Diamond Lake Campground

Beautiful campground but the manager needs a class in tact and social skills. He has a tendency towards gruffness and a lack of the art of pleasant communication to put it nicely. Overheard him verbally accosting our neighbor campers regarding a campfire they had started in the fire pit. We had been informed by one of his camp assistants the day prior that fires were acceptable, but he came in the following day shouting and swearing that there was still a ban on campfires and it meant a $5,000 fine for the camper and a $15,000 fine for the campground. We understand about fire bans during fire danger seasons but geez, use your friendly skills to sort out the problem. Then he immediately retreats to his trailer to avoid further discussion. Possibly won't return here. Have read other negative reviews on the website with similar concerns.

Meandering along most of the east shore of mile-high Diamond Lake in the Diamond Lake Recreation Area, the Diamond Lake Campground offers social lakeshore camping and friendly smiles near the more secluded inshore camps. The campground features interpretive programs provided in the summer at the amphitheater and the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway. Facilities at the campground include tables, fireplaces, running water, flush toilets, showers, garbage bins, gray water sumps, an RV dump station, an amphitheater, an information gatehouse, two boat ramps and a fish cleaning station. The Thielsen View Forest Service Campground offers 60 camping units on the west shore and the Broken Arrow Forest Service Campground offers 147 camping units at the south end. In addition, the Diamond Lake Recreation Area features the Forest Service South Shore Picnic area with 26 single family picnic tables, 10 group picnic tables, a lighted pavilion, barbeques, fire pits, horseshoe pits, a volleyball court, a playground, a bathroom, and a swimming beach. Also in the area is a full service resort operating under special use permit from the Umpqua National Forest including: motel units and cabins, restaurant, pizza parlor, 2 grocery stores, a sporting goods shop, post office, service station, propane, Landromat, showers, swimming beach, boat and mountain bike rentals, moorage, charter fishing, hunting and fishing licenses and horseback riding stables. Finally, the area offers a privately operated Recreational Vehicle park operating under special use permit from the Umpqua National Forest including 160 RV units with full hookups, laundry, shower facilities and a recreation hall for guests.

We can't get enough of the beautiful lakes in this part Oregon.
This large (drycamping only) campground runs for about three miles along the East side of the lake. There are many campsites right on the lake. You can launch your kayak, SUP board or whatever and start enjoying.
The sites are spacious and many have full shade. With the breeze blowing off the lake it makes the Summer time temps quite manageable. They have showers and water available.
Another bonus is an eleven mile paved bike trail that goes all around the lake through the forest and along the lake. We saw Ospreys.
If that's not enough there is a full on resort just outside the campground where you can dine or rent SUP boards etc. and a full hookup park nearby...see Diamond lake RV resort.

Diamond Lake is one of our all-time favorite campgrounds. We’ve been coming here for over 25 years and have many happy memories. There are lots of things to do: fishing, kayaking, hiking, biking. One of our favorite features is the 11-mile paved loop trail around the lake with spectacular views of Mt. Thielsen and Mt. Bailey. Along the trail, at one end of the lake is the Diamond Lake Resort with a restaurant, store, laundry, boats and bicycles for rent. At the south end is a pizza place that also sells ice cream cones. Treat yourself after riding the trail!

The campground is large with some loops reservable and others first come/first serve. There are two shower facilities with a donation box on the honor system. The only knock on the campground is how widely the site quality varies. Getting level can be a challenge. Sites range from fairly level, long pull-throughs right along the lake to tiny, sloped sites not suitable for anything but the smallest car/tent camper. Most sites have shade and decent separation. Sites along the south end tend to be more open and sunnier. Internet connectivity is also a gamble – fluctuating from no service to 2 bars of 4G – for no apparent reason. Boosted we could get 4 bars of 4G, but not consistently.

Visit the Information Center across from the main entrance. Very helpful staff and lots of information on hikes, mountain biking, fire lookouts, and other activities in the area.

We arrive very late in the season, just weeks before they close the campground all together. Most nights we were the only campers in the entire campground. Temps were cold, including snow, and the trees were deep in the Autumn turn. All the toilets and showers were locked as well as the water. The dump station was still open, thankfully, but was a tight fit for a truck and 27 foot trailer.

In fact, the campground roads were a tight fit. If you are in much larger, you best be experienced in maneuvering both forward and backward.

We camped in site F4 which puts you only feet off the water of the lake with an amazing view all around and couldn't have asked for a better experience; totally alone with a great view.

The resort down the road (walking distance) has a general store, restaurant, and fuel station. Otherwise the nearest town is 20 miles away.

The main road is runs right past the campground, so you can hear every vehicle passing by.

Verizon signal was great, but speeds were poor at times.

We don't think we were here at the right time. The campground is huge and beautifully situated along Diamond Lake with snow-capped mountains. There are 2 loops that are first come but the rest are all reservable. We had not originally planned on camping here so we found ourselves in Loop K. 30' is the max limit at this park and we can see why! It was tight pulling our 30' Airstream and many of the sites were WAY too small for us. Luckily K33 was a pull thru that could fit us and our truck and it was level. It may have been the only site in the entire loop that was. HUGE leveling issues for bigger trailers like us here I would think.

They had bathrooms scattered around the park and showers though we didn't use them. In fact, we hardly went out of our RV because the mosquitos were HORRENDOUS. We've never been anywhere in the US with mosquitos this bad. Swarms of thousands were here all day and seemingly all night. We could hear them when we were inside with the windows closed and we were bitten to pieces when trying to hitch and unhitch the trailer. We will NEVER be back this time of year but think if it weren't mosquito season this place could be very nice.

We decided to escape the craziness at Crater Lake and drove down here. In August, there are 2 first-come-first-served loops, which are both lakefront. The sites are really really pretty. The sites are nicely spread out -- I kept thinking that nobody else was here last night, but then realized most of the sites around us were actually full. Just nicely spaced.

The only drawback so far has been cellular speed. At our campsite my AT&T Mobley has 2 bars, but I can't get a ping to go through, even with a booster.

My Verizon IPhone with a booster gets 4 bars, but 400ms pings with < 0.5mbit speeds at camp. I was able to get < 100ms pings and 2mbit (with a booster) by driving to the parking lot right by the registration booth.

Oh, and in mid-August, there were nearly no mosquitos. But we did enjoy watching the bats after the sun went down.

I was pleasantly surprised when i discovered discounts with the interagency pass. it was only $8 a night and an extra $3 for a lakeside spot. it was beautiful and worth it.
no hookup. water available. bathrooms were still running while i was there, but soon to be shut off. didnt use shower but they looked relatively clean.
no cell reception on at&t. went about 4 miles toward umpqua to get 2-3 4G bars.
paved level spot.
conveniently located between umpqua and crater lake. best of both worlds. beautiful spot. would stay again.

First of all, the campground is great. Nearly 1/3 of the 200 or so sites are first come, first serve which is perfect for those of us not so good at planning. All the sites are generously sized although larger RVs may have issues driving the narrow roads and making it around the tight turns. Views of the lake are gorgeous, the bike trail suitable for everyone, and the area is full of hiking trails, and waterfalls (not to mention Crater Lake NP which is only about a 40-minute drive)

On the downside, for working nomads the lack of usable cell service is going to be a real bummer. As other reviewers have pointed out, you can get a pretty solid Verizon signal. We got a few bars of LTE even without the booster. But the speed was dismal. Checking email or sending a text was possible, but anything other than that (like uploading documents or having video meetings) was not happening. We made it through a few days of work by driving a couple miles up the road to the day use area where the horse corrals for trail rides are kept. Nice picnic tables and a good signal here. Too bad, because if it had been faster at our site we would have stayed much longer.

Well spaced sites along beautiful lake which has a wonderful paved 11 mile bike path around it. Shower houses can be far, far away from your site, something to keep in mind. I was irritated that fee info failed to acknowledge 3 dollar mandatory first night admin fee, even for walk ins staying one night during summer. Another problem is they close office too early. The limited first come, first served loops end up with only highest rate sites remaining, costing you more. So what ends up happening is all walk ins after 4pm are asked to not self pay but pay at office by 10am the next day. Then you get a long line because they want all your personal info to put in the computer (in case they need to refund you I was told), onerous. Miss paper reg! Waited 25 minutes to pay with only 2 people ahead of me. I did report incorrect fee info to mgt who were professional and said they would correct the one page hand out in the visitor center.

So if you are there off season and can self register or go to one of the 2 other USFS campgrounds that allow self reg in season, you will avoid fee, plus get a lower rate, and not stand in line. Paid 25 first night, 22 on second. Dump station angle awkward so passed on using it.