A gray 4x4 Sprinter with a roof rack on a two-track through a wildflower meadow, cloud sitting on the mountains behind.

Forest Service campground

Link Creek

Forest Service campground in Deschutes National Forest, Jefferson County, Oregon. 3,460 feet. 13.1 miles from Sisters.

Managed by
Forest Service Deschutes National Forest
Elevation
3,460 ft USGS elevation model, at the mapped point
Sites
33 30 standard non-electric, 3 yurt
Longest rig
50 ft The longest vehicle any site is listed for
Hookups
None listed
Reservations
Recreation.gov

Overview

Link Creek Campground is situated on the shores of Suttle Lake in the Deschutes National Forest. Visitors enjoy boating, fishing, hiking and biking in summer, and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter.

Recreation

Popular activities in the area include hiking, fishing and motorized boating in the summer months, and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter months. Numerous hiking mountain biking trails are accessible 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 is relatively flat and follows the wooded shoreline of the lake, providing opportunities for fishing or picnicking along the way. A boat ramp is located within the campground. Motorized and non-motorized boats are allowed on Suttle Lake.

Facilities

Link Creek Campground offers tent and RV campsites, as well as yurts. Campsites are equipped with tables and campfire rings with grills. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Electrical hookups are not available. The yurts are equipped with electricity. While the campsites are pet-friendly, unfortunately pets are not permitted within the yurts. The yurts are available for reservation year-round. Housekeeping is reduced to 2-3 days from November - March. Each is equipped with a bunkbed with one double and one single mattress, double futon, table and chairs and a wood stove. Visitors need to bring their own linens and eating essentials. They each have a light, a wall heater, and 1 - 110 electrical outlet.

Natural Features

Suttle Lake is surrounded by a mixed conifer forest. The lake is deep and clear. The lake covers an area of 253 acres and has an average depth of 44 feet. It sustains an excellent population of naturally reproducing kokanee, brown trout, whitefish, and crayfish.

Link Creek, which empties into Suttle Lake, is shallow and clear enough to view spawning fish. Lake Creek flows eastward from Suttle Lake and eventually joins the Metolius River.

In autumn, the local vine maple trees display brilliant orange, red and yellow foliage.

Nearby Attractions

Visitors can explore wilderness areas, rivers, lakes and reservoirs, 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.

Visitors enjoy traveling the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway, known as Oregon's Highway in the Sky, which climbs into the clouds on a 66-mile drive through the Cascade Range, weaving past snow-capped peaks and alpine lakes.

The description, directions and fees are the Forest Service’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

What people do here

  • boating
  • camping
  • fishing

The land around Link Creek

The ringed pin is this campground; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in.

Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated June 5, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.