Lost Lake Campground

What a gem nestled in the foothills surrounding Mount Hood! Lost Lake is a beautiful mountain lake located high on the flanks of Mt. Hood--the view of Mt Hood from the lake and the day-use area is beautiful! We couldn’t have been happier!

Lost Lake is a concessionaire-operated National Forest Campground and Resort, so it is expensive for a NF campground. We only paid $16 per night because of our Federal Access Pass, but the usual rate for a self-contained RV was $32 per night in 2017. The campground is located adjacent to the lake and resort area. The resort consists of a well-stocked general store, a canoe and kayak rental business, and few cabins and yurts. The resort also advertised pay showers, but due to a recent fire they were closed.

The campground is primitive with simple vault toilets, but overall it is well laid out with paved roads and many large, paved campsites, with multiple water spigots located conveniently throughout. This is definitely the nicest National Forest Campground we’ve stayed at.

Our campsite was nestled among the huge cedar trees on the side of a hill. It was extremely large and gave us a lot of room to spread out. The sites in our area were well spaced and provided ample privacy. Besides the large paved parking area, our pull-through site consisted of two separate tent pads, a picnic table area, and a fire pit area tucked up in the trees. We had plenty of room left over for our hammock, bikes, etc. We stayed in Site D-18 and even with the many trees, we had ample strong suns for about 3-hours, with an hour or two of filtered on either end of the peak, and our solar had no problem recharging our batteries.

The day-use area was very busy during the weekend we visited. There are several walk-in, day-use areas around the lake for access to the water. We put our SUP in at the boat launch (no motors allowed) and spent a day paddling around and swimming. There is also an easy and lovely 3’ish mile long hiking trail around the lake.

The dump station is a little tight and can be tricky if you have a large rig. We easily negotiated it with our 30-ft trailer after watching the huge rig in front of us have trouble. With some care, you should be fine.

Prepare to be absolutely disconnected out here. Our best estimate is that the nearest cell signal is a 30-minute drive away, close to Hood River. There is no WiFi available either.

[***Navigation Warning***]
We approached Lost Lake from I-5 south of Portland. Both GoogleMaps and our truck’s GPS routed us to the campground via U.S. 26 to Mt Hood Village, before turning north on Lolo Pass Road.

Lolo Pass Road started out as a paved and fairly well-maintained county road, which eventually turns into a National Forest Road. However, at the 10-1/2 mile point (from the junction with U.S. 26), maintenance on Lolo Pass Road stops and it becomes gravel with several severe washouts. We made it ¼-mile down the unmaintained section before deep washouts forced us to back out--turning around was impossible.

After backing up a quarter mile to the pavement, we found an intersection with a gravel National Forest Road (either, NF-18 or NF-1810--GoogleMaps says NF-1810, but signs said it was NF-18). Here are the coordinates of the intersection for reference: 45°25'38.4"N 121°47'47.2"W. As we stood pondering our dilemma and trying to decide if we should backtrack to U.S. 26 and drive around Mt Hood, a car stopped with friendly Canadian couple. They told us they also tried to take the Lolo Pass Road to Lost Lake, but turned around like we did. Evidently a local told them to take NF-18 (or NF-1810 on Googlemaps) instead. There were no posted signs that stated that this road was the new route to Lost Lake. Trusting the honesty of our Canadian friends, we headed down NF-18.

From the intersection, NF-18/1810 is gravel road that snakes through the National Forest for about 10-miles before becoming paved and rejoining Lolo Pass Road, just prior to the intersection with Lost Lake Road. During the summer of 2017, it didn’t appear that GoogleMaps was up-to-date with this change and this route doesn’t look obvious or even feasible, but it was fine. From the above intersection where we turned around, it took us exactly 45-minutes to get to Lost Lake.

Our price reflects the 1/2 price golden age passport, and a $8 reservation fee... somewhat steep. Regular price is $35.70/night(includes taxes) plus the $8 reservation fee.

We had read the previous review and we're astounded that they went over Lolo Pass, so we followed the directions on the resorts website and took I-84 to Hood River and truly enjoyed our drive through the orchards and past wineries and fruit stands.

We've stayed at most of the other popular and scenic campgrounds around My. Hood (@ Trillium Lake and Timothy Lake), and this was our favorite. It is huge, but sites are cleverly laid out, with nicely cleared and leveled area for tents. All roads were paved, dumpsters and clean pit toilets....yes, pit toilets for this price!

The resort has run this place for years, even our picnic table was branded with their logo. They rent rowboats, canoes, kayaks and standup paddle boards. The store was well stocked with camp necessities. The day use area had a public boat ramp....but motors are not allowed.

Loved our site...very spacious and private. Huge trees, blooming beargrass and rhododendrons.

Although they do have a water fill and dump station as you enter the campground, the turn was very tight, we made it, but didn't get a good water fill on the way in.(very unlevel) There is water available in every loop, but bring a water bandit. We decided to dump on the way home after reading the reviews of the Hood River water treatment plant....highly recommended.

As you head to Hood River, pick up a blueberry pie and huckleberry milkshake at the Apple Valley Country Store and Bakery on hwy 281.

The area is beautiful. The lake is nice and clear with Mt Hood in the background. The sites are well maintained. There is a store with essentials and boat rentals. We really enjoyed it especially for a federal campground. The biggest problem I had with it was the number of people. It was very busy at the lake and everyone was partying. Not my scene. When I go to an Alpine lake in the forest I prefer to have a relaxing time and not 10 different groups playing 10 different types of music that you can hear clear across the lake. If you like more of that kind of lake experience, then this is perfect for you.
I would go back, but probably not during the weekend.

Located on Lost Lake in the northwest section of the Mount Hood National Forest, Lost Lake Campground offers 125 camp sites at 3,200 feet elevation. The campground is accessible from Forest Road 1340, and activities include fishing, hiking and walking. Drinking water is available.