LOON LAKE RECREATION SITE | Oregon
Overview
The Bureau of Land Management's Loon Lake Recreation Site is located in the heart of Oregon's Coast Range at an elevation of 392 feet, just 20 miles east-southeast of Reedsport, Oregon. Loon Lake Recreation Site is one of the Coast Range's few recreation areas with a warm, sandy beach. The lake is perfect for swimming, fishing, boating, and other water activities. The site offers a campground and day use area, though visitors should note that there is no cell phone coverage in the area. Loon Lake Recreation Site's operating season is from Memorial Day weekend to September 30th. The Coos Bay District Office in North Bend, OR manages Loon Lake Recreation Site.
Please visit the BLM Loon Lake Recreation Site website for more information.
Recreation
Loon Lake is a family-oriented recreation site, treasured by locals for generations. The site offers a myriad of recreational opportunities, including camping, boating, kayaking, paddleboarding, fishing, swimming, and waterplay. Visitors can also enjoy relaxing on the warm, sandy beach. Other popular activities at Loon Lake include picnicking, hiking, birding, horseshoe tossing, and barbecuing.
Campsites have paved parking pads and ample shade from old growth trees. The day use area boasts picnic tables, barbecue grills, swim area, fishing dock, and boat launch. A short, 1/4 mile trail to a waterfall on Elliott State Forest land begins at the south end of the day use area and takes hikers through a quiet and serene segment of old growth forest.
Facilities
Loon Lake offers 53 campsites that accomodate tents, trucks, trailers, and/or RVs. All campsites contain a fire ring and picnic table. Most sites have a barbecue grill and/or tent pad. Double sites have two picnic tables and larger, or multiple, tent pads. In addition, the site contains flush toilet facilities, vault toilets, children's play area, day use picnic tables and barbecue grills, amphitheatre, boat launch, and fishing dock.
Natural Features
Loon Lake Recreation Site is situated in the Coast Mountain Range in southwestern Oregon. Douglas-fir, western hemlock, red alder, and bigleaf maple trees forest this beautiful site and offer an abundance of shade. The forest understory features a host of native plants including rhododendron, salal, salmon berry, thimble berry, vine maple, trailing blackberry, and several fern species. A diverse variety of bird life, from the seldom seen Marbled Murrelet and Spotted Owl, to the ever-present Steller's Jay and Osprey, frequent this area. Signs of larger animals, such as raccoon, bear, elk, deer, and bobcat are evident.
Loon Lake is part of the Umpqua River watershed that drains water from the Coast Range to the Pacific Ocean. Formed by a landslide of large sandstone blocks and boulders, Loon Lake is a naturally dammed lake that covers 260 acres, is 2 miles long, and 190' deep.
Nearby Attractions
The Oregon Coast Range offers a myriad of exciting recreational activities, including hiking, fishing, scenic driving, tidepooling, expansive beaches, and wildlife viewing. BLM's Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area, also managed by the Coos Bay District Office, is a short drive from Loon Lake and offers visitors the chance to see one of Oregon's largest mammal, Roosevelt Elk, up close.
Loon Lake is less than an hour from charming Winchester Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The town of Reedsport is just 20 miles away and lies near the confluence of three rivers, including the scenic Umpqua and Smith rivers. Reedsport is the gateway town to the vast Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, where visitors enjoy hiking, paddling, wildlife viewing, camping, picnicking, sand play, beach access, and OHV riding.
Contact Info
This location has limited staffing. Please call (541) 756-0100 for general information.
Charges & Cancellations
Photos
Accessibility Description (ABA/ADA)
There is no cell phone reception at this site.
A paved road leads past the entrance booth to the pay station. Two large dumpsters are just past the entrance booth and have lids at a height that should be appropriate for people in wheelchairs.
General parking for the day-use area in the southern portion of the site is straight ahead. Turn right at the pay station to reach the one-way campground loop, with parking spurs for individual campsites, several areas for boat-trailer parking, and a parking lot for campers using the tent meadow.
Day-Use Area
On the road leading to the day-use area, interpretive signs with details about local flora and fauna are installed on vertical panels of shaded kiosks sitting on pavement.
The day-use area encompasses 30 picnic sites bordering the beach. It has 2 accessible restroom facilities with designated parking spaces. One restroom, near the parking lot closest to the day-use area, is a flush toilet with 2 stalls; the other is a double vault toilet to the southwest. These toilets are adjacent to 2 accessible picnic sites, with tables that have recessed legs allowing wheelchair users to pull up to either end. One of these picnic sites can be reached via the designated accessible parking space for the flush toilets.
Drinking water is available from 5 spigots with easy-to-use paddle valves scattered around the site, including one just north of the day-use area. Some of the spigots sit on dirt, others on pavers, and the unevenness of the ground around them varies.
The pathways through the day-use area, like the pathways from the picnic sites to the beach, are all paved. In the northeast portion of this area, a paved path leads to a T-shaped accessible fishing pier with wooden railings.
Campground
The campground has 4 additional accessible toilets: 3 flush toilet facilities, each with 2 stalls, and a single-vault toilet near the tent meadow on the northern edge of the site.
Campsites 28 and 50 are designated as accessible and are reservable. Campsite 50 is next to the day-use area, while campsite 28 is farther north. These accessible campsites are flat and have fully paved parking spurs. They also have tent pads and wide concrete aprons, which support picnic tables with recessed legs and pedestal grills.
Other campsites vary in their level of accessibility, but none are designated as accessible.
Descriptions and photos uploaded May 2026. Please note that actual on-the-ground conditions may vary due to natural events (e.g., weather, wildfires, erosion), normal wear and tear, or site improvements.
Contact Us
Activities
Addresses
Geographic Coordinates
Directions
From I-5 in Oregon, take the Drain Exit (#162) south of Cottage Grove. Travel 43 miles west on OR-38 W to Loon Lake Road, 4 miles west of Scottsburg.
From US HWY 101 in Reedsport, travel 13 miles east on OR-38 E to Loon Lake Road.
Watch for Loon Lake Recreation Site sign on OR-38 between mileposts 13 and 14.
Turn south onto Loon Lake Road, then travel 7 miles to the recreation site. When you come onto the Loon Lake Recreation Site sign on your left, the entrance is to the right, between the large boulders.
Fees
Camping
- $18.00 Single Site (up to 6 persons/ 1 vehicle)
- $36.00 Double Site (up to 12 persons/ 2 vehicles)
$7.00 Additional Vehicle
(Online reservations may incur additional fees)
Day Use
- $5.00 per vehicle
- $3.00 Walk-In
$3.00 Boat Launch
NOTICE: Exact change is required. We do not accept bills larger than $20. Checks and debit/credit cards are accepted. You may also use the on-site self-service kiosk or pay through the Scan & Pay feature in the Recreation.gov app (please download and set up the app before arriving).