Clackamas Lake Historic Cabin
4Heads up4 fires, nearest 11 mi
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices
In the agency’s own words
Clackamas Lake Historic Cabin gives campers an old-fashioned cabin experience with its well-preserved features, including a massive rock chimney, knot-free interior paneling and hand-wrought iron work. It provides access to a number of outdoor recreation opportunities as well as its namesake lake. Keep reading
Recreation
Clackamas Lake is a great place for fishing, swimming and non-motorized boating. Anglers can expect a catch of cutthroat, brook, rainbow and some German brown trout. A variety of wildlife make its home in the area as well. Nearby, the 1,400-acre Timothy Lake provides opportunities for picnicking as well as water-related recreation, including the use of power boats. Hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding are also enjoyed by visitors to the area. The 2.2-mile Miller Trail begins in the neighboring campground and connects trekkers to the lengthy but scenic Pacific Crest Trail, which extends more than 2,650 miles, from Canada to Mexico. Additional trails, to scenic Little Crater Lake and to the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness area, are also available in the area. A Northwest Forest Pass or Mount Hood Recreation day use fees are in effect at nearby trails and sites.
Facilities
The 1,300 square-foot, two-story cabin has a living room, kitchen, dining area, sunroom, bathroom with flush toilets and a shower, and three bedrooms with beds and mattresses. The cabin can accommodate up to eight people. The kitchen is equipped with a propane cook stove and oven, refrigerator, cooking pots and pans, and cooking and eating utensils and dishes. The cabin is heated by a fireplace insert in the living room. Firewood is provided. Hot and cold running water is always available. The cabin has propane lighting available from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and again from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Propane lanterns provide interior light outside of these hours. A rustic generator does not allow use of any plug-in electrical appliances, such as TVs, stereos, DVD players, computer, hair dryers, etc. Guests will need to bring sleeping bags or bedding, towels and wash cloths, food and personal gear, as well as a flashlight or lantern for emergencies, a first aid kit, insect repellent, sunscreen and dish soap, among other necessities. Please bring garbage bags and clean the facility before leaving. This is a "Pack it in, Pack it out" site. Guests can access the cabin by vehicle, as it is open from just before Memorial Day weekend through October each year. Snow conditions may impact travel. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety.
Natural Features
This historically significant, two-story cabin was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933 to house workers. It is a classic example of the Forest Service rustic architectural style of Depression Era administration buildings. Across the road is the old District Ranger's office, which is now a two-room visitor center. The cabin is located a quarter-mile from the small, 3-acre Clackamas Lake and just 3 miles from the larger Timothy Lake, at an elevation of 3,400 feet. It is surrounded by tall trees and is part of a 4-acre compound and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (971) 610-5212.
Nearby Attractions
The cabin is less than 40 miles from Mt. Hood, where a historic lookout provides scenic views of the snow-capped mountain. Hiking and year-round skiing is also available there. The nearest store is in the town of Wapinitia, which is 15 miles away on Highway 26.
What the agency tells you
The cabin remains locked; access codes will be sent in your confirmation letter and should be brought with you to the site. The host at Clackamas Lake campground is available should you have any questions or concerns during your stay.
Horses, domestic livestock and pets are not allowed on the premises. Dogs may not be left in cars on the premises. Violators will be evicted and cited under federal regulations.
Parking is limited to four vehicles; driveway is 80 feet long and 10 feet wide
Everything else this campground posts · 9
Candles are prohibited within the cabin
RVs are not allowed on site
Please contact the Zigzag Ranger District prior to departing for the cabin, to check on any restrictions or conditions, such as fire or road closures, weather or storms that may affect the quality of your visit
There is no smoking allowed in the cabin.
Visitors must clean the facility before leaving.
This is a federally owned historic cabin. Renters may be cited for damage to the facilities.
Fire Restrictions: Fire restrictions may be imposed at any time due to hot, dry weather conditions, at which time campfires and charcoal fires may not be allowed.
Refunds: Refund requests made through www.recreation.gov will be charged a $10 processing fee. This fee is retained by the reservation service contractor along with the non-refundable reservation fee. All requests for the return of the non-refundable reservation fee and the cancellation fee will be declined by the campground concessionaire as they did not receive these fees (these are the fees retained by the reservation contractor, a different entity).
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.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…room, kitchen, dining area, sunroom, bathroom with flush toilets and a shower, and three bedrooms with beds and…”
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- “Facilities The 1,300 square-foot, two-story cabin has a living room, kitchen, dining area, sunroom, bathroom with flush toilets and a shower, and three bedrooms with beds and mattresses.”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
- Stay limit
- 7 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake
- Biking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Swimming
- Visitor center
- Wildlife viewing
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
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.
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 · 12
What you actually pay
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 · 5
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 1 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. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA CLACKAMAS LAKE HISTORIC CABIN | 001 | cabin nonelectric | 358 ft | 1,011 ft | $200 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Joe Graham Horse CampgroundMt. Hood National Forest · 0.2 mi
Clackamas LakeMt. Hood National Forest · 0.3 mi
Oak Fork Campground (Timothy Lake, OR)Mt. Hood National Forest · 1.5 mi
Gone Creek Campground (Timothy Lake, OR)Mt. Hood National Forest · 1.6 mi
Stone Creek Campground (Timothy Lake, OR)Mt. Hood National Forest · 1.8 mi
Hoodview Campground (Timothy Lake, OR)Mt. Hood National Forest · 2.1 miFrom Sandy, Oregon, travel east on Highway 26 for approximately 40 miles to Skyline Road (Road 42). Turn right on Skyline Road and travel south for 8.3 miles to the intersection of Forest Service Roads 42 and 57. Continue on Forest Service Road 42 for a quarter-mile. The Clackamas Lake Historic Ranger's Cabin is on the left.
Maps are available online or for purchase by calling the Zigzag Ranger District.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Government Camp, OR
Typical weather
Typical October night 37°F, day 53°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 26°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
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
Clackamas Lake Historic Cabin 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 →