Sudden fame and poor behavior have marred another famous outdoor spot in Oregon.

Broken Top Lake, often referred to as No Name Lake, has been closed to camping following a dramatic spike in people visiting and excess amounts of poop at the high alpine destination.

The U.S. Forest Service closed camping for a quarter-mile around the lake in the Three Sisters Wilderness due to so much human waste “it was starting to smell like a sewer,” said Jason Fisher, wilderness manager for Deschutes National Forest.

Officials began putting signs up at the lake during the last two weeks. The closure has been in place since late June, but many are just learning about it because the area is often blocked by snow deep into the summer.

“The problem was that everybody was camping in the same place, so you’d have 15 tents all jammed right next to each other," Fisher said. "That led to a lot of damage to plant life and creation of user-created trails. But the breaking point was the human waste.

"The lake is in basin with very few trees or soil, and with the lava rock it's difficult to bury waste,” Fisher said. “It just got worse and worse until it was getting disgusting. And people just kept coming. The damage was happening so fast we felt like we had to do something.”

Fisher said the camping setback moves visitors out of the lake’s moraine basin and toward much better camping spots.

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In a familiar trend seen nationwide, the small alpine lake was a somewhat well-known spot among locals going back decades. But the lake is so dramatic, with the cliffs of Broken Top rising overhead, that pictures of it spread on social media like wildfire.

“We had an explosion of visitors, it was almost like everybody found out about it in one summer,” Fisher said. “You can see why. It comes across really well on social media.”

Franziska Weinheimer, who posted about the closure on her website Hike Oregon, said it was sad that a few people ruined what was an incredible experience.

“It was such a life-changing experience getting to camp up there — the stars are insane,” she said. “It's sad that others won't have the chance to experience that because of a few people who don't adhere to Leave No Trace Principles.”

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Permits will be required next summer

The dynamic at No Name Lake will change next summer with the arrival of a limited entry permit system that will require anyone hiking or camping there to purchase a permit in advance.

The permit system is part of a comprehensive plan by the Forest Service to reduce the impact of so many visitors in the Mount Jefferson, Three Sisters and Mount Washington wilderness areas.

Final decision: Permits required for hiking Oregon's Mount Jefferson, Three Sisters wilderness areas beginning 2020

From the Broken Top Trailhead next summer, a total of 40 people will be allowed to day-hike and four overnight groups will be allowed to enter each day.

It’s unclear how much the permits will cost — the Forest Service is still working on that — but it will be at least $6.

Permits will be available for purchase on Recreation.Gov.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter, photographer and videographer in Oregon for 11 years. To support his work,subscribe to the Statesman Journal.

Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.