Southern or Central Oregon

[super doody]

HI All,

Our friends recently moved to Seattle and we live in the SF bay area. We would like to meet somewhere in Oregon for a family camping trip. The preference near a lake with fishing and boating thats not too crowded. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim

 

[MarkBC]

What time of year would this trip happen?

 

[LuckyDan]

What MarkBC said

Although winter has yet to show up here excepting a few days in November, spring vs summer vs fall usually makes a big difference to what is available and how comfortable it will be.

 

[100acrehuphalump]

Crater Lake comes to mind. Near there is Natural Bridge
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/rogue-siskiyou/null/recarea/?recid=69828&actid=29

 

[iowahiker]

There are lots of lakes southwest of Bend, Oregon. Check out our pick which would be Miller Lake, Digit Point campground, west of Chemult. Miller Lake is more secluded (gravel road in) than most lakes in the Bend to Diamond Lake corridor but has flush toilets. We are hikers so Miller Lake is top tier while the other larger lakes would have better boating/fishing. Lots of campgrounds around Diamond Lake (and people) and you could day trip into Crater Lake NP and explore the upper Rogue and North Umpqua. We spent two weeks in the area in September 2014 and no campground filled on weekends.

 

[super doody]

This would be summer time. When their kids are out of school. Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[N'kwala]

If it's a family-type campground with boating, you're looking for, Cove Palisades near Bend (Madras, actually) might be a good choice. It can be hot, but there are some good hikes in the area, and interesting geology. Easy access. Generally pretty full, but depending on which site you get, it doesn't feel all that crowded.

 

[PaulT]

Paulina/East Lake near La Pine southeast of Bend

Odell Lake farther south

Both worth checking out.

Paul

 

[4llamas]

Most of the reservoirs I'm familiar with are drawn down pretty far during the summer, not so much for the natural lakes. If the lack of precipitation continues this winter the reservoirs will likely be very low this summer, in some cases well below the boat ramps.

Odell and Paulina are worthy lakes to consider. One drawback to Odell is that it sits at the top of the pass and gets very choppy from the wind.

Waldo Lake in central Oregon is one of the clearest and largest natural lakes in Oregon. It is surrounded on three sides by the Waldo Lake Wilderness and it is open to non motorized boats only. Waldo is an absolutely beautiful lake, popular for kayaking and it is ringed with a hiking and bicycling trail.

There are many other nearby lakes that do allow motor boats. It is easy to camp at one and visit others. The little resort at Elk Lake has a reputation for their ice cream.

Enjoy,

Waldo links:

http://www.oregonwild.org/waters/wild-scenic/waldo-lake

http://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/north-waldo/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=72399