It wasn’t just the way he said it, but because he said it twice. Who and what the heck am I talking about? The convenience store clerk at the gas station on the way to Morgan Lake in La Grande, OR asking me “if I had all-wheel drive (AWD)” for my car to drive up to the lake.
I stopped in for a few supplies before heading up to the Free Camping spot at Morgan Lake and mentioned I was driving up for the night to the nice clerk. He let me know the road up there was “really steep” but if I had AWD I’d probably be fine. Probably? Yikes!
Morgan Lake is a beautiful location with free camping
What’s not to love about this Free Camping spot? Aren’t the photos below beautiful? Plus, it’s right off I-84 so an easy sidetrip on my drive from Boise, ID to Portland. I found it on an app, and NO ONE mentioned anything about a dangerously steep road up to the lake, or that it might not be wise to tow a trailer up there.
So I’m giving you the heads up here! If you have a camper van, etc. probably no problem as long as your vehicle is in good shape. But towing a trailer or driving up with a large RV could be difficult and potentially dangerous.
I listened to the clerk guy and went on my way since I did have AWD, a safe tow vehicle, plus just a small 14 ft trailer. And I was super excited to get to Free Camp in such a pretty location for the night.
Then I got to the bottom of the hill that starts the five mile uphill climb to the lake and saw the sign in the featured photo above. Scared me. It gets steeper? It had also rained the night before so the gravel road was wet and I definitely did not feel safe risking the drive. So skipped it.
Nice La Grande Parks guy Chris clarified potential safety issues
After I got to Portland I called La Grande Parks & Recreation to ask for more information about the steepness of the climb to the lake, safety issues for folks pulling a trailer, etc. and Chris gave me a lot of excellent info.
He said that he’s taken cars and larger trucks up there and has seen folks pull trailers up there but not a lot of RVs. And he also clarified that the five miles is pretty steep most of the way, so it’s quite a climb.
If you feel comfortable driving the road up I’m sure it’s worth the stress! But beware it could be potentially unsafe. Cheers.