The weekend of Aug. 1, 2025, we decided to explore Forest Service Rd. 18 for a free campsite. The road is also known as Lolo Pass Rd. and it begins in ZigZag, Or.

Above is a section of the MVUM (Motor Vehicle Use Map) for Mt. Hood National Forest. On this trip, we turned off onto FS1825 and took a quick look at McNeil campground. McNeil is run by the Forest Service and is first-come, first-serve. It had a lot of wildfire damage and was unattractive.

We went up FS1825 a bit more, before it curves into Lost Creek Campground, and found a really nice site that was about a 100-yard walk from the car. It was lush and green all around with a view of Sugarloaf Mountain to the northwest.

From this camp, it was a 5-minute walk to the babbling Sandy River.

We visited the Ramona Falls Trailhead and hiked until the Sandy River crossing. Most people were walking across a slippery log to the other side but I did not have another pair of socks so stayed on one side.

Before returning home, we travelled the length of FS18, all the way to Hood River. At about the halfway mark, we found another very small campsite, right on the river. Butterflies were everywhere!

We stopped here for lunch. There might have been a beaver upriver watching us! All in all, a great exploration around Mt. Hood.