Wallowa Lake State Park

Beautiful lodge and wonderful food (make dinner reservations ahead)
April 2 2014 we arrived. QUIET... nice!
Horse trail rides closed & for sale but maybe it will start back up with new owners.
Lots of other things to do and a lake to fish:-)

This is a beautiful state park. It's nestled right at the base of the Eagle Cap Mountains and set right on the shores of Wallowa Lake, so it's got that perfect combo of white-tipped mountains and water. LOTS of green, trees with huge day-use area and several trails that lead into the wilderness. Also easy access to the Wallowa Tramway and water activities (kayaking, fishing etc.) on Wallowa Lake. Only 6 miles to the super-cute town of Joseph too.

Sites are paved, either back-in or pull-through with a mix of primitive to full hook-up. Some sites are slightly too close for my liking, but most of them are well-spaced and there is plenty of green in-between. There are also on-site showers (free) and laundry ($1).

Only negative? NO CELL signal. Because this park sits right at the base of the huge Wallowa Mountains it's in a total signal dead zone. We got achingly slow 1X on Verizon (enough to text on occasion) at the site, but nothing more. No ATT signal at all. There is nice 4G LTE in town (Joseph), free WiFi at the state park marina and many free WiFi spots around town, but nothing at the sites, even with boosting.

This is also a POPULAR state park, especially in the big summer season, so if you want to come make sure to reserve ahead. During the time we were there (mid-June) it was nicely quiet during the week, but filled up on the week-ends. In July/Aug it fills up all the time and I've heard it can become a bit of a zoo.

We LOVED the state park, trails & nature but 2 weeks without signal started to wear on us. We'd definitely come back for shorter stays, but for a longer stay we'd find a spot w/ signal closer to downtown.

This huge state park has four loops. Sites furthest from the lake with full hookups were almost full midweek of the first week of June. The few of us without electrical needs occupied the choicest sites close to the lake/marina. Most sites are in the woods so if you have solar needs, choose carefully. We were assigned our spot late in the afternoon, and it was a prime location in my opinion.

There's a pet exercise area in the woods to the west of the campground, but it's not fenced. If your dog is a runner, then think carefully before letting it off-leash.

Restrooms are plentiful and well stocked. Free showers, good supply of hot water.

While this state park is probably one of Oregon's best and most heavily used in the summer , there are SO many more beautiful locations in the area for free, dispersed camping with stunning views and not a soul around. The north end of the Wallowa Lake feels very over-developed, with cheek-and-jowl cabins and ticky-tacky tourist attractions.

We got 4 bars of extended 1x Verizon with our booster, enough to get email, make a call and send texts.

Warning: do NOT believe the park brochure or the Forest Service when they indicate that the Chief Joseph Mountain Trail is accessed from the middle of the Nature Trail on the west side, near the fist cleaning station. If it's there, it's entirely unmarked and you'll need to bushwhack your way up to a trail which is not maintained. Eventually you'll need to cross a waterfall or slide back down the mountainside to get back to camp.

We had stayed here 12 years ago and for returned for the memories. The memories were soiled. Very popular family place with lots of smokey fires. Two bars of 1x cell coverage if you have an amp and then poor data connection.

We were camp hosts here and loved the area. This is a big campground (over 200 sites) and it stays full in the peak season. They will try their best to accommodate walk-ups however it's best to not take that chance as the drive is quite out of the way for those not local. There are 5 loops, plenty of bathrooms and showers. Great deals on firewood that is sold in loop C. Local park trail access behind site B25, but be warned, it's a doozy if you're not used to elevation gain. Campground closes down to 1-2 loops during the winter but is open year-round. There are two nice yurts that sleep at least 5.

The seasonal marina has a store and free internet. The internet is only available during store hours. They rent boats and such. Hear-tell the park might be leading kayak tours one season soon. Marina closes down mid-September.

Lots of local things to do and see. Grab the local publication from Enterprise and Joseph for a schedule of what's happening. There's something every weekend in the summer. Go to the museum in Joseph after a mocha at Arrowhead Chocolates.

Lots of great hiking. Stop by the forest service office in Joseph.

The tram is is worth it. ($33 per person. Yikes!) And internet is available at the grill atop Mt Howard. Food is good.

Glacier Grill and Store - must have the Reuben.

Location - Beautiful campground directly beside Wallowa Lake and just a few miles from Joseph, OR.

We really enjoyed the Valley Bronze Foundry tour in Joseph. I didn't realize how much work is involved in creating bronze castings.

Also in Joseph, the Joseph Branch Railriders was a lot of fun. The Railrider is a two person rail car that is ridden on an abandoned railroad track. The car is peddled like a recumbent bicycle. The trip is 12 miles round trip from Joseph to Enterprise. Fair warning... the ride from Joseph to Enterprise is an easy slight grade downhill. The return trip is a slight grade uphill grade which does require a good amount of peddling effort!

The Wallowa Lake Tram is another must-do. The gondola takes you to the top of Mt. Howard. At the top of Mt. Howard there are hiking trails with great views of Wallowa Lake and the surrounding mountains!

Verizon cell service was very weak even with our booster. US Cellular has a tower beside the campground at the top of Mt. Howard. We had a strong signal on our US Cellular phone.

Access - Easy access in and around the campground.

Cleanliness - Clean campground and facilities.

Site Quality - Paved and level sites. We had a full hookup site.

Noise - We visited in September and the campground was very quiet. I've heard that it can be a bit busier during peak summer months.

Wallowa Lake State Park is probably an excellent family park during the summer months. It's clean and well maintained. That said, as with many of Oregon's premier State Parks you're packed in like sardines with little privacy. Especially Loop A. Also, when Camp Hosts leave their monster RV LED party lights on all night, every night.... that's several demerits right there.

If you decide to go, consider C-Loop outer loop, against the hillside, and outer E loop wasn't too bad either. E loop doesn't have any privacy, but you're next to the river, and because there are several non-hookup, small sites there (good for tent campers), it just seems more low key.

Fishing was great. Caught a mess of trout.

We stayed at Lake Wallowa Campground the last week of June and found it really enjoyable and beautiful! Driving towards the campground the lake was surrounded by gorgeous snow capped mountains that were quite stunning! The parks department staff were friendly and very helpful upon check in. We reserved a spot in the C Loop with full hook-ups, glad we did, it was quieter in that area. I'm giving this place 5 stars on the noise level and due to being in the C loop. Some of the other areas had more people and the noise level was higher.

All of the campsites were very clean and freshly raked. There are a few hiking trails in the hills around the campground. A waterfall is located behind the A and B Loop. You will be climbing up some hiking trails to reach that one, just keep going up. The trails need to be marked better is my only complaint. There were several deer that frequent the campsites and are pretty friendly. We didn’t see many people out swimming in the lake since it’s June, but I can see where it would be really refreshing once the temperatures get hotter. Several people brought kayaks to the lake. That looked like a lot of fun! The bathrooms were kept up by the parks department and were all very clean. Showers are available at this campsite too. One this we noticed was how few mosquitos there were. We didn't need to use bug spray the entire time we were there. That was a plus! Outside the campgrounds you will find a country store if you need any additional supplies or food. There are a couple of restaurants in the area too, we didn't try any of them, maybe next time. Along with that, there are mini golf courses, bumper boats, go kart track, and a gondola outside the park. Each have different costs.

Internet and cell phone service is non-existant at this campground unless you have Sprint...weird. Never have seen that. You will need to drive 4 miles back to the town of Joseph for other carriers of internet or cell service. The town of Joseph had 2 gas stations along with bars, restaurants and shopping. We did go hang out at the Outlaw bar for drinks and sat in the patio area. It was quite nice! As for the campground, we will be going back again next year since we had a really good time!

We stayed at Wallowa Lake State Park and really enjoyed it, we baked Brownies with extra walnuts for our snacks. We went up the Wallowa Lake Tram to the top of MT Howard, what a view! the restaurant at the top Summit Grill for lunch and hiked around the trails before coming down. I fished every day and had a blast, paid for the stay in Fresh Fish. Campfires in the pit, fire wood for sale from camp hosts. We had a huge pull thru site with plenty of room for our large rig and truck. There were lots of deer walking thru the site every day. We did the Joseph Railrider trip and that was a blast to do! We walked around the local little towns, nice market in Joseph with everything you need more of, we needed a few things for the road and picked up some sandwichws for the next day's driving. Check out the Blue Banana, and do not miss the little "mini donut "shop in Joseph, oh yes!

We loved this park we had a nice site a pull thru with full hook up. The lake was so calm every day and the fishing was great. We took the cable cars up to the top of mount Howard and hiked in the snow, had drinks at the summit. We trolled for Kokanee in our kayak got an 18” and 15”.
There are a few towns not far with a nice Safeway.
Our site had some privacy but 3 campers set up across and next to us wit 10 young boys and 2 girls all around the age of 7 and they all cut through our site all day long including the parents till we said something to them. Some still kept doing it I think parents should teach their kids not to do that. You can’t pick you neighbors. Our neighbors on the other side complained to the park.