Bolan Lake Campground
5Heads up5 fires, nearest 7 mi
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $10From, per site
- Sites
- 1514 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices
In the agency’s own words
Bolan Lake Campground sits along the shores of Bolan Lake, a 12-acre lake sitting high above the Illinois Valley. 14 campsites are in a dispersed camping area but are equipped with tables and fire pits. Large conifers provide shade in the heat of summer months, and the wildflowers are not to be missed in this area in the early summer. Bolan Lake Trail #1245, located within the campground, climbs up to the old fire lookout on Bolan Peak. The lookout is available for rent; reservations must be made at www.recreation.gov Recreation Recreation opportunities abound in this area including; hiking, fishing, wildflower viewing and stargazing. Keep reading
Facilities
Vault Toilets 14 Tent Camping Sites No Potable Water Picnic Tables and Fire Rings Available Natural Features Bolan Campground is a serene alpine site located on the shores of Bolan Lake. The surrounding area sustained substantial impacts from the 2020 Slater Fire, however the ring of tall conifers surrounding the lake mostly survived the fire. , Bolan Campground is a serene alpine site situated on the shores of 12-acre Bolan Lake. Nestled at roughly 5,300 feet elevation above the Illinois Valley, it features vibrant early summer wildflowers and sweeping panoramic views of the Siskiyou Mountains. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (541) 592-4000.
Nearby Attractions
Bolan Mountain Lookout, reservations available on Recreation.gov Bolan Lake Trail #1245 Kings Saddle Trail #1245A Red Buttes Wilderness access points including Tanner Lake Trail #1243 and Boundary Trail #1207 Charges & Cancellations This is a Scan and Pay campground . There are no refunds, modifications, cancellations, or other fee changes allowed with Scan and Pay payments. This system is the same as putting cash into a fee tube and cannot be refunded.
What the agency tells you
- First come, first serve camping, limited to 14 days.
- Day use area is reservable through calling the front desk at 541-592-4000.
- Campfires are allowed in developed Forest Service installed metal fire rings when conditions allow. Learn more about current fire information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/rogue-siskiyou/fire/info
Everything else this campground posts · 7
- Fireworks are prohibited.
- Camp trailers/RVs are allowed, however no electric or water hookups are available.
- OHV/ATV use prohibited in campground.
- Quiet hours between 10pm and 6am.
- Dogs must be on a leash.
- There is very limited cell phone coverage.
- Must pay via Scan & Pay onsite with the Recreation.gov app. App must be downloaded with cellular service prior to arriving at the campground.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 15
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…viewing and stargazing. Facilities Vault Toilets 14 Tent Camping Sites No Potable Water Picnic…”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…Vault Toilets 14 Tent Camping Sites No Potable Water Picnic Tables and Fire Rings Available Natural…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake
- Backpacking
- Boating
- Canoeing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Kayaking
- Non-Motorized Boating
- Stargazing
- Swimming
- Wilderness access
- Wildlife viewing
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 15:45 UTC
recreation.gov lists 14 of the 15 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 14
What you actually pay
“Additional Vehicle Fee: $5 per vehicle per day NOTE : 50% discount for Interagency Senior and Access Pass holders on a single campsite.” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $10 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.
“This is a Scan and Pay campground. There are no refunds, modifications, cancellations, or other fee changes allowed with Scan and Pay payments. This system is the same as putting cash into a fee tube and cannot be refunded.” · this campground’s own terms
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 · 7
recreation.gov availability, read 15:45 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
15 sites
All 15 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 15 of the 15 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Bolan Lake CG | 01 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | 02 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | 03 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | 04 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | 05 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | 06 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | 07 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | 08 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | 09 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | 10 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | 11 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | 12 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | 13 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | 14 | standard nonelectric | $10 |
| Bolan Lake CG | Extra Vehicle Fee | type not stated | $5 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
Bolan Mountain LookoutSiskiyou National Forest · 0.5 mi
Cave Creek CampgroundOregon Caves Protective Buffer Zone Protection Area (Administrative) · 6.2 miWest Branch CampgroundKlamath National Forest · 6.4 mi
Chinquapin Group CampgroundSiskiyou National Forest · 8.1 mi
Grayback Campground8.6 mi
Fort Goff CampgroundKlamath National Forest · 15 miFrom Cave Junction, OR, travel south on Highway 199 about 1 mile to Rockydale Road (1st left after crossing the river). Travel south to the end of Rockydale (about 7 miles), and turn left on Waldo / Happy Camp Road. Head east on the Happy Camp Road about 13 miles to Forest Road 4812, take Forest Road 4812 about 4.1 miles to junction with Forest Road 4812-040. The Campground is about another 4 miles.
The weather
the next four days
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Takilma, OR
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Bolan Lake Campground is in Oregon’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Cliff Bentz (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →