Lazy Bend
3Heads up3 fires, nearest 6 mi
- Right now
- Closedrecreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend, read 16:04 UTC
- Sites
- 22In the agency’s record
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 4 notices
In the agency’s own words
Campground closed due to the 2020 Riverside Wildfire Lazy Bend Campground sits next to the Wild and Scenic Clackamas River, close to the city of Estacada. The adjacent river provides countless opportunities for rafting, kayaking, fishing and swimming. The lush, green campground is comfortable for individuals and families who want to escape into nature in Oregon's Mt. Hood National Forest. Keep reading
Recreation
Fishing is very popular on the Clackamas River. Anglers can expect a catch of winter steelhead, spring Chinook and late summer Coho salmon, as well as other species of freshwater fish. The Clackamas bends and drops through the scenic Cascade Range and offers famous whitewater rafting opportunities. The Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival is held annually in May and attracts rafters from all over the country. A hiking trail follows the river north and south and begins at nearby Fish Creek Campground. A boat ramp is also available there. Scenic driving is available on the West Cascades Scenic Byway, which follows the river.
Facilities
The campground offers single-family sites, most of which are designated for tent camping only. A few RV sites are available within the campground, though large RVs are not recommended and no hookups are available. Each site is equipped with a table and campfire ring with grill. Accessible vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Some sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Natural Features
The campground is the forest's westernmost campground, situated at an elevation of 800 feet. It lies between the river and the adjacent highway, nestled among a dense stand of trees. Huckleberry bushes can be found throughout the region. The forest provides habitat for the federally protected bald eagle and northern spotted owl, as well as an occasional peregrine falcon. A variety of wildlife makes its home in the area.
Nearby Attractions
North Fork Reservoir is just over 5 miles northeast of the campground. Boating and other water-related recreation opportunities are available there. The campground is 10 miles from Estacada, which offers a variety of dining and shopping options, groceries and fuel.
What the agency tells you
In accordance with standard industry practices, Mount Hood Recreation will be assessing a $8 additional vehicle fee on the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle in any double family campsite, provided these vehicles are not joined to the first vehicle by a hitch and towed onto the site. In the case of motorcycles, the first two are considered as one vehicle for determining additional vehicle fees. The third and fourth motorcycle would also be considered as one vehicle. No additional vehicle fees are collected for bicycles.
Off-road vehicle use is prohibited within the campground
Click here for more information on Mt. Hood National Forest
Everything else this campground posts · 1
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
- 22 · 15 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 23 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…and campfire ring with grill. Accessible vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Some sites are…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…with grill. Accessible vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Some sites are available on a…”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir, River, Creek
- Boating
- Fishing
- Water sports
- Night sky · 764th darkest of 770 in OR
- Bortle 4
- Fall color · reported 6 days ago, 18 km away
- Patchy color
Nothing to book until it reopensread 16:04 UTC
recreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend
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.
Tell me when it reopens
Watch for it to come back
One email when the agency reopens it, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check the agency’s own record once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time it stops saying closed.
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.
Every line of the receipt · 9
What you actually pay
“In accordance with standard industry practices, Mount Hood Recreation will be assessing a $8 additional vehicle fee on the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle in any doub…” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice
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 · 4
Why this page can’t say why
recreation.gov lists every site at Lazy Bend closed this Friday and Saturday night. The U.S. Forest Service has published no closure notice we hold, so this page can’t say why, and it won’t fill the gap with a guess. A closed night isn’t a sold-out one: the reservations its record still carries were taken before the sites were closed.
There’s no notice to quote and no reason to argue with, so this page offers you the watch and the list below, and no letter.
Open within 60 miles · 4
The agency’s own word that these are open, not our reading of a season.
- Elk Lake CampgroundMt. Hood National Forest · 26 mi · walk-up
- Fox Creek Group CampWillamette National Forest · 29 mi · 1 site
- Marion Forks Campground and Day Use AreaWillamette National Forest · 42 mi · walk-up
- Sunset Falls CampgroundGifford Pinchot National Forest · 43 mi · 18 sites
recreation.gov availability, read 16:04 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · record Aug 23, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
22 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 18 mapped sitesAll 22 sites
| AREA LAZY BEND | 001 | standard nonelectric | 23 ft | 210 ft | 15 ft |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 002 | standard nonelectric | 23 ft | 160 ft | 177 ftSmall Fry Lake |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 003 | standard nonelectric | 23 ft | ||
| AREA LAZY BEND | 004 | tent only nonelectric | |||
| AREA LAZY BEND | 005 | tent only nonelectric | 176 ft | 359 ftClackamas River | |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 006 | tent only nonelectric | 176 ft | 271 ftClackamas River | |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 007 | tent only nonelectric | 177 ft | 248 ftClackamas River | |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 008 | tent only nonelectric | 177 ft | 269 ftSmall Fry Lake | |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 009 | standard nonelectric | 23 ft | 118 ft | under 10 ftSmall Fry Lake |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 010 | standard nonelectric | 23 ft | 118 ft | 16 ftSmall Fry Lake |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 011 | standard nonelectric | 23 ft | 160 ft | 165 ft |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 013 | tent only nonelectric | 244 ft | 145 ftClackamas River | |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 014 | tent only nonelectric | 135 ft | 100 ftClackamas River | |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 015 | tent only nonelectric | 135 ft | 63 ftClackamas River | |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 016 | tent only nonelectric | 150 ft | 60 ftClackamas River | |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 017 | tent only nonelectric | 163 ft | 78 ftClackamas River | |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 018 | tent only nonelectric | 149 ft | 117 ftClackamas River | |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 019 | tent only nonelectric | 149 ft | 148 ftClackamas River | |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 020 | tent only nonelectric | |||
| AREA LAZY BEND | 021 | tent only nonelectric | 155 ft | 117 ftClackamas River | |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 022 | tent only nonelectric | 217 ft | 48 ftClackamas River | |
| AREA LAZY BEND | 023 | type not stated |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
LockabyMt. Hood National Forest · 3.3 mi
ArmstrongMt. Hood National Forest · 3.3 mi
Fish Creek (OR)Mt. Hood National Forest · 3.4 miFish Creek Campground/Day UseMt. Hood National Forest · 3.5 mi
Roaring RiverMt. Hood National Forest · 5.1 miFrom Estacada, travel east on Highway 224 for just over 10 miles to the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Estacada, OR
Typical weather
Typical October night 45°F, day 65°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 35°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
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
Lazy Bend 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 →