Campground: Forlorn Lakes

It was a cute place, very tranquil for sure. Unfortunately we ended up camping at one of the smaller lakes instead of a bigger one, and the views weren’t as pretty as some of the other pictures I seen. Lots of flying beetles and mosquitoes that wouldn’t leave us alone, and leeches in the lake that kept sticking to our poor dogs. The bathroom near our site (site 2) was absolutely disgusting with stains everywhere, a horrible smell, and lots of flies. But, it is a vault toilet, so what are you gonna do. Luckily we brought our own portable toilet so didn’t need to use it. It was definitely an okay place to camp, just don’t know if I’d wanna go here again. I think I’m just someone more interested in camping where theres running water, like at a river!

Best camp ground if you want privacy, extreme starlight, and tranquility. It is dark and very quiet at night. Perfect for stargazers. The stars literally reflect in the water. Occasional light pollution from other campers but usually pretty dark. Camp areas are wide and can accommodate large tents or multiple large tents, depending on the site. Fire pits and picnic tables are available at most sites I've seen. Ocassional bears or dark-colored cougar but if you maintain a clean camp you won't have any problems. Bear spray and an air horn is a good precaution, though. Big Foot hoaxers occasionally show up to scare campers and capture content, I guess, then leave "footprints" in the area. Last year, we heard loud knocks in the night and woke up to find large prints on the trail leading from our camp to the lake edge. We didn't fall for it, but another camp did and vacated, screaming at 3 a.m. The next day, we saw a dark cougar in broad daylight run through the area near a restroom, so...be prepared for the unexpected. You are in the middle of nowhere, in a forest.

Great campground with lots of spaces. It gets pretty busy on the weekends during the late summer as well as very dusty and dry on the roads. I have never been up here when it is cold but it is never uncomfortable when it is hot back in the city. Great little lakes for swimming or a small raft or kayak. There is no running water and it just has pit toilets so its a bit rougher than a large RV campground but that is part of the beauty of it all!

Several pretty small lakes with camp sites and day areas. Activities include huckleberry picking, non - motorized boating, swimming (suggest wearing shoes because of mud and rocks), fishing, hiking, birdwatching, and stargazing. Mid week in the summer there were a few tent spots available, but have heard it's pretty hard to get a spot on the weekends. We found plenty of mountain blueberries in the beginning of August, but not very many huckleberries. Enough for snacking and breakfast!!

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!