Mt. Hood Nat. Forest camping

Hi all!

I%26#39;m hoping you can help me find a great campsite in the Mnt. Hood Nat. Forest area. We%26#39;ll be there 2 nights and are open to trying 2 different sites. I have looked at the National Forest website to get an idea of my options, and there are a lot! http://tinyurl.com/cnyzjl

If anyone has any input on what might be a great campground, I%26#39;d love to hear. It%26#39;s heard not seeing any pictures of the sites to know what is good and what we%26#39;d pass on. Obviously, we%26#39;re looking for a spot that is beautiful. We%26#39;ll be tent camping and would like a bit of space between us and our neighbors.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Becky

Mt. Hood Nat. Forest camping

What kinds of things are you looking to do while spending your time there? When are you planning on traveling.

We generally spend a lot of time at Timothy Lake in the summer, as that is where we put our boat in and fish. There are 5 campgrounds on the lake...four that you can drive in, one that is accessed either by boat or hiking in. My favorite is Hood View, just because I like the sites there better. At all of them, you can get a spot on the lake with a view of Mt. Hood. There is a trail and you can either hike or mountain bike around the lake. The swimming is pretty good in the summer as well.

Clear Lake is a good spot to go as well. Again, another nice lake with good swimming. There is lots of overflow camping. Generally, if everything else is full, you can find a spot here. Take note, the overflow camping does not have running water so you would have to go to the main campground for water. There are porta potties within an easy walk.

Stayed at Frog Lake once. I wasn%26#39;t overly impressed. The sites here seemed awfully close together.

The sites seemed pretty close together at Little Crater Lake as well. We usually take a little side trip here to take a peek when staying at Timothy Lake.

While I have not stayed here, but Clackamas Lake also has a pretty nice campground. Lost Lake always gets rave reviews.

Mt. Hood Nat. Forest camping

Almost forgot, here is a website that lists all the campgrounds in the Timothy Lake area...

www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx鈥?/a>

Gone Creek, Hoodview, Oak Fork, and Pine Point are the four major campgrounds on Timothy Lake. The others are in the general vicinity.

Eventually I will be done commenting on this thread...

Meditation Point is the hike only-boat only access campground on the lake. I have had friends stay there and love it.

North Arm is also on the back side of the lake. I would definitely pass on this one. Just not as nice as the other campgrounds on the lake. It%26#39;s not on the ';main lake';, the sites aren%26#39;t as nice.

I will echo mahjerle for Timothy Lake.

We have also enjoyed Lost Lake, but the spots are a bit close for our taste. But if you are traveling during the week, and not in mid July thru August, it is better.

Thank you so much for your help!

We plan on spending our time hiking and enjoying the scenery. We will be spending our time here at the end of our trip and would love to just relax by a lake and enjoy the views!

I am a professional photographer, so I%26#39;m particularly looking for a beautiful spot that offers a variety of things to photograph. The suggestions posted so far sound absolutely wonderful, thank you!

You did not mention when you would be traveling? While the campgrounds are quite plentiful in this area, if you are planning on visiting during a peak travel period, I would highly recommend reserving a site, especially if you want one right on the lake. You can usually tell pretty well from the layout which are near, and which aren%26#39;t, the lake. (These also seem to be the most spacious).

If you are interested in photography, I would highly recommend making a stop at Little Crater Lake. I have gotten some rather unique shots there. Beautiful views of Mt. Hood from Timothy Lake.

If you need any more assistance, let me know.

Oh sorry! We will be there the 2nd week in September and we%26#39;ll be camping on a Weds and Thurs. night, so I%26#39;m thinking crowds won%26#39;t be a huge issue, although I could be wrong!

Good timing! Families with school age kids will be home, and early Sept. usually we have fantastic weather. So you should be good to go! I would still make reservations though so you can get a site that you want. At Lost Lake we liked the walk in sites. There is a trail that goes around the lake that is really pretty, and has some great shots of Mt. Hood for your photography.

I think all the campgrounds are host free after Memorial Day weekend, so I don%26#39;t think that you can even make a reservation. This also means there will not be any firewood available for sale, and if the gates are closed it means you have to hike it in, hike it out.

Timothy Lake is good choice. I would not move for a second night. with your desire to relax,and still many things within short drive, picking up camp not worth it.

how to deal with ex