Big Lake
1Heads up1 fire 5.3 mi away
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- A night
- $28From, per site
- Sites
- 5548 on recreation.gov
- Season
- May 1 – September 30Open May 1 through September 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 14 notices
In the agency’s own words
This campground provides 49 single campsites. There are both reservable and FCFS sites. The original campsites within Big Lake are in two loops, (sites #1-14 and #15-20) which have eight or so sites with frontage on the lake shore. In 1992 additional campsites were opened (sites #21-49) on a long straight stretch from the boat launch towards Big Lake West. These sites have larger and wider parking spurs, and most sites use stairs to access the table, fire rings and tent pad below the parking spur. Sites can accommodate trailers up to 35 feet in length, depending on site. Keep reading
Drinking water is provided by a water system, built in 1993, which serves the entire Big Lake complex by filtering water drawn from the lake and distributing it to the campgrounds. There are three single vault toilets, and two double vault toilets in the campground. The extra vehicle parking area consists of a boat launch, picnic area, and parking for approximately 15 vehicles and boat trailers. All of these day use facilities are located in the middle of the campground, between the original loops and the "expansion" campsites. *Day Use Fee for day users/boat launch. Extra Vehicle Fee for campers with more than 1 vehicle. Campfires allowed until and unless otherwise posted. Fire bans are common during summer months. Please plan accordingly. If paying for FCFS sites with a Credit Card, a Remote Offline Kiosk (ROK) is offered at this campground. There are no refunds, modifications, cancellations, or other fee changes allowed with ROK payments. This system is the same as putting cash into a fee tube and cannot be refunded. This system does not show site availability and you must check that the site is available prior to making payment. Reservations may be made up to 6 months in advance of arrival date by reserving online at RECREATION.GOV or by calling 877-444-6777.
Recreation
Water skiing, sailing and swimming are among the favorite activities at the lake. The Patjens Lakes Trail offers excellent hiking opportunities. The trail follows the western side of Big Lake, heads south into the Mt. Washington Wilderness, passes alongside the scenic Patjens Lakes, and then loops back to the campground.
Facilities
Big Lake Campground offers 49 spacious campsites for tent or RV camping. Drinking water, vault toilets and a boat ramp are provided.
Natural Features
Nearby Attractions The major activities in the Big Lake area revolve around motorized use. Boats frequent the lake and off highway vehicles (OHVs) us the adjacent Santiam Pass Motorized Recreation Area. Other attractions include Mt. Washington Wilderness and associated access trails, historic Santiam Wagon Road, McKenzie Pass-Santiam Pass National Scenic Byway, Pacific Crest Trail, and Sand Mountain Lookout. Water skiing, sailing and swimming are among the favorite activities at the lake. The Patjens Lakes Trail offers excellent hiking opportunities. The trail follows the western side of Big Lake, heads south into the Mt. Washington Wilderness, passes alongside the scenic Patjens Lakes, and then loops back to the campground. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (541) 967-3917.
What the agency tells you
Be bear aware; keep all food out of sight in approved containers or locked inside your vehicle and remove all food from area after eating
There are no electric site hook-ups at this facility
First-come, first-served sites may be available
Everything else this campground posts · 11
A fee, of $10 per extra vehicle per night, will be charged for all additional vehicles at your campsite.
A day use fee, of $10, will be collected on site.
Don't Move Firewood: Please protect Pacific Northwest forests by preventing the spread of invasive species. Firewood can carry insects and diseases that can threaten the health of our western forests. You can make a difference by obtaining and burning your firewood near your camping destination. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.
No discharging firearms, possession of fireworks or use of chainsaws allowed
Be sure to reserve a site that will accommodate your equipment. The site you reserve is your site. You may not move to another site.
Be prepared for Mosquitoes; they tend to be most abundant in June.
If paying for FCFS sites with a Credit Card, a Remote Offline Kiosk (ROK) is offered at this campground. There are no refunds, modifications, cancellations, or other fee changes allowed with ROK payments. This system is the same as putting cash into a fee tube and cannot be refunded. This system does not show site availability and you must check that the site is available prior to making payment.
Campfires allowed until and unless otherwise posted. Fire bans are common during summer months. Please plan accordingly.
Check-In 2:00PM
Check-Out 12:00PM
Firewood and Ice available for purchase, at this facility, while supplies last.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 55 · 2 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 78 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 5 of 56 campsite records
- Drinking water
- Yes
- DRINKING WATER on 6 of 56 campsite records
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake
- Biking
- Boating
- Hiking
- Non-Motorized Boating
- OHV riding
- Swimming
- Water Skiing
- Night sky · 443rd darkest of 770 in OR
- Bortle 2
Full this Saturdayread 14:47 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 19 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 32 are free on Tue, Oct 20. read 14:47 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 14
What you actually pay
“A fee, of $10 per extra vehicle per night, will be charged for all additional vehicles at your campsite.” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $28 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 14:47 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
56 records · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 43 mapped sitesAll 56 records
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 44 of the 56 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 55 of the 56 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| A LOOP | 001 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 65 ft | 103 ft | 2,507 ft | $28 |
| A LOOP | 002 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 78 ft | 157 ft | 2,596 ft | $28 |
| A LOOP | 003 | standard nonelectric | 33 ft | 72 ft | 164 ft | 2,676 ft | $28 |
| A LOOP | 004 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 72 ft | 219 ft | 2,665 ft | $28 |
| A LOOP | 005 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 61 ft | 243 ft | 2,746 ft | $28 |
| A LOOP | 006 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 61 ft | 296 ft | 2,761 ft | $28 |
| A LOOP | 007 | standard nonelectric | 60 ft | 67 ft | 287 ft | 2,826 ft | $28 |
| A LOOP | 008 | standard nonelectric | 15 ft | 87 ft | 220 ft | 2,882 ft | $28 |
| A LOOP | 009 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 59 ft | 134 ft | 2,876 ft | $28 |
| A LOOP | 010 | standard nonelectric | 21 ft | 59 ft | 83 ft | 2,849 ft | $28 |
| A LOOP | 011 | standard nonelectric | 49 ft | 80 ft | 84 ft | 2,769 ft | $28 |
| A LOOP | 012 | standard nonelectric | 41 ft | 80 ft | 93 ft | 2,692 ft | $28 |
| A LOOP | 013 | standard nonelectric | 49 ft | 97 ft | 68 ft | 2,593 ft | $28 |
| A LOOP | 014 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 65 ft | 39 ft | 2,447 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 022 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 253 ft | 134 ft | 1,313 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 023 | type not stated | $28 | ||||
| AREA BIG LAKE | 023 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | $28 | |||
| AREA BIG LAKE | 024 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 80 ft | 115 ft | 1,073 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 025 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 80 ft | 121 ft | 994 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 026 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 109 ft | 136 ft | 886 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 027 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 63 ft | 164 ft | 759 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 028 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 63 ft | 195 ft | 698 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 029 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 83 ft | 180 ft | 560 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 030 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 83 ft | 156 ft | 483 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 031 | type not stated | 186 ft | 404 ft | $28 | ||
| AREA BIG LAKE | 032 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 306 ft | 124 ft | 270 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 033 | type not stated | $28 | ||||
| AREA BIG LAKE | 033 | standard nonelectric | 23 ft | $28 | |||
| AREA BIG LAKE | 034 | type not stated | $28 | ||||
| AREA BIG LAKE | 034 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | $28 | |||
| AREA BIG LAKE | 035 | type not stated | $28 | ||||
| AREA BIG LAKE | 035 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | $28 | |||
| AREA BIG LAKE | 036 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | $28 | |||
| AREA BIG LAKE | 036 | type not stated | $28 | ||||
| AREA BIG LAKE | 037 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 97 ft | 106 ft | 171 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 038 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 73 ft | 98 ft | 261 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 039 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 73 ft | 124 ft | 328 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 040 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | 103 ft | 189 ft | 429 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 041 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 103 ft | 120 ft | 515 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 042 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 86 ft | 91 ft | 585 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 043 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 86 ft | 82 ft | 651 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 044 | tent only nonelectric | 23 ft | 95 ft | 83 ft | 726 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 045 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 132 ft | 87 ft | 849 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 046 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 72 ft | 139 ft | 984 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 047 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 72 ft | 152 ft | 1,055 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 048 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 76 ft | 126 ft | 1,131 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | 049 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 78 ft | 117 ft | 1,195 ft | $28 |
| AREA BIG LAKE | XXX | unnamed record | 20 ft | $28 | |||
| B LOOP | 015 | standard nonelectric | 22 ft | 58 ft | 82 ft | 2,159 ft | $28 |
| B LOOP | 016 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 51 ft | 132 ft | 2,100 ft | $28 |
| B LOOP | 017 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 51 ft | 82 ft | 2,133 ft | $28 |
| B LOOP | 018 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 52 ft | 120 ft | 2,075 ft | $28 |
| B LOOP | 019 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 52 ft | 74 ft | 2,104 ft | $28 |
| B LOOP | 020 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 61 ft | 49 ft | 1,992 ft | $28 |
| B LOOP | 021 | standard nonelectric | 78 ft | 61 ft | 98 ft | 1,995 ft | $28 |
| S&P | Standard S&P | type not stated | 30 ft | $28 |
The agency files 1 more record here that isn’t a site for the night. It types it MANAGEMENT rather than a campsite. It’s in the table above, marked for what it is, and it isn’t counted as a site.
25 of 56 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Big Lake West CampgroundWillamette National Forest · 0.7 miLost Lake CampgroundWillamette National Forest · 4.1 mi
Lost Lake - Willamette (OR)Willamette National Forest · 4.2 mi
Cold Water Cove - Willamette NF (OR)Willamette National Forest · 5.9 miCold Water Cove CampgroundWillamette National Forest · 6.0 mi
Link CreekDeschutes National Forest · 6.3 miFrom Eugene, Oregon, take I-105 east to McKenzie Highway 126. Travel east on 126 for 90 miles to Santiam Pass. At the top of the Pass, turn right onto the access road (sign says Hoodoo Ski Area, Big Lake Road, & Benson Sno-Park). Travel one mile to the fork in the road and stay left on Forest Service Road 2690. Continue for 2 miles to the entrance to Big Lake Campground on the left.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Black Butte Ranch, OR
Typical weather
Typical May night 36°F, day 63°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical May night 36°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Big Lake is in Oregon’s 5th congressional district. Its representative, Janelle Bynum (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyJanelle S. BynumU.S. Representative · Oregon’s 5th district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationJeff MerkleyU.S. Senator · Oregon
- Your senator, on the same appropriationRon WydenU.S. Senator · Oregon
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Big Lake, Willamette National Forest, Oregon
Dear Janelle S. Bynum, I’m a constituent in Oregon’s 5th district. I tried to camp at Big Lake, Willamette National Forest, Oregon, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 48 of the 55 campsites the agency files at Big Lake, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 19 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Big Lake keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Big Lake. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Big Lake (Willamette National Forest, Oregon) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Big Lake, Willamette National Forest, Oregon
Dear Jeff Merkley, I’m a constituent in Oregon. I tried to camp at Big Lake, Willamette National Forest, Oregon, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 48 of the 55 campsites the agency files at Big Lake, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 19 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Big Lake keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Big Lake. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Big Lake (Willamette National Forest, Oregon) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Big Lake, Willamette National Forest, Oregon
Dear Ron Wyden, I’m a constituent in Oregon. I tried to camp at Big Lake, Willamette National Forest, Oregon, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 48 of the 55 campsites the agency files at Big Lake, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 19 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Big Lake keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Big Lake. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Big Lake (Willamette National Forest, Oregon) via campanac.com