Free camping near Crater Lake National Park

The park has one campground open, and it fills in summer. The free ones are down in the forest, an hour and a half away.

Published November 2026

It’s an evening in August. You’ve stood at the rim and looked down at the bluest water you’ve ever seen. Now you need somewhere to sleep.

In 2026 the park has one campground open. Mazama, near the south entrance, has 214 sites. About three in four can be booked ahead, and in July and August they go fast. The other campground in the park, Lost Creek, is closed this year.

So you head down the mountain. The national forests around the park have campgrounds that cost nothing. You can’t book them, and none of them is close.

Here is what to know before you go.

1. You can’t sleep just anywhere in the park

Inside Crater Lake, you camp at Mazama or nowhere. You can’t sleep in a parking lot or pull off the road for the night.

Backpackers are the one exception. They need a permit. It’s free, but you collect it in person at park headquarters, and you have to camp at least a mile from your car.

Outside the park, the forest is a different story. The free campgrounds below are run by the Forest Service. At five of the six, each site has a picnic table and a fire ring.

2. Pick your side of the park

The free campgrounds lie east and south of the lake. Most are near Chemult, a small town on Highway 97, or near Chiloquin and Upper Klamath Lake.

Which one is quickest depends on the time of year. Corral Springs, Boundary Springs and Jackson Creek are closest through the north entrance. That road is only open from early summer until the first of November, or sooner if the snow comes early.

The rest of the year, you leave by the south entrance, and those three are much further. The list at the bottom gives both times. Scott Creek and Odessa are the nearest all year round.

Scott Creek looks close on the map, but the way in follows forest roads. It’s 38 miles and takes about an hour and a half. If you tow, read how to check a dirt road first.

3. Bring your water, and fill up the tank

None of the six has drinking water. Bring all you’ll need for the stay, plus some spare.

Chemult has a truck stop with fuel and food. Chiloquin has a fuel station and a store too. Inside the park, the store at Mazama Village sells groceries, camping supplies and firewood. It has showers, and it sells fuel from mid-May to mid-October.

Each campground has a vault toilet. That’s a toilet over a pit, with no water. Carry out your trash.

4. Plan for bugs, smoke and cold

June and July are mosquito months, in the park and in the forest around it. Bring repellent, and a tent you can zip shut.

From July to September, smoke from wildfires often drifts in. On smoky days the view across the lake turns hazy. Check the air before a long drive, and have a second day in hand if you can.

The rim is at about 7,100 feet. The campgrounds are 2,000 to 3,000 feet lower, so they’re a little milder, but nights in the forest are still cold. Pack something warm, even in August.

5. Check the fire rules and the roads in the park

In summer the Fremont-Winema National Forest limits fires. In 2026 you could only light one in the metal ring at a named campground, from June until November. Check the forest’s current alerts before you strike a match.

Getting into the park costs $30 per car from late May to the end of October, and $20 the rest of the year. The pass lasts seven days.

In 2026 you can’t drive all the way around the lake. Eight miles of the east side of Rim Drive are closed for building work, probably until 2027. The trail down to the water at Cleetwood Cove is closed until 2028.

The park gets about 41 feet of snow a year. The road up to Rim Village from the south stays open all winter, except in the worst storms. Forest roads to the campgrounds may not, so check before you set out in the cold months.

6. Leave the site the way you found it

• Use the fire ring at your site, and only when the rules allow it.
• Keep your car on the parking spot, off the plants around it.
• You can stay up to 14 days at one place.
• In the fall, hunters use most of these campgrounds. Wear something bright if you walk in the woods.

Free campsites in this guide near Crater Lake

Distances are by road from Rim Village. Times on forest roads are rough guesses.

• Scott Creek: 38 miles, about 1 hr 26 min. Six sites under pine and fir, beside a small creek with trout in it.
• Corral Springs: 45 miles, about 1 hr 25 min through the north entrance, or 84 miles, about 2 hr 13 min, when it’s closed. Five sites in lodgepole pine, just north of Chemult. A spring-fed creek runs through it.
• Odessa: 51 miles, about 1 hr 28 min. Six sites on the west side of Upper Klamath Lake, with a small boat ramp. Good for birds.
• Boundary Springs: 61 miles, about 1 hr 44 min through the north entrance, or 100 miles, about 2 hr 33 min, when it’s closed. A small, bare campground near Crescent, used most by hunters and ATV riders.
• Head of the River: 66 miles, about 2 hr 11 min. Five sites where the Williamson River rises from springs. Known for fly fishing.
• Jackson Creek: 71 miles, about 1 hr 54 min through the north entrance, or 81 miles, about 2 hr 9 min, when it’s closed. Spread-out sites under old ponderosa pine, beside a creek. Quiet and out of the way.

Important: roads, fire rules and closures around Crater Lake change every season. Before you go, check the park’s current conditions page and the national forest’s alerts.