We are three NYC city girls looking to get back to nature. We are headed to Oregon for about 10 days in late August. We plan to combine road trip with a longer stay of four or so nights somewhere, hopefully a nice quiet cabin by a lake. (We'll definitely hit Crater Lake but I'm not sure that will have the `quiet' element we're looking for). Does anyone have any suggestions? Even a private rental would work. We're not looking for anything fancy. We also plan to camp for the rest of the time (Columbia River Gorge, Crater Lake, Rogue River and the coast) so any tips on the best camp sites would be most welcome, Thanks

One place in Southern Oregon I would recommend is Lake of the Woods, which is located just off 140 on Dead Indian Memorial Highway. 140 is the highway that connects Medford with Klamath Falls.
There are good campgrounds just below Crater Lake on 62. Two I recall are Farewell Bend and Union Creek. They are both right on the Rogue River.

I live here and do tons of camping and hiking so let me know if you want additional info other than what I have provided here.

There are some very nice cabins on Odell Lake. I stayed there a few years ago when some friends got married there. Very cool place but you will have to google it since I don't have the info handy.

There are also some cabins on Olallie Lake but I haven't been in them, only seen them from the outside. Olallie lake is very beautiful but tends to be crowded.

Keep in mind that you are taking this trip during one of the busiest times of the year for camping in Oregon. You can go to www.reserveusa.com. There is a $9 reservation fee but at least you will get a spot.

Two of the best campgrounds along the beautiful Clackamas river are Riverside and Lazy Bend. Very nice riverside camp spots!

There are also some great campgrounds in Mt Hood although the raging wildfires have closed several campgrounds temporarily.

Cheers!

These are great tips, thanks a lot! I'll follow both these up. We're really looking forward to the trip.

Another vote for Odell Lake Lodge cabins. We spent many long week-ends there. If you reserve there, be sure to ask for one of the newer cabins; the older ones are rather grotty and mostly used by guys on fishing outings.
Then cabins are simpy but comfortably furnished and come with woodburning stoves (as well as regular heating), modern bathrooms and kitchens (no dishwasher, though) and have nice decks. Sitting on the deck in the morning while watching golden eages fish for kokanee is a wonderful experience.
Suggest you stock up on food in Eugene, OR, if you pass that way. The grocery stores in the immediate vicinity are small and not particularly well stocked.
However, Odell Lake Lodge is VERY popular; I wouldn't be surprised to find that it's completely booked up. We usually reserved our cabin months in advance.

http://www.odelllakeresort.com/

Sounds like a fantastic trip. With this being high season here, you will probably have to do a lot of calling around to find availability, both for camping as well as cabins.

A few places off the top of my head are

Silver Falls State Park (outside of Salem) has both tent sites as well as cabins)

Suttle Lake (out near Detroit lake) has cabins as well as tnet sites

Detroit Lake--lots of tent sites

East Lake Resort--south of bend, has cabins

Timothy Lake--near Mt. Hood

Lost Lake--backside of Mt. Hood, has cabins as well as tent sites

We were up at Mt. Hood this weekend, and the smoke smell from the fires was pretty thick as was the haze. Granted, that can change from day to day, and hopefully the fires will be out soon, but if not I just wanted to mention it so you were aware.

Hi nycgirls

If you realy want to get back to nature try this spot. http://www.olallielake.com/
I have never stayed in the cabins but I have camped here several times. You are off the beaten path but we have made it up here in a compact car.

Have Fun
GP

Just beyond Olallie Lake you will find Horseshoe Lake. The water is sparkling blue green! There are only 6 spots or so and it also fills up. Some of the forest service roads, including the one to get to Horseshoe, are very rough.

As I mentioned in my first post, he only way to reserve most spots is on the www.reserveusa.com site. You might find spots easily during the week day but when we camped this weekend almost every spot around Mt Hood and the Clackamas River were full. We talked to people that drove around from campground to campground this weekend and ended up camping far away from any river or lake.

If you plan on hiking from any trail head within a National Park system make sure you read the bulletin board to see if a park pass is required. They are $5 a day. If you don't have it the fine is $70!

Good luck and have a great time!

Good luck and have a great time!

You guys are great. Thanks so much. We'll start booking right away and will let you know how the trip goes.

Shelter Cove at Odell Lake has some great cabins/ I stay there every winter
Heres a link
http://www.sheltercoveresort.com/main.html
Another one of my favorite places is Camp Sherman on the Metolius River- and here is a link to some of the lodging available here. Of course this is on a river, not a lake, but its a great place to stay - and there are great campgrounds too.
http://www.metoliusriver.com/lodging.html
Have fun -

heres a link to my favorite cabins on the Metolius- they are older than the other resorts and kind of funky and retro- but I thought they were fun and the river is so close to some of them you are lulled to sleep every night by the sound of the water.
The Metolius is very close to the town of Sisters -

http://www.metoliusriverlodges.com/

I agree that the Metolius is a wonderful river to camp next to. My favorite campground along the Metolius is Pine Rest. The camp spots are way spread out and a little off the dirt road.

The opportunities are endless!

http://www.southernoregon.com/lakes/index.html
http://www.southernoregon.com/hyattlake/index.html
http://www.southernoregon.com/lakeofthewoods/index.html