Indian Creek Campground

Indian Creek is one of two State Campgrounds at Lake Owyhee (AKA Owyhee Reservoir). The only road in is not great for the last 10 miles or so, but it gets really bad after you reach the dam. In most spots it is only wide enough for one vehicle and there are no guard rails. There are a few wide spots but you need to look far up the road and hope the approaching fifth wheel or boat trailer is doing the same. I am a fairly confident driver, but this was awful.

As far as the campground, this is not one of Oregon's best. Poor signage, sites close together, no hosts, no sewer, no showers, lack of good hiking trails.

Probably OK if you have a boat and want to fish.

(price reflects Oregon Disable Veteran discount)

We would not go back to camp here just because we don't like the drive, especially in an RV. The road is so narrow that it would be difficult to impossible in most places to get 2 large vehicles past each other and twisty, windy and steep enough to make backing up hazardous even for smaller rigs. Fortunately we went up when there was very few people around on March 13th when the Indian Creek campground was not officially open for the season yet. The McCormack campground was still gated. There was no water hookup available in March at the Indian Creek campground but they had electricity. We paid $30 for one night. We nearly ran into one small SUV that came around a corner just as we were about to turn on an incline on our way to the campground on Sunday afternoon but they were small enough to squeak past our 20 ft long, wide body B+ motorhome. We left Monday afternoon and had the road to ourselves except for a pickup on a side road. Wouldn't want to meet another RV or someone hauling a boat on that road.

We followed our RV GPS and it showed the campground (CG) as being at the dam, but we had about 5 miles more to go. There were reviews that the road to the CG areas was challenging. We had called the ranger station and asked if we could get a 39’ 5th wheel up the road and had asked on our FB owners group, both said yes just take it slow. The “fun” starts at the dam with the most challenging portion being after the turn-off for the first CG, McCormack CG, which has sites with 30 AMP and water. We added a video to our “The Dyrt” review to show the drive to Indian Creek CG about a mile further up the road. We are seasoned 5th wheelers and went slow with no problem. While we were there a 42’ 5th wheel came in with no problem as well. If you decide to bring a big rig especially the first time, suggest arriving/departing on a non weekend day to try and avoid meeting up with a boater on the single lane road. The lake gets a lot of daily boat activity with most boaters in by 9:00 AM and out around 3:00 PM. When you enter the CG you are on the first level where the camp host resides. Our rate reflects the Oregon Disabled Veteran's Pass. There are info boards on which one had the name of people coming in with reservations, but there was no formal check in. There was no problem getting to back-in site 62 with water and 50/30 AMP. Sites 62-67 are on the upper 3rd level. Water pressure was about 40 psi and no issues with the 50 AMP. There is no cell phone service here and we knew that coming in. You are about an hour away from amenities so plan accordingly. Near the dam, there’s a small hut that rents kayaks etc. and states WiFi is available, but we didn’t try it. We did set up our satellite and as there are no shade trees on the 3rd level there was a clear shot to the southern sky. The 2nd level has some trees plus two cute little cabins, and more trees on the 1st level. There are several vaulted restrooms in the CG and at the boat ramp. Sites in both CGs vary in size but seemed consistent with website size descriptions. The dump station is back up the road at the McCormack CG along with the shower houses. Have to say the drive was well worth the stunning mountain and lake views. We had mule deer and a covey of quail visit us mornings and evenings. Even in mid August, we pretty much had the CG to ourselves, Mon- Thurs.

We were driving through the area on I-84 so we decided to make reservations for one night here, even though it’s off the beaten path. I wish we had stayed longer. The road to get here is windy, narrow, and steep. Be prepared mentally if you are towing. I was all white knuckles until we got to our site. We stayed at the second campground. It’s got a nice footpath to the water. We had our inflatable SUP, which made for a lovely evening paddle and swim and a wonderful way to spend the morning. The scenery is gorgeous though there aren’t too many trees, so during the day I imagine staying under shade or in the water would be ideal. We had to hit the road so we didn’t get those high temperatures. Lots of families come and stay for a week each year. I’d come again, especially with a paddle board or kayak.