Blue Bay

PO BOX 249
SISTERS, OR 97759

Overview

Blue Bay Campground is situated in a diverse forest of pine and fir on the south shore of Suttle Lake in Deschutes National Forest. Its proximity to high alpine lakes, lush forests and towering peaks in nearby wilderness areas make it a popular destination for individual and group camping excursions.

Recreation

Popular activities in the area include hiking, fishing and motorized boating in the summer months, as well as cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter.

Numerous non-motorized trails can be accessed from the campground and in the surrounding area. The 3.2-mile Suttle Lake Loop Trail meanders through the developed recreation areas on Suttle Lake. The trail follows the wooded shoreline of the lake, providing opportunities for fishing or picnicking along the way.

For fishing, boats are most commonly used on Suttle Lake. Float tubes are adequate, and wading is possible in some areas. A few areas are fishable from shore. The lake sustains an excellent population of naturally reproducing kokanee, brown trout, whitefish and crayfish.

The campground has a shallow boat ramp area, and most campsites have easy access to the waterfront. Motorized and non-motorized boats are allowed on Suttle Lake.

Facilities

Blue Bay Campground offers standard sites that accommodate both tents and RVs, but no hookups are available. Picnic tables and campfire rings with grills are provided, as are vault toilets and drinking water.

Natural Features

Suttle Lake is surrounded by mixed conifer forest. Its waters are deep and clear, formed in a terminal moraine, deposited by glacial ice about 25,000 years ago.

Lake Creek flows eastward from Suttle Lake to the Metolius River. The clear, cold Metolius flows north from headwater springs through diverse coniferous forests and a volcanic landscape with extinct volcanoes, cinder cones, calderas and ancient lava flows.

Nearby Attractions

Visitors can explore wilderness areas, lakes, reservoirs, wild and scenic rivers and approximately 1,600 miles of trails that comprise nearly 2.5 million acres within the Deschutes National Forest and the adjacent Ochoco National Forest.

Camp site features

Across 24 camp sites:

Fire pit: all 24 sites
Picnic table: all 24 sites
Pets allowed: all 24 sites
Longest RV: 50 ft
Largest party: 12 people

Fees

Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.

Directions

From Sisters, travel approximately 13 miles northwest on Highway 20/126. Turn left onto Forest Road 2070 (Suttle Lake Campgrounds). Travel just less than 1/2-mile to Blue Bay entrance on the right.

Stay Limit

Check in from 2 PM, check out by 12 PM.

Reviews

111 reviews

5 stars

4 stars

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1 stars

Andrea M

Loop:Area Blue Bay

Site:

Reviewed a month ago

As others have said, the lake is beautiful, the sites are fine. The bathrooms are terrible. We saw the management come through more than once, look in the bathroom and drive away, not replacing the toliet paper, or wiping down a single thing. I know the FS is under budget cuts and basically have been set up to fail in ensuring their facilities are actually wrll-operated, but c'mon. Someone had the contract to manage the campgrounds, make them do better or fire them.

Cassandra J

Loop:Area Blue Bay

Site:

Reviewed a month ago

Camp SITE was wonderful. Camp GROUND was horrific. The vault toilets here are the worst smelling ones I’ve ever experienced. Obviously vault toilets don’t smell like roses, but these were acidic and could be smelt from nearby campsites. Wish the state had more resources allocated for camp hosts to be able to take better care of them, or crazy idea— empty the vault toilets more frequently at such a busy campground.

Lauren A

Loop:Area Blue Bay

Site:

Reviewed 2 months ago

Suttle Lake is beautiful and we love it for kayaking and stargazing! We stayed in our rooftop tent at site 020 and it was great for the two of us. The site is right on the water and has a small, private water entrance down a couple of rock steps. But it is also right beside the boat ramp, which. Was convenient. It was separated from the boat launch by some trees and bushes, but the public trail went right through the site, so it wasn't completely private. Everyone was respectful, but we were happy we didn't bring our dogs since they can be reactive and they would have barked at most of the hikers and their dogs. The parking area was an open pull-through. Very easy to navigate. A bit of a slope, but it was managable.

Sandra J M

Loop:Area Blue Bay

Site:

Reviewed 2 months ago

Kelsey M

Loop:Area Blue Bay

Site:

Reviewed 2 months ago

Beautiful lake, large camp sites, all was clean except the bathrooms. The bathrooms could be cleaned more often and some some/hand sanitizer could be offered.

Nicole H

Loop:Area Blue Bay

Site:

Reviewed 2 months ago

the site was nice and large but no privacy as the trail basically cuts through the boat loop lake front sites. Our biggest issue was the toilet was fowl, unusable and i'm used to campsite toilets. We were swarmed by mosquitos the entire time and combating bold critters. chipmunks jumping on our bodies and raccoons growling at our tent and circling it for hours without any food on site. it was shocking. The wind is constant and common at Suttle so we weren't even able to use our paddle boards for even an hour. Never camping at Suttle lake ever again. If you chose to - maybe stay away from the boat ramp loop.

Availability

See the Camp Sites section below to find detailed booking availability.

Reserve