Ochoco Forest Camp
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
- Season
- May 15 – October 15Open May 15 through October 15
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 6 notices
In the agency’s own words
Ochoco Forest Camp is nestled in the Ochoco Mountain range near the 6,926-foot Lookout Mountain, which is known for its unusual rock formations. The pavilion offers a large group picnic area and several campsites. A small meadow and group fire ring with BBQ is popular for weddings and family reunions. Wild horses are sometimes seen near the camp and surrounding area. Keep reading
Recreation
The shelter is close to the Lookout Mountain Trail, which climbs to the top of the mountain and offers terrific views of the Cascades and meadow wildflowers in the spring. This trail is open to hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders. However, horses are not allowed at the pavilion and campground. Anglers can also go fishing for trout in nearby Walton Lake.
Facilities
The large picnic shelter sits in a quiet and secluded location at the far end of the campground. Groups of up to 125 people can enjoy picnicking and other recreational activities. Picnic tables and grills are provided at the shelter, and drinking water and vault toilets are available in the campground as well. Electricity is provided only for pavilion use and not compatible as a RV hookup. Several first-come, first-served campsites are available for visitors wishing to spend the night.
Natural Features
Much of the area is dominated by old-growth Ponderosa pine. Wildlife include Rocky Mountain elk and mule deer, as well as several bird species that include white-headed woodpecker, belted kingfisher, spotted sandpiper, cinnamon teal, American coot, Steller's jay, yellow-headed blackbird and Brewer's blackbird. Wild horses are commonly seen in the area. Excellent hiking, mt biking, and horse riding is available on the trails nearby.
Nearby Attractions
Walton Lake offers a variety of activities for day-use visitors. There is a swimming beach, fishing pier and boat ramp, and the lake is stocked with rainbow trout. There is exellent trail hiking and mt. biking at Lookout Mt and Round Mt. trails.
What the agency tells you
Maximum capacity of picnic shelter is 125 people for overnight accomodations.
Click here for more information about Ochoco National Forest
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.
Everything else this campground posts · 3
Electricity provided is limited at the pavilion only. Not to be used for RV's.
Off Highway Vehicles (OHVs) and horses are not allowed at the pavilion or campground.
Check-in Time is 2:00pm and Check-out time is 12:00pm
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 group, 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 1 of 1 campsite records
- Drinking water
- Yes
- DRINKING WATER on 1 of 1 campsite records
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Beach, Meadow
- Biking
- Birding
- Hiking
- Information Site
- Mountain biking
- 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 OCHOCO FOREST CAMP | 001 | group shelter nonelectric | 236 ftOchoco Creek | 1,223 ft | $125 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Ochoco Ranger RentalOchoco National Forest · 0.1 mi
Walton LakeOchoco National Forest · 5.0 miWhite Rock CampgroundOchoco National Forest · 6.2 mi
Ochoco Divide Group SiteOchoco National Forest · 7.4 miWhistler CampgroundOchoco National Forest · 7.4 miWildwood CampgroundOchoco National Forest · 7.4 miFrom Prineville, Oregon, take Highway 26 north for 16 miles. Turn right on Ochoco Ranger Station Road and go 9 miles to the Ranger Station, then turn left onto Forest Service Road 2610, proceed across the small bridge and take a right into the Forest Camp fee station. Continue on to the pavilion group site, follow signs.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Juniper Canyon, OR
Typical weather
Typical October night 37°F, day 62°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical October night 37°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
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
Ochoco Forest Camp 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 →