Little Crater Lake Campground — Hotel in Sandy

Excellent experience camping here this past weekend. I reserved my spot ahead of time and was glad I did - going up on a Saturday, there wasnt much available. I left on Monday, and availability was still scarce, so best to book ahead, particularly in summer.

The campground is very quiet - after turning towards Timothy Lake, you take an additional right down a smaller Forest Service Road (which, while paved, has some major potholes, so drive carefully!) and drive for a couple more miles before winding up at the campground.

The sites are a good size, though some of them are fairly open and in view of other campsites, particularly sites 2 and 3 and 13 and 15, so keep that in mind.

There's no host on site, though one does stop by periodically throughout the day. If you're looking for firewood, best to buy it before getting to Mt Hood. That said, there is a gas station about 20 minutes away that sells wood if you're in a bind.

Close by is a very short trail that takes you to the beautiful Little Crater Lake. There's no swimming permitted, but it is a lovely site to behold. The trail continues and links up to the Pacific Crest Trail and Timothy Lake Trail if you're wanting a longer hike. Timothy Lake itself and the numerous Day Use Areas around there are about a 20 minute drive away from the campsite.

On the whole, a great spot to do some camping and to serve as a base for exploring the...

Place was packed for memorial day weekend. Stayed in site 10. Sites are quite close and there were 5 tents within my sight. So not a lot of privacy. Other campers were loud way past the quiet hour, contributing to lack of sense of the wild, but gave it a feel of happy people celebrating. If you wish for more privacy, take one of the sites that is not within the circle but on the north side. Day use was packed as well. The hike to the lake is short and beautiful, lots of birds singing, flowers haven't opened yet, other than some patches of purple in the wet fields of green. The lake itself is smaller than imagined and really is just a pond. Peaceful and serene nonetheless. I went close to sunset so I didn't get to see the turquoise blue but a reflection of the trees on the mirror surface of the lake. Come when the sun is high if you want to see into the lake. The restrooms were ok, and the was no toilet paper. It's a short walk from the campground to get water from a pump, and it goes over a cattle guard so you can't bring your dogs. At night, the frog sounds filled the air, and in the early morning hours, birds started to make noises and it was pretty loud. Overall, it was a nice experience, just wished for more privacy and less people, but that is outrageous to ask for Memorial...

The campground offers several sites more suitable for tents or small trailers than larger RVs, making sites more available. There is a lovely meadow adjacent to the campground, seasonally speckled with wildflowers but unfortunately a spawning ground for thirsty mosquitoes. Trees provide some privacy, and the sites are a short walk to t Little Crater Lake, a liquid sapphire of a spring not far from the Pacific Crest Trail. The lost star is for the missing host and poor maintenance. Campgrounds up the road at Timothy Lake—serviced by a different vendor and with rates a mere dollar higher—are clean and well run. Despite the campground’s heavy day use due to its proximity to the namesake lake and the PCT, the camp host is apparently posted at another site some distance away. This was quite apparent in the state of the restrooms and lack of any appropriate trash facilities. This is a pleasant area with nice sites, but a tad overpriced for what you...