Hog Lake Dispersed Camping

We Boondocked at Hog Lake. There are campsites all along the road on the way to the Hog canyon Lake public access point. In May 23 you could not drive all the way to the lake. It was fenced off before you got to the lake. But there are campsites along the road before the gate. There is on Porta potty about halfway along the road. We camped at a nice spot just a few sites beyond the potty. You can't see the lake but our view of the trees was nice.

Nice little place. The road gets a bit rough. I personally would not want to drive anything bigger than a camper van down there but there are quite a few bug turnaround spots and some nice big sites. Be careful going into the sites as there is a dip. My Kia seemed to think I was just nose diving into a crevice as I was getting across with all its sensors screaming at me. Some coyotes came through camp at some point during the night. I heard them howling from a distance but only knew they came into camp because they left footprints in the frost. Only one other person was out there so nice and quiet

We arrived on a Friday afternoon to find there were sites available but most were uneven or small for our size.
We drove to the end of the road, thankfully we had disconnected our Jeep. There were people in the pullout to the right and no loop where we could turn around as the gate was closed down to the lake. We did manage it difficult but if there were larger rigs in that space it would have been really hard. You also have to back down a steep road and a vehicle was parked there.
There were a few shady looking RV’s with gear around them who had taken up the larger spaces with just a car.
Did see an abandoned car on the side of the road just before the last turn.
A huge class A came in after dark and parked right by someone else.
It was windy and the road although packed kicked up lots of dust.
When we went out Saturday morning for a hike there were RV’s jammed in everywhere.
We saw no trash
The lake was down and other places that had small ponds were dried up. Cow dung everywhere and you could see they had been down drinking from the lake. We didn’t see any. Lake didn’t look appealing to swim in or boat as there was green slime and growth around the edges, don’t know about fishing.
Large pull out on the road , left side, but it said no overnight parking. Nice little hike called hog lake loop which takes you above the lake and to the other end where there is a waterfall in season. 2 miles with a short walk on the road. We saw deer.
No trash containers but BR by the lake and a port a potty on the road. I didn’t go in them.
Nice one at a trail head about 15 minutes at Fish Trap Lake, numerous hikes.
Many trains coming through especially at night.
We would have preferred a forest service CG but all were closed due to the time of year.
Many more people came in Saturday night.

This BLM was probably nice in the past but it’s not a nice place now. There were 3-4 what looked to be abandoned RVs around the campground that look like they had taken clues from Breaking Bad. What a mess on our treasured public lands.
We have primarily camped on public lands for the past 10 years and I would steer clear of this place until the BLM removes these abandoned RVs.
Try the Fishtrap Loop South Trailhead parking lot just 4 miles down the road.

It is a short drive off of I-90. I was heading in from Seattle towards Coeur d'Alene and needed a place to spend one night. It's really a pretty area and very quiet. Birds chirping, frogs croaking, coyotes howling at night, moon and stars, and a train in the distance going by every so often. Very nice stop and very nice little area for a few nights.

I arrived late Thursday before Labor Day weekend 2020. There was one space left and it was nice. A few cars drove by looking for sites over the next two days. This is a federal BLM site and no Washington State discover pass is needed. Camping is free. Campsites are well dispersed and I can hardly see my neighbors. The gravel access road is well maintained and only moderately bumpy. There's a short hike out to hog Lake with a nice view of the lake from above. It's more difficult to access the lake below and I did not try it. Basalt cliffs are on several sides of the lake. Trains blow their horns as they approach the crossing a mile away but it's not obnoxious. Maybe six trains a day and I don't remember any at night. Verizon coverage varies from 3 to 5 bars and there is a cell tower not too far away. There it's a parking lot at the entrance that may be usable for overflow parking/camping. My site was clean with no glass, beer caps, or other trash. Because of the extreme fire hazard rangers were out here two or three times a day. No target practicing or shooting is allowed ever and no campfires during this fire season. I would definitely stay here again.