Magone Lake is one of Grant County’s favorite places to cool off on scorching hot summer days.

Locals and visitors alike make their way for swimming, fishing, hiking, mountain biking and camping.

Magone Lake (pronounced “muh-goon”) offers a campground set in white fir and ponderosa pine with both a picnic shelter and overnight campsite for groups to reserve. The sites can accommodate up to 75 people each.

Individual family sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Picnic tables and campfire rings with grills are provided.

The campground offers three tent-only sites, 20 tent/trailer sites and a large picnic area with group picnicking.

The restrooms include a changing room and vault toilets, which are handicap-accessible. It also has a reservation-only covered picnic shelter for large gatherings.

A boat ramp is available on-site, and anglers can catch eastern brook and rainbow trout.

The lake offers a maintained 1-mile hiking trail, easy enough for most families. It circles the lake with plenty of places to rest and take photos.

Visitors also enjoy the wildflowers and fascinating geology throughout the region.

The lake is located about 26 miles north of John Day in the Malheur National Forest.

According to the Atlas of Oregon Lakes, the lake was named for Major John W. Magone, a nineteenth-century resident of Canyon City who stocked the lake with fish.

Magone, known for traveling by foot, was said to have hiked to the lake with a wooden yoke across his shoulders, with a bucketful of fish at each end.

These days the lake is stocked annually by the by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The lake is open all year, and winter fishing through the ice is popular.

Reservations

To reserve the group site, visit recreation.gov or call 1-877-444-6777.

Reservations can be made same day and up to six months in advance for the group sites.

Driving directions

From John Day: Take Highway 26 east for approximately 9 miles. At the junction of County Road 18, travel north approximately 10 miles. At Forest Road 3620, turn west and drive approximately 1 mile to Forest Road 3618. The campground is about 1 mile from the turnoff.

From Prairie City: Take Highway 26 approximately 3 miles west. At the junction of County Road 18, travel north approximately 10 miles. Turn west on Forest Road 3620 and travel approximately 1 mile to Forest Road 3618. The campground is about 1 mile from the turnoff.