Trillium Lake Airstrip

This is a very wide open location, suitable for all rig sizes! It is a bit dusty but thats fine for free. Most sites are full shade with some being partial, so if you need solar you will just want to be in the more open common area. Our Verizon internet was plenty fast with 3 bars.
When you come in if you go to the right there are bigger group sites but not as easy for big rigs to get into, if you go to the left there a lot more sites to choose from and bigger rig friendly. Also there is a bike/hike trail near the front on the left side (upon entry) that is about 1 miles to Trillium Lake, From there you can walk the 2 miles around the lake as well.
We used the campground to dump our trash, but didn't look like they had anywhere to dump water/waste unless you were staying there.

This is a spot for all types and sizes of rigs! We had no issues finding a spot for our 42' 5th wheel. This is dry camping, so be prepared!! There is water, trash, and restrooms at the campground down the road. We could not find a dump station in the area.

This is a National Forest area so you can stay up to 14 days. You will be near other people and well....other people can be rude. There were some people up until 3am screaming; we think they were high out of their gords. There was also a truck camper that had his non-muffled generator on until midnight.

There were permanent signs stating that fires are banned. There were a lot of fire pits and thankfully people were respecting the ban. There was a lot of very small pieces of broken glass around the fire pits. The cell phone service was great and perfect for the two of us to be on video calls.

Please, please, please pick up your trash!!

Forestry service is asking everyone to clean up their trash or they will close this jewel of a dispersed camping area. Great cell service, all size rigs level sites and tents, close to hiking, biking, lake and town. Dry camping only. It would be a shame if WE didn’t take care of this place, have already cleaned up 2 sites. There are 2 adjacent campgrounds about 1 mile away with dumpsters and fresh water spigots. 14 day stay max.

Great spot. Pretty busy on the weekends but we still found a good spot on a Saturday afternoon. During the week it was much quieter (August) and had amazing fast AT&T internet - with and without our booster. Good bike/hike trail straight to the lake through pretty forest. Try to stay to the front of the road for good service. Big group spots as well for camping with others. Remember to pack it out, several dumpsters in the Trillium Lake day use area down the road. Loved our stay!

It’s almost 1 am. And there is that one guy, the guy who always broke the rules in school, always made your life a living hell and annoyed everyone in class and would never shut up. Well, he’s next door to us rocking his music, at almost 1 am. The entire airstrip is filled with campers, and he is literally the only idiot blaring his music not for a second considering anyone else in the world. He is that guy, drinking his beer, next to his fire, rocking his music, saying to the world **** all of you I deserve to do as I please!

These people were obviously never raised understanding respect or manners in anyway at all. Either he had parents that let him do whatever he wanted, or he had parents who beat his *** or were never present so now he’s making all of us pay for it.

What a turd sniffer.

So if you come to this place, just know you might be dealing with that one idiot out of the group that has a small wiener and wants the world to pay for his childhood.

We started at the two snow-parks which are right off of Hwy 26. Both were large and could accommodate any size rig. Either would be fine for a night, but road noise and lack of privacy would prevent us from staying any longer.

Instead, we took the road to Trillium Lake. We didn't know what to expect, but the term "airstrip" almost prevented us from heading down the road. About a mile or so down the paved road, you will turn right on E Perry Vickers Rd (which is dirt and with many manageable potholes). This road goes all the way around Trillium Lake and has boondocking spots throughout. The majority of the spots (especially for larger rigs) seem to be up front. Some spots are completely in the shade, while others are pure sun. There are choices for everyone.

Cell service (with booster) was plenty fast for both work and streaming. ATT was 17.3 down while Verizon was 23.5 down. No bathrooms, dump station or potable water.

A mile down the road is Trillium Lake which has a 2 mile walking loop around it. This is also a great lake for SUPs, kayaks, and canoes. You will need to pay for a day pass ($10) unless you have an annual Forest Service Pass.

We stayed here during the month of July. There were other campers here the entire time we were, but noise was never a problem for us. If hiking trails or kayaking are your thing, this is a great spot to hang out for a while. We did a few hikes around the area and had a blast! The views of Mt. Hood are fantastic! If you need something from town, it's not too far to a gas station or a brewery that serves awesome pizza. This would be a place we'd return to in the future.

Though I’m told it can be busy and noisy on weekends and holidays my stay during the week is quiet and peaceful.

There are trash bins, pit toilets, and potable water available in the Trillium Campground Day Use area a mile down the road.

Verizon wireless is 2-3 bars and solid.

Sign posted warns of possible closure of this dispersed camping area because of “garbage, human waste, and toilet paper.” It is possible that campers are being more considerate and complying because it’s not too bad where I am camped.

So we arrived on a Sunday afternoon and figured we would pay the day fee at trillium lake and fill up our water tank at the campground. I was directed down the road and soon realized we were in the wrong area and in a tight spot needing to turn around with fifty or so onlookers. Days later I found a water source in an area near the campground, and it would not have hooked up to our hose anyway. In my opinion if you have a big rig don’t try it, it’s only good for water jug fill up. The airstrip was a good open area to camp with plenty of room for all that show up on the weekends. We were only in the sun from 10:00am- 3:00pm which wasn’t optimal for our solar setup. There were a few big parties during our stay that seemed to fill up most of the sites and then down to ten or so rigs on average during the week. A rocky and bumpy entrance that any rig could handle at slow speeds. Two mile or so walk to get to lake trillium and some sweet views of Mount Hood. There are so many different lakes and hikes to do on this area and the town of Welches seemed to have whatever we needed. Pro tip: the restaurant SkyWay in Welches has some of the best Mac and cheese and bbq around and the prices were beyond reasonable for being “on the mountain.”

We arrived on Sunday afternoon and there was plenty of spaces for our 32’ 5th wheel. There were 2 oversized - overstuffed trash bags that had been left behind by the previous campers. They had been torn open by critters and some of the trash was strewn around the site. Once we cleaned that up and dumped the trash down at the campground just down the road, the site was great! There were lots of campers, tent, RV and even a converted school bus, but it didn’t feel crowded at all. Cell service was really good as well. Judging from what was in those trash bags, I’m not sure I’d want to be there on the weekend with the partiers though.