Featured amenities
Pet Friendly
About Carter Lake
Number of accommodations: 21
Seasonal information
2026 Season availability
Campground Amenities
Most popular amenities
Pet friendly
Pets and Policies
- Pet friendly
Report Incorrect Information
Help us improve by reporting any incorrect amenity information for Carter Lake.
Rates, Sites & Availability
21 Sites Available
No sites found matching your criteria.
No available sites
All sites are booked for your selected dates. Try showing all sites to see booked options, create an alert to be notified when something opens up, or adjust your dates.
Site Details
Select a site to view details
21 Sites Available
No available sites
All sites are booked for your selected dates. Try showing all sites to see booked options, create an alert to be notified when something opens up, or adjust your dates.
Reviews (176)
What Guests Are Saying
Carter Lake is a pleasant and quiet campground with spacious sites, clean bathrooms, and friendly hosts. Visitors appreciate the beautiful lake access for activities like kayaking, as well as the hiking trails leading to nearby dunes. While some sites may have mobility challenges and the beach access could be improved, many guests express a desire to return due to the overall enjoyable experience.
What Guests Are Saying
Carter Lake is a pleasant and quiet campground with spacious sites, clean bathrooms, and friendly hosts. Visitors appreciate the beautiful lake access for activities like kayaking, as well as the hiking trails leading to nearby dunes. While some sites may have mobility challenges and the beach access could be improved, many guests express a desire to return due to the overall enjoyable experience.
Review Summary
Andrea L
VerifiedJune 5, 2024 • Stayed at: 07, Loop: AREA CARTER LAKE
Andrea L
VerifiedJune 5, 2024 • Stayed at: 07, Loop: AREA CARTER LAKE
Michael S
VerifiedOctober 27, 2023 • Stayed at: 09, Loop: AREA CARTER LAKE
The camp host was rarely there to answer any question. When he or she was there, he was of no help at all.
Michael S
VerifiedOctober 27, 2023 • Stayed at: 09, Loop: AREA CARTER LAKE
The camp host was rarely there to answer any question. When he or she was there, he was of no help at all.
Michael Q
VerifiedSeptember 18, 2023 • Stayed at: 13, Loop: AREA CARTER LAKE
Beware a good amount of the campsites have stairs from the car parking to the site. Our campsite had about 10 steps that took us down by the lake. We had very great privacy thanks to all the bushes. Campsites are a little tight, but seem to offer a lot of privacy. No camp host when we got there. Only one very clean bathroom with a few water spots.
Michael Q
VerifiedSeptember 18, 2023 • Stayed at: 13, Loop: AREA CARTER LAKE
Beware a good amount of the campsites have stairs from the car parking to the site. Our campsite had about 10 steps that took us down by the lake. We had very great privacy thanks to all the bushes. Campsites are a little tight, but seem to offer a lot of privacy. No camp host when we got there. Only one very clean bathroom with a few water spots.
Rebecca R
VerifiedAugust 30, 2023 • Stayed at: 06, Loop: AREA CARTER LAKE
Excellent Location, less crowded atmosphere than your typical campground. Bathrooms were unbelievably gross for having a ‘host’ onsite & plumbing. The ‘host’ was never around & always off duty. At one point we got excited because we saw a ‘forest service’ truck parked out front with supplies and we thought they were coming to hose everything down and maybe get some hand soap in the bathrooms. NOPE. Not even sure what they were there for.
The urinals in the men’s bathroom literally had green algae/ mold growing like a plant, all-toilets were brown inside in both bathrooms, sinks were covered in dirt/mud, dead bugs & spider webs, etc…
I don’t mind roughing it in the great outdoors, truly. I have been in better portapottys than this bathroom was in. I guess I was just disappointed because we usually return here every year and I have never seen the place so gross.
Michael R
VerifiedAugust 30, 2023 • Stayed at: 02, Loop: AREA CARTER LAKE
Very cool campground; great host-Larry, super helpful. We had site 2; nice and flat with good privacy . Great little lake to SUP or kayak on; I fished and caught about 25 little bass. There are two connected hikes with a trailhead right in camp. Beautiful Ocean beach as well. Bottom part of campground is mostly sunny with some shade near sites 6&7; after that mostly shady from 9 on. Bathroom is clean- seamed all throughout the day- no issues; water was good. No Verizon signal even though it showed one-bar; some people were using their phones assuming other carriers. Overall- we definitely would come back here. Great campground! If it’s only a base and what we did during part of our stay- so close to other lakes and hikes in the area- made it a great choice for us.
Rebecca R
VerifiedAugust 30, 2023 • Stayed at: 06, Loop: AREA CARTER LAKE
Excellent Location, less crowded atmosphere than your typical campground. Bathrooms were unbelievably gross for having a ‘host’ onsite & plumbing. The ‘host’ was never around & always off duty. At one point we got excited because we saw a ‘forest service’ truck parked out front with supplies and we thought they were coming to hose everything down and maybe get some hand soap in the bathrooms. NOPE. Not even sure what they were there for.
The urinals in the men’s bathroom literally had green algae/ mold growing like a plant, all-toilets were brown inside in both bathrooms, sinks were covered in dirt/mud, dead bugs & spider webs, etc…
I don’t mind roughing it in the great outdoors, truly. I have been in better portapottys than this bathroom was in. I guess I was just disappointed because we usually return here every year and I have never seen the place so gross.
Michael R
VerifiedAugust 30, 2023 • Stayed at: 02, Loop: AREA CARTER LAKE
Very cool campground; great host-Larry, super helpful. We had site 2; nice and flat with good privacy . Great little lake to SUP or kayak on; I fished and caught about 25 little bass. There are two connected hikes with a trailhead right in camp. Beautiful Ocean beach as well. Bottom part of campground is mostly sunny with some shade near sites 6&7; after that mostly shady from 9 on. Bathroom is clean- seamed all throughout the day- no issues; water was good. No Verizon signal even though it showed one-bar; some people were using their phones assuming other carriers. Overall- we definitely would come back here. Great campground! If it’s only a base and what we did during part of our stay- so close to other lakes and hikes in the area- made it a great choice for us.
Location Carter Lake
Address:
Oregon Dunes Visitor Center
Reedsport, OR, 97467
United States
From Florence, travel south on Highway 101 for about 10 miles. The entrance to Carter Lake Campground is on the west (right) side of Highway 101.
Carter Lake Campground is accessible from Highway 101, which runs approximately 10 miles north from Florence. The campground entrance is located on the west side of Highway 101.
Latitude & Longitude: 43.8567 / -124.146
Elevation: 16 feet
Policies & Rules
General
- Guidelines for a safe visit to the Siuslaw National Forest The Siuslaw’s campgrounds, day use areas, and trails continue to be open for public enjoyment. While you are visiting the Forest, please adhere to the following guidelines. These guidelines will help ensure a safe and healthy visit for you and your family, our employees and volunteers, and other visitors: Please keep in mind that restrooms are generally cleaned and disinfected at least once daily at the more popular campgrounds and day use sites, and once to three times a week at other sites. Be prepared to provide your own soap, sanitizer, or disinfectant. If no trash receptacle is provided, please protect your public lands by packing out your waste and trash. For more information on COVID-19 in Oregon, please visit: https://govstatus.egov.com/OR-OHA-COVID-19
- There is a 14-day in 30 rolling days camping limit on the Siuslaw National Forest. The 14 days does not have to be consecutive. The 14-day limit covers the entire Siuslaw National Forest and not just this campground as shown in the Rules Section. This means you cannot go to other campgrounds on the Siuslaw National Forest after reaching the 14-day limit.
- Forest Service-operated campsites on the Siuslaw National Forest are currently available by online reservation only.Visitors can make reservations online through this website (preferred), or via phone by calling the recreation.gov phone line at 877-444-6777. If you call this number, please be prepared for longer-than-usual wait times. Please note that the Siuslaw National Forest does not have any control over the recreation.gov phone line, so we ask you to please prepare by making reservations well in advance.
- Sites must occupied within first 24 hours of arrival time. Otherwise unoccupied sites will be considered a "no-show" and will be released.
- No off-road vehicle use allowed in campground
- For more information on Siuslaw National Forest, click here
- Don't Move Firewood: Please protect Pacific Northwest forests by preventing the spread of invasive species. Firewood can carry insects and diseases that can threaten the health of our western forests. You can make a difference by obtaining and burning your firewood near your camping destination. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.
- Two vehicle maximum per site.
Nearby Campgrounds
Last updated: June 4, 2026
