Campground · Crater Lake National Park
Sixteen tent sites tucked into forest off Pinnacles Road.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Crater Lake Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Crater Lake National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Crater Lake audio tourRecorded for this area
The Volcano Under the Water“Merriam Cone is a volcano completely hidden by the lake. It sits in the northern part of the basin, south of Cleetwood Cove. Its rounded shape and lack of a summit crater suggest that it formed underwater.”
Plays on the road 1.4 mi from Lost Creek Campground in the Parkwolf Crater Lake Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Lost Creek is a 16-site, tent-only campground in the southeastern part of Crater Lake National Park, at about 6,000 feet. It sits in a forested clearing off Pinnacles Road, three miles from East Rim Drive near Phantom Ship Overlook. Sites are first-come, first-served, with no advance registration, and they can fill by mid-afternoon. If camping here is central to your plan, arrive early and have a backup.
There is no potable water or camp store, so get supplies beforehand. Portable toilets, trash service and bear-resistant food lockers are seasonal. Wood campfires are prohibited, but gas stoves and self-contained charcoal grills are allowed. Store food, cooking gear and toiletries in a vehicle or an available bear locker. Each site has an eight-person and two-vehicle limit.
The park describes Greyback Road as wide, flat and compact, and closed to vehicles; campers can walk some distance along it from this secluded site. Lost Creek's campsites sit on pumice soils, where native trees and shrubs were planted to soften the visible effects of years of camping. The usual season runs from early July to mid-October, depending on snow removal and road access.
Wildlife
16 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
178 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
26 sightingsCommon RavenMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
33 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around 1 PMSighting map
47 sightingsRed-tailed HawkMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
71 sightingsCascades FrogMost seen around 5 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Crater Lake. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyPlaikni Falls Trail2 mi · 1 hr · 1.9 mi awayA gentle forest walk to a waterfall, with a brief final climb.
EasyThe Pinnacles Trail1.6 mi · 45 min · 2.6 mi awayAn easy path to a close-up look at volcanic chimneys.
ModerateGrayback Road8 mi · 4 hr · 3 mi awayA broad, quiet forest walk along an old rim road
ModerateCrater Peak Trail6.5 mi · 3.5 hr · 3 mi awayA forested climb to a volcanic summit above the Klamath Basin.
EasySun Notch Trail0.8 mi · 36 min · 3.2 mi awayA short loop through a pumice meadow to Phantom Ship.
ChallengingMount Scott Trail4.4 mi · 3 hr · 3.4 mi awayClimb for the park’s only full-lake view.
EasyCastle Crest Trail0.5 mi · 36 min · 4.8 mi awayA short loop around a spring-fed wildflower meadow.
ModerateRaven Trail2 mi · 2.5 hr · 5 mi awayA marked winter climb to the caldera rim.Sight · 2.1 mi awayPlaikni FallsA shaded forest walk ends at a snowmelt-fed waterfall.
Scenic pullout · 2.2 mi awayDutton Ridge PulloutAn east-facing stop for the Klamath Basin beyond the rim.
Sight · 2.6 mi awayPinnacles OverlookA roadside stop for slender volcanic spires and a forested canyon.
Sight · 2.9 mi awayPhantom Ship OverlookA jagged volcanic island that wears a ship's shape in fog.
Picnic area · 3 mi awayVidae Falls Picnic AreaA picnic stop doubles as Crater Peak's creekside trailhead.
Sight · 3.1 mi awayVidae FallsA spring-fed cascade right off East Rim Drive.
Scenic pullout · 3.1 mi awayReflection PointA long stone parapet frames another view of Phantom Ship.
Scenic pullout · 3.3 mi awayVictor ViewA quick lake stop with a story built into the east-rim stonework.Parkwolf’s Crater Lake ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
