Dispersed camping near east CA/OR border???

Im planning a trip to Hood River, OR from the Bay Area in mid May and wanted to cut the trip in half by camping somewhere near the border or Klamath. Unfortunately COVID-19 has every official campground shut down so i was hoping to find a nice forest service road to take me to a quiet isolated place to set up camp.

Ill be going alone, my truck is pretty much stock except for tires, and ive got no recovery gear so id like to find a rout thats pretty tame and not TOO far out in BFE.

Has anyone got any suggestions?

 

Why, yes, I do.

This first place might be a little short for 1st day drive. It's 25-35 miles up the 97 past Weed. Still in CA.

Pass "Grass Lake Rest Area". Actually Grass Lake is worth a stop & lookie.

Estimating off Google Maps, about 2 miles North of the rest area a road crosses the 97. It's Tenant Rd on the right and is paved. But you want to go left and take the dirt road, which is called 1st Creek Rd. It's pretty open the first mile and gets woodsy with meadows after that. Plenty of places to camp. I suggest here because I've been here but if you look on Google maps there are a few roads in the area that might work out.

The second area is in OR and is a place I've only seen on Google Maps. Hagelstein County Park at Upper Klamath Lake. There is a road at the North end of the park that goes up the hillside. Thought a little search might reveal a great spot overlooking the lake.

 

Thanks for the tip! I've been combing google maps and following forestry roads. How much trouble could I get into on these dirt roads? It's a little difficult to get some perspective on elevation and condition. Are they pretty well kept?

 

Depends on how hard you try......

Most of the forestry service roads are in good shape and you'll be fine in a stock vehicle. Just keep an eye out for changes in road conditions and don't go so far that you can't hike back out to the highway.