Crater Lake Camping: Mazama Campground and the Best Campgrounds Nearby

Crater Lake has one campground you can count on: Mazama, in old-growth forest at 6,000 feet by the Annie Spring Entrance Station. The park's second campground, Lost Creek, is closed for all of 2026. Mazama is open only in summer, from about June to late September, and from July it is reservation-only. If it's full, the national forests, state parks and RV parks around the park have more campgrounds within about 20 to 35 miles.

Crater Lake camping at a glance

Mazama Campground

Best for: staying inside the park. Mazama is part of Mazama Village, 7 miles south of Rim Village, just past the Annie Spring Entrance Station. The concessioner, ExplorCraterLake, runs it.

• 214 sites, each with a picnic table, fire ring with grill grate and a bear-resistant food locker.
• Hookups: the park lists 18 sites with electricity, some electric-only and some full hookups. The rest are tent sites (121) and RV sites without hookups.
• RVs up to 50 feet, trailers up to 35 feet. RV campers can't book tent sites, whose parking can't take an RV; tent campers may book an RV site if the tent sites are gone.
• Showers in loop F and at the Mazama Village store, in season. Flush toilets, drinking water and a dump station (free for campers, $10 for others).
• The camper store sells groceries, propane, firewood and gasoline. Annie Creek Restaurant is in the village.
• Check-in after 4 p.m., check-out before 11 a.m. Generators 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; quiet hours 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Season and reservations

• Opening depends on snow in the campsites, usually in June. Not all loops open at once.
• Opening day to June 30: first come, first served. In 2026 the campground opened in late May, with first-come sites available from 3 p.m.
• July through September: reservation only, on Recreation.gov, paid in full when you book. In 2026 the last night was September 30.
• Winter closure for 2026–27: October 7, 2026 to June 5, 2027.

Prices

The rates differ slightly between the park's listing and the concessioner's 2026 page: tent and no-hookup RV sites about $35–38, electric sites $48–50, full hookups $57–59 a night. Recreation.gov shows the exact price when you book. Senior and Access pass holders get 50% off camping fees; the pass must be in the name of the person on the reservation. A $5-per-person walk-in camp is kept for hikers and cyclists arriving without a vehicle, including Pacific Crest Trail hikers.

Campfires

Wood fires only in the site's fire ring, and not during fire bans. Firewood is sold at the store. If you bring your own, it must come from Oregon, Washington or Idaho or be labeled "Approved Pest Free." Dead wood can be gathered only below 6,900 feet; never cut standing trees.

Lost Creek Campground

Lost Creek, 3 miles down Pinnacles Road off East Rim Drive, is closed for all of 2026. In a normal year it has 16 tent-only sites ($5 a night, cash or check only), no water, portable toilets, no wood fires and no RVs, trailers or vans with toilets. It usually opens around July 1, once the snow is cleared from the road, and closes in mid-October.

Park rules

• 6 people and 2 vehicles per site at Mazama (8 at Lost Creek).
• 30 days a year of camping in the park, no more than 14 days in a row.
• Food storage: food, garbage, coolers and toiletries go in your vehicle or the bear locker whenever you're not using them.
• Pets on a leash of 6 feet or shorter at the campsite and on paved areas.
• No camping in pullouts, picnic areas or parking lots anywhere in the park.
• Entrance is $30 per vehicle from May 22 to October 31 and $20 the rest of the year, good for 7 days; card or digital wallet only, no cash. An America the Beautiful pass covers it.

Backcountry camping

Crater Lake's backcountry is open to camping all year, but not like ordinary dispersed camping:

• A free backcountry permit is required for every overnight trip. Get it in person at the ranger station at park headquarters (self-registration is open around the clock), no more than a day ahead. No phone or advance reservations.
• Camp at least 1 mile from maintained roads, at least 100 feet from water and meadows, and out of sight of trails and other campers.
• No camping inside the caldera, and in summer none along the rim or the main day-hiking trails.
• No campfires in the backcountry; camp stoves are fine.
• Up to 8 people per group.
• From November to May, rim camping is allowed with a permit if you stay at least 100 feet back from the caldera edge.

Campgrounds near Crater Lake

Union Creek and Farewell Bend (21 miles west)

On the Rogue River west of the park, both mostly reservable from mid-May to early October:

• Union Creek: 73 sites for tents and small RVs (28 ft max), vault toilets.
• Farewell Bend: 61 tent and RV sites (40 ft max).
• Natural Bridge, 2 miles south of Union Creek: 17 first-come sites (up to 30 ft), no water, open into mid-November.

Diamond Lake (25 miles north)

25 miles north of park headquarters when the park's North Entrance road is open. The Umpqua National Forest runs three big campgrounds on the lake, listed as reservation-only on Recreation.gov:

• Diamond Lake: 238 sites (35 ft max), showers, late May to late October.
• Broken Arrow: about 120 sites plus group sites (32 ft max), late May to mid-September.
• Thielsen View: 60 sites (35 ft max), vault toilets, early June to late October.

Prospect, Fort Klamath and Chiloquin

• Abbott Creek (7 mi north of Prospect): 25 first-come sites, RVs up to 60 ft, no water, late May to mid-September. River Bridge (4 mi north of Prospect): 11 first-come sites, up to 25 ft.
• Collier Memorial State Park (Hwy 97 north of Chiloquin, 33 mi south): 46 RV sites with hookups and 18 tent sites, showers, May–September.
• Jackson F. Kimball State Recreation Site (near Fort Klamath): 10 primitive first-come sites plus 2 horse sites, vault toilets, no water; Oregon State Parks lists camping from May 15 to November 1.

Sno-parks

Annie Creek (1/4 mile south of the park on Hwy 62, Fort Klamath side), Thousand Springs (14 miles west of park headquarters) and Farewell Bend (Union Creek) allow overnight parking and camping, with vault toilets and no water. Free May to October; an Oregon sno-park permit is required November to April.

RV parks with hookups near Crater Lake

Mazama has only 18 sites with power, so RVers who need hookups often look outside the park:

If you'd rather sleep in a bed, see where to stay at Crater Lake.