Clackamas Lake Campground, Rhododendron, OR

Clackamas Lake Campground is located in the Clackamas River Ranger District of the Mt. Hood National Forest (1 hr 21 min southeast of Gresham, OR) with an elevation of 3,358 feet. There are a total of 45 campsites. The campground is normally open from the end of May to the beginning of September. 20 sites can accommodate RVs and trailers between 30 and 120 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Fees range from $20.42 to $25.00.
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Campsite Reviews (40)

4.1 out of 5

5 star
48%
4 star
28%
3 star
18%
2 star
3%
1 star
5%
@NatalieP6BA7F3 · Camped on Aug 15, 2024 at Campsite #20
This was a great campground! Be aware, the lake is not very big, but youre like 5 minutes from Timothy Lake. The camp host was AMAZING. She helped us get an extra site when we ended up with a few more folks than expected. She also kept the bathrooms so clean! Ive never seen a cleaner vault toilet in my life. We had a couple grumpy neighbors that complained about our kiddos being loud (not during quiet hours) but other than that it was a great place to spend a long weekend!
@WILLIEB93EEBFA · Camped on Jul 21, 2024 at Campsite #8
This is the second time we have camped here with our horses. The equestrian sites are very nice and in my opinion, much nicer than Joe Graham, which is the all equestrian campground nearby. The camp host met us at our site and went over the rules in place, (i.e. no campfires, bag manure, etc.) She was friendly and welcoming. The only reason I didn't give the campground 5 stars was because the restroom by our site was completely full and needed to be emptied. The restroom, however, was clean. During the time that we were there I saw the host cleaning the restroom daily. No real complaints, but for the cost the toliets should be emptied more frequently. They smelled despite being regularly cleaned.
@EmilyD2011259 · Camped on Jul 12, 2024 at Campsite #24
The camp is beautiful, and the camp host was super friendly, helpful, and informative.
@VictoriaC250EF · Camped on Jun 7, 2024 at Campsite #16
Nice small campground with horses stables. We booked 016 for 2 families (2 tents were on site). If you have a plan to go with 3+ tents we highly recommend to book 016 and 014 for "private zone". Host was absolutely nice. Campground has running water and toilet only, no shower. Clackamas lake is more like swamp - we went to Timothy lake for fishing and paddling. Site has fire ring. Wood cost 10$. Highly recommend :)
@MichaelS179730 · Camped on Aug 25, 2023 at Campsite #16
Campground not maintained, no camp host. All bathrooms completely out of TP on weekend. Not campgrounds fault but spent entire weekend listening to neighbors dance hall music set up with booming rave music playing at all times outside of quiet hours (in an equestrian site with no horses).
@BetsyR21A3E482 · Camped on Aug 25, 2023 at Campsite #20
The campsite was total unchecked chaos when we arrived. It was like a series of raves, with campsites blaring extremely loud music from giant speakers. There was no camp host as far as I could tell. No one ever approached us and I didnt see anyone doing usual host activities. I dont mind noise, to a certain extent, but this was so far beyond any sense of decorum. Plus, the bathrooms were nasty and unkempt. Aside from the people problems, the grounds are beautifully tree-lined and spacious enough. The lake was pretty but very swampy. I tried to be the adventurer for my kids benefit and went in. The bottom was deep, deep mud, much like quicksand. I played it cool but was scared for a minute there. Dont go in, lol.
@JonD8720334 · Camped on Aug 20, 2023 at Campsite #14
The corrals are in great shape and the site was tidy. The spots were a bit tight for our 3H LQ trailer, but we got it stuffed in there. Only disappointment was there is no manure bin for corral cleanup like most horse camps.
@DeborahB541180 · Camped on Aug 13, 2023 at Campsite #8
Nice campground with access to very nice riding trails. The trails have excellent footing, mostly dirt and pine needles and very few rocks. The trails are mostly flat, with very little elevation gain. Most of the trail rides are between 10 and 17 miles round trip; however, the trails intercept with the PCT so a person can ride as far or as little as wanted. You can catch all trails from the campground, so there is no need to trailer your horses. We were camping with our horses so we stayed in one of the horse sites in the first loop of the campground. Amazingly, we were the only horse campers in the campground during our six day stay. The sites were reserved but they remained empty. It may have been due to the heat (over a 100 for several days). There were some non-horse people camping in the horse site's, which are supposed to be only reservable for people with stock. There wasn't a camp host on site the entire time we were there, so there was no one to enforce this rule. This campground has potable water, which is nice as many horse campgrounds do not. Overall, a nice campground that we will definately camp in again. I liked Clackamas Lake much better than Joe Graham Horse Camp, which is right next door. Bigger sites with more privacy at Clackamas Lake. However, you are camping with non-horse people that sometimes do not know general horse etiquette (like not letting your dogs off leash, or kids riding their bikes up fast behind your horse). If your horses are used to this kind of stuff, then its not a big deal.
@MaggieBA3FC842 · Camped on Aug 4, 2023 at Campsite #19
Clackamas lake is more like a swamp pond. We still enjoyed although we did not go into the water. It was nice Timothy lake was close (2 mile away) so we spent time there instead. The mosquitoes were terrible! Our citronella candles killed them by flame and wax. We had to spray ourselves off with repellent constantly. The lack of campfire made the evenings and mornings really chilly, no smoke to rrepel bugs away. This campground isn't a high priority to come back to but we love getting out in the Mt Hood national forest so it's fair rating for us just by location to other outings options
@SaraFB7FAA4B8D · Camped on Jul 17, 2023 at Campsite #12
I could not get a site close to my friends because all the horse sites were taken up by non-horse people. I was lucky to get a site. Horse people don't go there because they know there are no sites available. And OET built those sites!
@AnnaFE3E96DB76 · Camped on Jul 1, 2023 at Campsite #10
Fantastic campground. In the woods. Full privacy. Amazing location and amenities. Highly recommend.
@DawnC9570700 · Camped on Jun 16, 2023 at Campsite #20
The Host Greg was awesome. He keeps the restrooms clean and makes his rounds often , if you need anything.
@WesleyH6529621 · Camped on Aug 29, 2022 at Campsite #44
Never saw a host the whole time we were there.Other then that had a good time .
@KendraB3986404 · Camped on Aug 22, 2022 at Campsite #4
Great campsites with horse stalls and trails.
@SusanH8664991 · Camped on Aug 21, 2022 at Campsite #12
I love camping at Timothy Lake when my kids were growing up we went every other week and went to Joe Graham but the big trailers are much harder to get in there so Clackamas' newer horse sections are fantastic (at least the bigger ones)
@MollieC8835101 · Camped on Aug 14, 2022 at Campsite #28
Quiet campground with some roomy sites, and some not suitable for tents at all. Good hiking to Timothy Lake. I was in a group of 6 and we had 5 tents on two sites. Enjoyed our stay. Be sure and see Little Crater Lake.
@JamesG6676411 · Camped on Aug 11, 2022 at Campsite #23
No water for 44 people in 6 campsites. I would like a refund since it was so difficult to stay that one night.
@Janiev1201415 · Camped on Aug 5, 2022 at Campsite #4
I love camping with my horse and site 4 was perfect. It was close to the water spigot and was easy to drive through with my horse trailer.
@QuinnC5205898 · Camped on Aug 1, 2022 at Campsite #9
Camp host was excellent. Bathrooms were clean. Mosquitos were thick at times, although it is an unusually bad year across western Oregon.
@BrookeE6267876 · Camped on Jul 30, 2022 at Campsite #27
We were right next to the bathrooms, spot 27, and was amazed we couldn’t smell them. We were curious if we would or not. But nope! Beautiful campsite and well maintained. Unfortunately another campers dogs came and got into some of our dogs food but we maintained and kept ours in a leash.
@KathleenW46740 · Camped on Jul 30, 2022 at Campsite #38
Clackamas Lake was a beautiful area to camp at! I highly recommend stopping at the gas station ~ 20 minutes from the campgrounds before heading in, as there isn't much access to water at the site, and firewood was completely sold out before we got there. Clackamas Lake was really small, unfortunately, but luckily Timothy Lake is nearby! Make sure you bring some natural bug repellants!
@RebeccaR559280 · Camped on Jul 8, 2022 at Campsite #18
Good location near the restrooms and easy corner location.
@MichaelH184 · Camped on Sep 3, 2021 at Campsite #23
The accommodations were simple as advertised, but it was the cleanest pit toilets that I have seen at similar campgrounds. It seemed that the water and waste water dump sites were a little further apart than usual. You should be aware that the lake is not a place to boat or swim as it is very small and very shallow, but still very beautiful and interesting. We really enjoyed the proximity to hiking trails toward Timothy Lake or south on the PCT into Warm Springs Land. We really enjoyed our 3 day weekend at this campground.
@WilliamN661 · Camped on Aug 28, 2021 at Campsite #30
Great time at Clackamas Lake Campground last weekend. The lake level was down and it was accessible via the path where the old boardwalk used to be. Footing was a bit treacherous but not bad. No mosquitoes! All in all a good time.
@SHAWNM756 · Camped on Aug 21, 2021 at Campsite #30
Great little campground! Nice site sites! Lots of great short hikes and the "lake" was very pretty.

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