WALDO LAKE

Waldo Lake is the second largest freshwater lake in Oregon after Crater Lake.   It is above 5000 feet in elevation in the high Cascades of the Willamette National Forest.   The are three developed campgrounds on the eastside of the lake with 200 sites, including Islet, Shadow Bay and North Waldo campgrounds.  

In the late 1980's and 1990's my two children and I would go up to Waldo Lake and tent camp in the North Waldo campground.   This was a big campground with 58 sites and easy to find an ideal camp site next to the lake.   On the westside of the lake it is all wilderness area.  There is a 20 mile trail going around the lake that permits the use of mountain bikes.   Along with a friend and my dog Jack we rode our bikes around the lake.  It was a real workout and when we finally made it back to the campground Jack's tongue was hanging out almost touching the ground.   We all had a good sleep that night.   I never remember a crowd at this campground and there were many available campsites.   In 2003, when Celia and I were living in Cottage Grove we took our 16 foot camp trailer up to Waldo Lake thinking we would have the same experience with many campsite to choose from.   When we arrive in the North Waldo campground it was standing room only as we drove around the many loops in search of a vacant site.   Finally we found one on the upper loop, a good distance from the lake and totally surrounded by other campers.    The only privacy in this campsite was inside our trailer.  The next morning we packed up and went home.   The world has discovered Waldo Lake.