Deschutes Campground

Access was on a twisty road up and down the canyon. Roads in were in good condition. Its about 10 miles to town, but it takes 1/2 an hour. DO NOT exit to the west side of canyon, there are no paved roads to get to Highway 20. Nice recycling station, showers are adequate. Must sites are small with little room to park your car. Big rigs had problems in the pull thrus as the corner is tight.

AT&T cell service was spotty, sometimes OK other times non-existent. WeBoost helped so we could stream Netflix and Hulu. Band 4 was -120 RSRP boosted to -85.

Excellent trail, Tam-A-Lau, is accessible from the campground, goes up on the bluff above the campsite.

I camped here this past weekend with a MeetUp group, and all I can say is WOW. Well, more than wow actually. The campground (there were 3 loops) was spotless and super quiet. The camp hosts literally raked each spot between guests! Loops A and C have big spots with full hookups. Loop C has dirt camp spots but best view of the cliffs. Loops A and B have grassy spots. Loop B would be my 1st choice for families with little kids because the spots are a mix of grass and dirt, but more importantly two playgrounds in the center - one for toddlers, and one for bigger kids! Parents can stay in their spot and see their kids play. Beautiful big dog run. Indian petroglyphs a short walk from Loop A. Tam-A-Lau trail along the cliffs. Finally, you can walk to the river from the campground and swim your dogs, swim you, or put in a boat. Finally, the marina is about 5 miles away and you can rent all sorts of boats from kayaks to party boats. They have a little cafe there and whipped up a mean chili omelet for us one morning. Plus there is a campground host in every loop and adorable rangers. We will definitely be back. BTW, there is no internet service here and no Verizon cell coverage (not sure about other carriers), but a friend reported AT&T worked), so be sure to print out all your info before you leave home.

There is a bit of a nerve-racking drive getting here (especially the narrow bridge), but it’s well worth it. Full hookups, no WiFi, trash and recycling can be found at the beginning of the loop.
Fair number of pull throughs, along with back-ins and group sites. There is a full sized volleyball net close by along with a really nice outdoor amphitheater.
C Loop has showers and flush toilets
Park rangers came by daily to check parking permits (free with campsite) and to address any issues. Very friendly and willing to offer suggestions on what to see. Ask for a map of the local mountains to help identify them!
Highly recommend this Park, and would stay again.

Stayed here Aug 9-13 2020. A great spot. Deschutes Campground is about 4 miles away from the main marina and resort. But you can walk to spots along the lakes where you can swim or hike around the area. Stay on the main trails - there are rattle snakes in this region!

Main complaint is the lack of cell service. Now on the hunt for the best solution and finding lots of options which we will have to try. Also bring a car if you drive a motor home or coach. We would have loved to get up to the marina and resort. We'll be looking at towing options soon.

The campsites are tight and lots of people do go here. It is a popular get away for Oregonians and out-of-staters alike. Easy enough to socially distance but take your masks.

Arrived on a Thursday without a reservation. Ranger very accommodating and booked us 3 days without having to reserve a spot. $20 in tent sites various sizes and sun exposure. Water spigots everywhere, clean restrooms and showers. $32 in A and C loops which includes complete hookups. Grassy areas and playground for kids.
We kayaked two days once to the Deschutes Rivers entrance. Beautiful canyon and great geological views. I paddle boarded one day. We took a road bike ride 22 miles out towards the Deschutes river bridge. A good climb out of the canyon but then great views of Mt Jefferson along the Ridge. Flat ride on top.
There was a hike Tam ? Trail 6 miles with great views of the lake.
Reasonable priced kayak tours.
Negative, no dump station and Lake is pea green growing lots of algae, many lakes in OR have similar issues. There can be blue green algae toxic blooms. Dogs should not drink or even go in the water and eating the fish has restrictions. We did see some people swimming. Always check conditions.
Tent part of the campground closing tomorrow.

We stayed here in July 2017 and the temps were 100+ every day. Not even cool enough for a night time campfire. Great weather and Great Lake for the boaters!
This lake and campground are a hidden gem. We’d been up and down Hwy 97 dozens of times and never knew it was over there! Our site was private, but had very little shade. Thankfully, we had our kayak, so we were able to beat the heat on the water.
There’s a nice hiking trail that will take you up to and around the plateau above the campground. Great views of the lake and other plateaus from up there. We saw some deer on an early morning hike.
We packed some supplies and spent one afternoon at the marina park. Lots of shade... swimming, jet ski rentals, store, etc.

Cove Palisades State Park offers two distinct campgrounds within its boundaries. This review is for the Deschutes Campground at the bottom of the Lake Billy Chinook/Crooked River canyon. It's four miles away from its sister campground, Crooked River,

There are three loops in the Deschutes CG: A and C offer full hookups at $30 a night. B loop ($20) is labelled for tent campers, but really this just means that there is no electricity or sewer. Each is supplied with its own water spigot. Most sites appear to be plenty big for most any size vehicle, so don't miss checking out the B loop if you don't need power.

There are showers at all three loops. We chose the B loop since we didn't need power on this Tuesday the week before Memorial Day weekend. There were only six other campers out of almost 90 spots available in B loop.

Even though we don't have pets, we were impressed by the nicely fenced, spacious "pet exercise area" which is carpeted in lush green grass. If you've got dogs, this could be quite a draw, especially during the hot summer months.

Each site appeared to be level, fastidiously planted with trees and grass where possible. Interesting lava boulders are placed strategically throughout the campground, providing visual interest, some privacy and refuge for the happy colonies of ground squirrels.

There were four small shower stalls in B loop, designed in a way that clothes and towels don't get wet. Shower heads are adjustable which was nice for a change! Showers are available for non-campers at $2, but we couldn't figure out where one would park for that, or pay either.

We had spotty 1 or 2 bars of Verizon 1x, but could receive email, texts and calls. If you need more, just drive back up to the top of the canyon, head north along the rim road and park at one of the amazing lava rock-lined overlooks and pull out your laptop. Doesn't get much better than that!

The trail head for the Tam-a-lau Trail is just past the pet exercise area in B loop. It's an OUTSTANDING six mile round trip hike up to the top of mesa which towers far above the campground, and offers stupendous views of the lake, river, snow-capped mountains and lava cinder cones. Don't be put off by the elevation change, as once you're up there it's four miles of walking along the flat mesa before returning to the canyon floor. Just take your time going up --- it's worth it!

Before reserving a spot, please note that sites B1 - B12, B76 - 86 are in a kind of "no-man's land" along an access road between the upper A and C loops and the bottom B loop. They are very very very far from the closest restroom, right by the huge trash dumpsters and right along the park road. I'd avoid these at all costs.

We drove past this campground last Labor Day weekend after the fires. It was packed, cheek-and-jowl and baked to a crisp. This late spring was perfect--- all but empty, lush, green and serene. Timing is everything!