Paulina Lake

Paulina Lake Campground
Little Crater Campground

Month and year visited:  

Paulina Lake CG August 2014, Little Crater August 2015

Campsite: Private or State: Forest Service

Hook Ups: None.  Vault toilets, potable water.  Dump station nearby.

All distances are from Bend Oregon: 37 miles o/w

Amenities: Boat ramps/boat rental.  Lodge/Restaurant/Marina/Store at Paulina Lake.  Small store at East Lake.  Popular fishing and boating location.  10 MPH speed limit.

Rates (at time of posting): $180 per night.  Book through Reservations.gov.

The Good:

Paulina Lake, and its twin East Lake, are quite simply lovely places to visit.  It is easily doable as a day trip for Bend residents.  But, even for a local, it’s still fun to go up there and camp.

Paulina Lake campground is the first campsite past the turn off for the lodge and within walking distance.  The campsites are spacious and very pleasant.  Although the sites are not directly on the lake, it’s only a few steps away.  Due to the lake speed limit, it tends to attract the fishing community, kayaking etc.  Therefore, you’re unlikely to encounter rowdiness.  From the campsite, you can join the hiking trail for a picturesque seven mile hike around Paulina Lake.  Not to mention other hikes in the area, including the rim trail and Paulina Peak.

Little Crater campground is a mile or so down the road.  It does have some sites on the lake itself.  But all the sites have at least a partial view of the lake.  If you can get into Little Crater, you’ll love it, but Paulina Lake CG is by no means a consolation prize.

East Lake also has a campsite that is similar to Little Crater.  The only reason we haven’t camped there is, there’s no hiking trail around East Lake.  However, once we get our dinghy tow vehicle situation figured out, I see no reason not to give it a try.

The Bad:

This area can be pretty tough during mosquito season.  Some of the campsites at Little Crater are short, others not very level.  If you’ve never been to the area, you might want to stay at Paulina Lake CG the first time, and scope out the others while you’re there.  They charge $10 for the dump station, which seems high to me (not a deal breaker).  Forget trying to get a cell signal, it’s a real dead zone.

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