Little Crater Lake Campground, Sandy, OR

Little Crater Lake Campground is located in the Zigzag Ranger District of the Mt. Hood National Forest (1 hr 17 min southeast of Gresham, OR) with an elevation of 3,251 feet. There are a total of 15 campsites. The campground is normally open from the end of August to mid September. 8 sites can accommodate RVs and trailers between 20 and 26 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Each site includes a picnic table and fire ring. There is a fee of $25.00 per night. Some amenities include drinking water, restroom. Activities include hiking trails.

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Campsite Reviews (41)

4.1 out of 5

5 star		49%
4 star		29%
3 star		12%
2 star		5%
1 star		5%

@JulieRei26D3E8 · Camped on Aug 16, 2024 at Campsite #6

Little Crater Lake is a pond, but a beautiful, magical pond! and now I can say my feet have trekked the PCT trail, okay only a couple of miles, but it was still kind of exciting. It also seems to be a jump off spot for the PCT, and kayak outfitters come ripping through the cg by the vanload and park in spaces that are about halfway around the cg. Water is from a hand pump before you enter the cg. Kind of a pain for solo's, but I managed. I made the mistake of taking the route from Detroit Lake, which involved 20-30 miles of gravel, some not so ok, two traffic lights on the gravel roads because it was one lane, and one work crew stop, and no service so a little scarey to turn around. Also there is no view of Mt. Hood from the cg, but I am not sure if that was because of geography or just trees. This is a lovely campground and this spot is about as private as they get, but also spacious. I chose this cg over Timothy because it's not by water and thought it would be quieter. And it would have been were it not for the 47,000 children that were everywhere and screaming screaming at the top of their lungs for hours on end. I don't get it. I was a kid. I went camping and did stuff and had fun. But that crap would not have been allowed back then, either by hosts or by parents. To be fair to the kids, the parents were also loud. I could not even listen to a podcast at my normal listening level at 9pm in my SUV! Thankfully a severe storm rolled in the next night and shut them up and some even left.

@LeahS2976135 · Camped on Jun 29, 2024 at Campsite #7

Made reservations in the spring, got multi confirmations via email. Arrived to find a couple in our spot who said the spot was open so they took it. Luckily we went to another camp site nearby called Clackamus, which shares the campground host with Little Crater Lake. She found a spot for us. Alls well that ends well, but we didn't get to stay where we wanted.

@ClaudiaHC5D3D3 · Camped on Jun 28, 2024 at Campsite #8

Beautiful little lake. Boat ramp with access to swimming. Nice quiet little campground. Gravel road has a lot of potholes. Our 2wd camper van had no problem, you just need to drive really slow.

@RachelC2171796 · Camped on Aug 25, 2023 at Campsite #10

The location of the campground is excellent with its vicinity to little crater lake was amazing. We had plenty of space for our large 9 person tent in spot 10. However, the outhouses were not well maintained. They were very smelly especially the one near the day use area and it seemed to be in need of toilet paper and a good cleaning. Also we were a little closer to our neighbors than we would like. There was a fire ban in place and it seemed several people were ignoring that and it was not enforced. There were lots of wasps. Every time we were preparing food we were harassed by them. Over all a great spot surrounded by wet lands, tress and wildlife. Also appreciated it being so close to Timothy lake.

@KarenK3878935 · Camped on Jul 25, 2023 at Campsite #2

Love how close this campground is to a lovely stretch of the PCT but the access trail is in need of some repairs. Some boards have broken through and large nails are sticking up in a couple places. It is still a wonderful connector trail, but there are a few places where you have to be very careful.

@NicoleS4864408 · Camped on Jul 17, 2023 at Campsite #13

My fav campground to date!

@SueK5781079947 · Camped on Jul 9, 2023 at Campsite #7

A small, unhosted campground that is adjacent to the Pacific Crest Trail, a mountain bog, and of course, the little Crater Lake. The sites were large - lots of space in each site. Some sites were mostly unshaded but my site was full shade. The "lake" is a bit of a tourist attraction with many cars parking in the small day-use parking, walking to the lake, and then leaving. Fire ban is in effect so no campfires. Must take your garbage out.

@JonathanL43668 · Camped on Jul 1, 2023 at Campsite #14

Beautiful campground. Looooots of mosquitoes near standing water

@WilliamR509139 · Camped on Jun 9, 2023 at Campsite #2

quiet, spacious, perfect

@DebraF8312178 · Camped on Jun 2, 2023 at Campsite #1

As a local, we love Little Crater Lake. The campground is small without a ton of sites. The sites themselves can be challenging as they all have different degrees of being level, tree roots, etc. Our site was #1 and it was a good site for our needs but right by the entrance. During the day, it gets really busy with tourists and/or PCT traffic so be aware. It is not quiet at all during the day. The trail to the lake, although short, was not well trimmed and was overgrown with bushes. The platform to see the lake was in disrepair. Additionally, the way visitors were treating the lake was absolutely terrible and disgusting -- dogs and people were in the water each time we walked to the lake on our trip. As a result of this poor judgment, the lake was not the beautiful blue color it typically is and it was such a let down to see such selfishness on display -- water entry is not permitted at LCL. The sites do not have immediate water available. There is well nearby but it was not functional. There are actually 2 vault toilets available -- one across from site 1 and another between sites 9 and 10. We had some safety concerns at the lake so we left a little early. If you go exploring, watch out for barbed wire that isn't easily visible especially along the back of sites 1-5. I did not explore the backs of the other sites to speak if there is barbed wire behind those as well.

@JulieJ2071075 · Camped on Aug 19, 2022 at Campsite #9

This is a jem of a site. Be aware that potable water is not close so bringing a large container for water storage is advisable.

@JohnA1386005 · Camped on Aug 7, 2022 at Campsite #10

Very loud disrespectful guests on both sides of our site. Drumming, singing, yelling, loud music, 5 tents in one site.

@LyssaB8606900 · Camped on Aug 7, 2022 at Campsite #4

The sites are so roomy! Just a quick walk to little crater lake. Had an amazing visit!!

@PhuL3641590 · Camped on Aug 5, 2022 at Campsite #5

Camp site has lots of roots. Lots of mosquitoes because around the camp area is marsh. Little crater lake is very pretty. Short walk from the camp site. There are no trash cans on site so you’ll have to haul your trash out. Well water is at the front so you’ll have to drive there.

@JIMB8977280 · Camped on Aug 5, 2022 at Campsite #8

Great Location, smaller campground, quiet in the evening

@AnnaH8078719 · Camped on Aug 1, 2022 at Campsite #3

Nice and small campground. Some tourist traffic in the campground, but never too busy. Definitely will be back. Hiking trails are great.

@QuinnC5205898 · Camped on Jul 31, 2022 at Campsite #4

Bathrooms were not clean, and according the maintenance card, not cleaned for over 10 days. Mosquitos were thick, but was to be expected that close to the marsh. Site itself was clean, with plenty of space. Decent walk to water, with only one manual pump.

@TessaA1098373 · Camped on Jun 20, 2022 at Campsite #13

Super easy spot to stay with a family.

@KandaceT816717 · Camped on Jun 15, 2022 at Campsite #8

Toilet paper was out, on 6/10, and never saw a person in the park till the 14th. It rained real hard the whole time was miserable mother nature was not kind. We didn't stay the rest of the week.

@RobertP6375002 · Camped on Jun 13, 2022 at Campsite #5

Never saw a Ranger. I was there for 4 days, 3 nights. I had no phone service, so Thank goodness my neighbors were fairly quiet.

@RalphG558 · Camped on Sep 5, 2021 at Campsite #5

We love the Little Crater Lake Campground. Well, in the past we have. But site 5 was terrible for our needs. There is no place for a family size tent (four person). It would probably be fine for one or two smaller tents, or a hammock camper, but it didn't meet our needs. We would have had to pitch on the parking strip had our family not been in another site that could accommodate our tent with them. Which is a shame, because the site is pretty, just not functional. Lots of exposed roots, which is probably erosion due to overuse, because of how pretty this site is. I get it. Also, the trailhead pit toilet door lock was broken so that was kinda awkward. But survivable.

@PeterW126 · Camped on Sep 2, 2021 at Campsite #5

In spite of the fire ban, we throughly enjoyed camping at Little Crater Lake. It is an excellent, quiet spot with a lovely meadow nearby and is a short hike to the Pacific Crest Trail and Timothy Lake as well. The toilets were very clean and smelled great! The crater is a fascinating geological phenomenon with a weirdly aquamarine hue.

@MargaretC303 · Camped on Aug 29, 2021 at Campsite #6

Lovely little campground, sites pretty well separated, in a woodsy area. There’s only one water source, close to the entrance. Composting toilets were clean. Short walk to Little Crater Lake, which is beautiful deep blue, more of a small pond than a lake, and a mile or so walk (partly on the Pacific Crest Trail) to Timothy lake, where you can fish or swim (though too cold for swimming this week).

@AndrewS144 · Camped on Aug 27, 2021 at Campsite #14

Neighbor had small children they let just scream, but the area itself was VERY nice

@RachelG218 · Camped on Aug 27, 2021 at Campsite #9

Beautiful site with 5 minute walk to Little Crater Lake and a short hike to Timothy Lake. Site 9 was nice, a little close to the next site over and out in the open, there were other sites that seemed more tucked away though. Bathrooms kept clean and the camp host was lovely!

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