Paulina Lake Campground

First, we really enjoyed exploring Newberry National Monument. There is a small visitor center is across the street from the campground and has Jr. Ranger and trail maps and a bigger one not that far away. Paulina Falls is a short hike away. Big Obsidian Flow is really cool. And there are lava tube caves that are really awesome within easy driving distance.

Paulina Lake is a nice one for paddleboarding and kayaking but there are quite a few fishing motorboats. There are some natural hot springs across the way from the campground boat launch.

The campground itself is busy because there's a popular motorboat launch in the middle of it. The camp host was a stickler for rules. This included telling us not to let the boys ride their bikes around the loop because of boat traffic. I totally get it, safety. She was definitely keeping a very close eye on the boat launch parking lot and it was questionable whether we could hand launch from the dock closest to our campsite.

We wish we had discovered this delightful place sooner. It’s a very beautiful campground with lots of pine trees, a small lake that you can rent motorized boats on, fairly spacious sites, a scenic trail loop that takes you all the way to the falls, and more.

What really impressed us was the idea that in the future, once the pandemic is under better control, we could see ourselves walking down to the lodge and getting food and drinks at the restaurant, before returning to our campsite for the evening. We didn’t try the food, but it looked like there were some delicious options.

Lots of amenities

They also have a tiny, cute store, boat rentals, and a day use area, where lots of people were kayaking. This place is very popular and many people were there.

Heads up about the variance in weather

Even though it was sunny and comfortable during the day, at night, it became extremely cold and uncomfortable in the tent. We should have known better because we live here, but we were caught off guard at how much the temperature went down by midnight. In the morning, there were even a few tiny snow flakes – and this is the end of June. So if you plan to go, we suggest you bring warm clothes and extra blankets and heat aides. Our sleeping bags and baseball hats didn’t cut it. Next time I would bring scarfs, a knit hat, warmer socks and extra blankets.

More about this trip at our blog, Highway to Hoeftland.

Flush toilet / water available / bathroom sink / no shower / table / fire pit / easy access / middle shade.

Campground is ok: sites lack a little bit of privacy, some of them have shade, some less. There is just 2 sanitaries block for all the campground, and when we stayed there - mid-July - one was under repair. "Little Crater Campground" seems better, but more crowded, it was full when we came. Therie is a campground too on East Lake.

No matter in which campground you stay, Paulina Lake loop trail is amazing! That a 3 hours trail around the lake, beautiful lanscape, not a lot of people… just take your mosquitos repellent. And, cherry on the cake, in the middle of the loop, you can stop at the black sand beach to enjoy hot springs. It's primitive hot springs: five big holes on the beach, fill with natural hot water and made with logs of wood.

It's just super great: one of my best US road-trip souvenir!

Camped here for 5 nights during the 2017 Eclipse. The campground is well maintained, and the scenery is incredible. Our site had a lot of space for our kids to run around. The ground is very fine dust, the kind that gets into everything. That's typical in the cascades, so we expected that. The area has a lot to offer: great fishing (we caught a nice rainbow trout on our last day), biking, hiking, swimming, and the caldera related activities, like the Obsidian Flow. East Lake and its resort are a short drive away, which offers a gift shop. restaurant, boat rentals and other activities. Also, some of the best beaches on the lake are there (just to the right of the parking area). Summer weather is warm days and cool nights. Smoke from the area wild fires can be an issue in the summer time. Overall great camping experience.