South Shore Group Campground

South Shore Group Campground is the only designated group campground at Haystack Reservoir in Central Oregon near Madras. There are three group campsites, Willow, Juniper and Cottonwood, each of which can hold 50 people. All roads and campsites are gravel, and each campsite is private from the other group sites. The campground is open March through November. Each site is primitive, with no water, electricity or sewer available. Two vault toilets are located in the campground, and each site has picnic tables and a fire ring; all campfires are required to be in the fire rings at all times. Water is available about half a mile away at West Shore Campground up the road. Upon arrival, visit the Campground Host at West Shore Campground so they can give you check-in instructions, since there is a locked gate at South Shore. Haystack Reservoir is a small and intimate lake very popular for fishing and camping with local visitors along with many traveling and recreating through the sunny Central Oregon area. It offers boating, fishing, camping and sightseeing, with easy access only a few miles off of Highway 97. Small motorized boating is allowed, and non-motorized boating is popular for those with canoes and kayaks. Two boat ramps are located nearby at West and East Shore Campgrounds across the lake. South Shore is located in a High Desert landscape with gorgeous views of the lake and Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood as a scenic backdrop. High desert weather is mostly sunny and warm a majority of the time, with juniper trees, sagebrush and bitterbrush throughout the campground, providing vegetation for privacy screening. Lakeside views and access to this small, intimate reservoir make it a beautiful spot to relax and view waterfowl, deer, eagles, osprey and Great Blue Herons, and the combination of a low forest canopy and 3,000' elevation makes this a perfect location for stargazing at the wide open sky on clear nights. The surrounding Central Oregon area is a destination for boating, hiking, fishing, camping, mountain biking, rock climbing, horseback riding, hunting and designated Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) trails. Several state parks are within 30 minutes, including Smith Rock State Park, which features world class rock climbing and hiking along the Crooked River, and Cove Palisades State Park, which offers boating, swimming, hiking, and water and jet skiing. The Lower Deschutes Wild and Scenic River, about 30 minutes away, provides world known fishing and whitewater boating, and the nearby National Forest Service Grasslands feature designated OHV trails, horseback riding, hiking and primitive camping.