Campground: Forlorn Lakes

Nice, expansive campground with mostly private sites. A few, however, are a bit cheek-by-jowl. No reservations and (as of 2017) $10/night fees make it an attractive getaway. The nearest potable water I know of is at the Trout Lake ranger station. On a recent weekend, different pit toilets varied from sweet to almost unusable—not sure what’s up with their maintenance schedule. The titular “lakes” are actually ponds, and very shallow, but deep enough for canoeing and, in some spots, swimming. The very fine silty soil makes for a dusty camp experience; you’ll bring home more than just memories from Forlorn Lakes!
8 years ago (03-09-2017)

It was gorgeous, but chilly when we visited around July 4th. Maybe it was just the luck of the draw or still too early in the season, but we experienced icy winds sweeping down from Mt Adams and came to understand how this location earned its name. The camp sites were scattered in such a way that they felt relatively private and afforded us a fantastic, waterfront view of the lake. It is a rustic campground, however, so there is no running water. For us that was a perk because it meant that there were no RVs and thus it was pretty quiet and peaceful. The sites all had fire pits and picnic tables though, and we packed in our own water, so we had what we needed. I would recommend not setting up a tent on the furthest edge of the site closest to the water. Our group had two tents and the one that was on the peninsula got most of the wind, nearly blowing away while we set it up, while the one closer in, just a few yards away did okay. If you go prepare for the weather. Bring extra layers and a warm bag or two. I definitely ended up needing our spare to use as a blanket and extra insulating layer at night even though I have a pretty warm sleeping bag to begin with.
11 years ago (19-07-2014)

We visit the Forlorn regularly. They are great lakes and, as Aurora Skye points out, can be very cold in the early summer. Our visit on the weekend of July 18, 2015 was very nice and the lakes were swimmable (even to our 5-year-old) and this weekend (Aug 1-2) they were very warm. The campground is clean and quiet.As there is no potable water supply, we get ours from a Lost Creek about 0.2 miles east of the NF 6035 and NF 60 intersection. The huckleberries are wonderful this time if year and just up the road the East Crater Trail is a great 3 mile hike to Junction Lake on the PCT
10 years ago (03-08-2015)

Good camping
8 years ago (15-03-2017)

A hidden treasure.
9 years ago (03-12-2016)