By:
Submission
Atop a mountain just a few minutes' driving time from the heart of the city, Morgan Lake offers a quiet, motor-free respite from daily cares, with camping, fishing and hiking opportunities.
Morgan Lake is located just a few miles outside of La Grande and provides the citizens of Union County an inexpensive, easily accessible area for a broad range of outdoor recreational activities, including fishing, camping and nature hikes.
The Lake is stocked annually with 23,000 finger length and up to 2,000 legal size rainbow trout. No motors are allowed on the Lake.
Please stop at the registration kiosk and complete a registration form and proceed to a marked camp site. All sites include picnic tables and fire rings. Fires are only allowed in those rings and seasonal fire restrictions are normal during the late summer months.
Currently, there is no fee for camping at the Lake, although there is a limitation of 3 nights per visitor to give everyone a chance to enjoy the facility. The entry gate closes each night at 10:00 p.m.
Campground is open April 22 - October 31.
Great local lake to relax at or go paddleboarding. No motors are allowed in the lake. Plenty of opportunities to fish or find a picknick table. Steep road that has gotten washboard 17% grade.
Did some overnight camping here in the end October. It was in the low 50s with some rain in the morning. It's a small lake with a trail (about 3mi) that surrounds it. It has 10 campsites, 10 and 9 had the clearest view of the sky, I believe. Regardless of the campsite you stay at there isn't too many trees to block the night sky.
Highly recommend this lake for an afternoon or some overnight camping. Be aware that it's about 1.5mi steep ascent to reach the lake, AWD vehicles are best. There's also a small pond across Morgan lake with a trail that opens up to a view of the mountains. Unfortunately, didn't get the opportunity to that trail this time around because of the rain, but will return soon enough.
Original post: 10/27/18. This is above.
Updated post: 11/3/18. The trail is more like 2mi with half being gravel road for vehicles. The other half is a single track for walking/biking with dirt, rocks, gravel, and a few wooden boards. You can get a better picture of the trail from the pictures. I also posted a few pics of the actual campsites.
All in all, it's a nice spot to get away from the city. Unfortunately, the campsites closed on 10/31/18 as you can see in one of the pics. The trail is still accessible on foot but can't enter with your vehicle. There's a few trail access points behind the large Morgan Lake sign.
There are also picnic benches and a small grill right next to the lake, maybe 400ft behind the large sign. Despite the campsites being closed off these are easily accessible.
All in all, it's a nice secluded spot with a small trail, campsites, picnic benches, lake access,and restrooms. I was also told by some locals that it's a nice spot for ice fishing in the winter. I might come back when the water freezes and update this review.
