U.S. Forest Service · Deschutes National Forest · OR

Three Creeks Lake Campground

1Heads up1 fire 28 mi away
Wildfire
Summit fire · 28 mi away · 20 acres · updated Oct 17, 2026
ReservableOut of season, no booking; January 2 opens July 2.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Listed not openA database flag with no reason and no date
A night
$26From, per site
Sites
11All of them booked ahead
40 ftLongest rig
6,750 ftElevation
971 ftWater · an unnamed stream
12.5 miW of Bend, OR
41%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices

In the agency’s own words

Three Creeks Lake Campground is the last of four facilities located on Three Creeks Lake and provides campers with beautiful views of the water and surrounding nature. Keep reading

Recreation

Neighboring Driftwood Campground is at the head of the Tam McArthur Trail which is a short, reasonably easy hike that provides great views of the Sisters' Faith (North), Hope (Middle) and Charity (South). The Three Sisters are volcanic peaks and are the third-, fourth- and fifth-highest peaks in Oregon. Three Creeks Lake is easy to fish from shore or by wading, but boat fishing is the most popular method. Only non-motorized boating is allowed.

Facilities

Three Creeks Lake Campground can accommodate RV, trailer or tent-campers however water and electric hookups are not available. This is a no water facility so campers will need to bring their own supply. All sites are equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring with grill and the campground has vault toilets available.

Natural Features

This campground sits right on the water providing campers with wonderful views of adjacent Three Creeks Lake. Located in a glacial cirque below Tam McArthur Rim, the lake is 28-acre alpine gem with an elevation of 6,550 ft. surrounded by old growth forest. The outlet stream from the lake flows northward and is joined by two other streams to form Three Creek. The shoreline of Three Creek Lake varies from gentle slope to rocky cliff. Maximum depth is 28 feet down the center and near the cliff on the south end of the lake.

Nearby Attractions

The close proximity to the town of Sisters offers many additional amenities and attractions, as well as the nearby Tam McArthur Trail and Sisters Wilderness Trails. Visitors can explore wilderness areas, rivers, lakes and reservoirs, and approximately 1,600 miles of trails that comprise nearly 2.5 million acres within the Deschutes National Forest and the adjacent Ochoco National Forest. Many enjoy traveling the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway, known as Oregon's Highway in the Sky, which climbs into the clouds on a 66-mile drive through the Cascade Range, weaving past snow-capped peaks and alpine lakes. To the north the Camp Sherman Fish Viewing Platform allows visitors the chance to view a variety of types of fish while the Metolius Research Natural Area gives bird watchers ample opportunities. Visit the Metolius Fish Hatchery or Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery display ponds to observe and feed different types of salmon and other fish. The Metolius-Windigo Trail, open to hikers, bikers and horses, is more than 100 miles in length and begins near the Metolius River headwaters west of the town of Sisters, Oregon. The trail was created in the 1980s primarily to serve long-distance horse riders seeking an alternative to the Pacific Crest Trail. Lava Lands Visitor Center in nearby Bend, Oregon, and the unique geological landscape of Newberry National Volcanic Monument draw visitors to the region as well. It is a great starting point for visitors to learn about the diverse landscape and history of the area through interpretive programs and exhibits. Visitors can also explore the Lava River Cave, located in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. At 5,211 feet in length, the northwest section of the cave is the longest continuous lava tube in Oregon.

Charges & Cancellations

Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.

What the agency tells you

Rule

This is a no water facility so campers will need to bring their own supply.

Rule

Prevent the spread of invasive species by inspecting and cleaning packs, equipment and tires before using lake or trails.

Rule

Please Note: One RV with tow vehicle per single site or one vehicle per tent site. Most sites can accommodate 1 extra vehicle that is not included with the reservation fee. Extra vehicle will be charged a per night fee and collected at the campground.

Everything else this campground posts · 7
Rule

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.

Rule

During your time in Central Oregon, you can find wildfire, prescribed fire and smoke information at centraloregonfire.org

Rule

Reserved Sites will be held until check out time (NOON) the day following your arrival date. Sites must be occupied by the checkout time of that following day to hold a reservation or the site will be forfeited and released to other guests. Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.

Rule

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).

Rule

Click here for more information about Deschutes National Forest

Rule

Camping or otherwise occupying a single location (including leaving camping equipment and/or related supplies) for a period longer than 14 consecutive calendar days is prohibited. ‘Location’ means the occupied area, the occupied campsite, and the National Forest System lands in the immediate vicinity thereof. Camping or occupying any location on all National Forest lands for more than 28 calendar days total during a calendar year is prohibited.

Rule

NO generator use is allowed in campgrounds between 10:00PM and 7:00AM (36 CFR 261.10). Silent power banks or battery powered devices are allowed.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Tents and rigs

Sites
11
Hookups
None
Longest rig
40 ft
Accessible sites
None listed
Pets
Allowed
Campfires
Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade
Every site
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Vault Toilets
“…ring with grill and the campground has vault toilets available. Natural Features This campground sits…”
Drinking water
None, bring your own
“…hookups are not available. This is a no water facility so campers will need to bring their own…”
Stay limit
28 nights
recreation.gov facility rule maxStay

Around the campground

On the water
Lake, River, Creek, Beach
Night sky · 630th darkest of 770 in OR
Bortle 3
Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026

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.

Booking windowOut of seasonOut of season, no booking. On January 2, 2027 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through July 2, 2027.recreation.govAdd to calendar (.ics)
Max stay28 nightsthe facility record
A night$26plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule
A weekend$60DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above
If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservation; this campground publishes its own terms toorecreation.gov’s schedule
Runs itVista RecreationA private concessionaire under permit from U.S. Forest Servicethe operator link
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.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
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’ll write once, when the season that starts Fri, Jul 2 2027 is open for booking.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 12

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
A night$26
Standard Nonelectric$26
These are next season’s rates, Jun 11, 2027 to Jul 1, 2027. The campground is between seasons now.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Reservation fee, booked online$8
One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.
Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.
What a stay costs
One nightDerived$34
A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$60

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $26 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.

If your plans changerecreation.gov
Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10
Cancellation fee$10
Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night
No-show$20 + your first night

“Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.” · 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 · 6

rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

11 sites · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 11 mapped sites
88 ftbetween you and the next site, typically
Least roomLoop 1 003 54 ftLoop 1 004 54 ftLoop 1 005 58 ft

All 11 sites

11 of 11 sites located
Standard11
Aerial · Esri World Imagery
SleepsTakes aUp to

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 11 of the 11 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

Loop 1001standard nonelectric30 ft101 ft200 ftThree Creek Lake$26
Loop 1002standard nonelectric26 ft74 ft302 ftThree Creek Lake$26
Loop 1003standard nonelectric36 ft54 ft296 ftThree Creek Lake$26
Loop 1004standard nonelectric26 ft54 ft343 ftThree Creek Lake$26
Loop 1005standard nonelectric30 ft58 ft387 ftThree Creek Lake$26
Loop 1006standard nonelectric30 ft88 ft403 ftThree Creek Lake$26
Loop 1007standard nonelectric40 ft88 ft357 ftThree Creek Lake$26
Loop 1008standard nonelectric24 ft115 ft292 ftThree Creek Lake$26
Loop 1009standard nonelectric24 ft90 ft227 ft$26
Loop 1010standard nonelectric26 ft90 ft287 ft$26
Loop 1011standard nonelectric24 ft146 ft482 ft$26

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number

The weather

the next four days

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Overnight42°Mostly Cloudy
Saturday50°Partly Sunny1% rain
Saturday Night34°Partly Cloudy1% rain
Sunday50°Partly Sunny

NWS forecast for Bend, OR

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

Roadless country, and what’s coming for it

Roadless
Bearwallows7,317 acres · 3 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Three Sisters7,687 acres · 4 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Bend Watershed14,829 acres · 5 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Who answers for this land

Janelle Bynum, official portrait

Three Creeks Lake Campground 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 →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: U.S. Forest Service’s own recreation database flags it not open and publishes no reason and no date. That’s a flag, not a notice: the number below is the only way to be sure.
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.