on a given campsite. Restrooms were interspersed throughout the campground and there was a water pump where we could go to pump clean/drinking water. Crane Prairie Reservoir borders the campground and it a lovely place to sit and stare at the stars, watch the sun rise, and watch the sun set. Chipmunks also occupied the campground when we were there. We came back to our food store one day to find chipmunks had gone after some bagels. Good reminder we shared the campground with wildlife during our stay.

I would definitely recommend this lake in summer. Lots of places to paddle to and the views are…read moreamazing. I would recommend NOT going in fall. The water level was only 7 inches or less in a majority. To not get stuck in the mud you had to find the channels. It's an extra adventure to try to push yourself 20 feet out of mud.

This is such a beautiful location to hike or paddle! Beware that the lake slowly drains over the…read moresummer, so it becomes too shallow to paddle as the summer wears on. It's pretty awesome to be able to hear the water draining out through the lava rocks when you're along the edge of certain parts.