Camper submitted image from Craters of the Moon Wilderness — Craters of the Moon National Monument - 1

Camper submitted image from Craters of the Moon Wilderness — Craters of the Moon National Monument - 2

Camper submitted image from Craters of the Moon Wilderness — Craters of the Moon National Monument - 3

Activities

Camper submitted image from Craters of the Moon Wilderness — Craters of the Moon National Monument - 4

Camping

Camper submitted image from Craters of the Moon Wilderness — Craters of the Moon National Monument - 5

Roads

Established Camping

Craters of the Moon Wilderness — Craters of the Moon National Monument

3 Reviews

About

National Park Service

Details

The 42 sites are available on a first come-first served basis; no reservations are accepted.

Cost

$15 per site during the main season and $8 per site when water is not turned on to the campground. The cost is half-price with Senior or Access passes. Pay with a credit card at any time on the automated fee machine located near the campground entrance. No fee is charged when the Loop Road is closed.

Facilities

water (seasonal) restrooms (only a vault toilet is currently available) charcoal grills picnic tables Sites #34, 35, 42 & 3 are fully accessible. Site #34 contains an electrical outlet for use by those with medical needs. There are no hookups, showers, or waste water dump stations. Large RVs and trailers can be accommodated in a limited number of sites.

Fee Info

Cost

Reservation Info

The 42 sites are available on a first come-first served basis; no reservations are accepted.

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Location

Craters of the Moon Wilderness — Craters of the Moon National Monument is located in Idaho

Coordinates

43.395337999997025 N
113.51210299999985 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Hike-In
Backcountry sites.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Group

Features

For Campers

ADA Access
Drinking Water
Toilets

For Vehicles

Big Rig Friendly

For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

First Come - First Served

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Contact

General Info

Eric G.

Legend

Reviewed Aug. 13, 2022

Right in park

The setting of this campground is nice. Most sites are small. Hard to back into sites due to rocks and narrow road. There are some pull thru sites. First come first served. Check out at noon so try to get there shortly after that. No cell service. Flush toilets with running water. No dump. It is located right in the park.

Site42

Month of VisitSeptember

(5) View All

Dexter I.

Legend

Reviewed Sep. 17, 2021

Sleep in a volcano crater

What could be more cool than sleeping in the bottom of a volcano. That is what you can do on the Crater of the Moon National Monument's Wilderness Trail. Sleep in the bottom of Echo Crater. To backpack and camp in the wilderness area requires a free backcountry permit. It is a little more than 3 miles of backpacking to the crater, the last bit is off trail so you will need the map provided for the area. Access to the crater is from the east side of the crater, access the crater from any of the other sides is faster but it will be your last as it is a several hundred foot vertical drop to the bottom. No water sources so you will need to pack at least a gallon of water per person per day. Make sure you use the vault toilet at the trailhead before heading out, if you need to due #2 you will need to back all of it out, and that's more than just the paper. No digging a hole and burying it here. Plenty of flat ground to pitch your tent in the bottom of the crater.

SiteEcho Crater

Month of VisitOctober

(12) View All

Dare To Everywhere .

Ranger

Reviewed Jun. 7, 2021

Beautiful hike, take a map!

Stayed: 5/12/2021

Cost: FREE (Permit Required)

Site: Just shy of Echo Crater (SEE PIC)

Vehicle: Volkswagen Atlas (Parked at trailhead)

Equipment: Tent

AT&T and T-Mobile: No Service

We were very excited for this hike and dispersed stay. It’s just under 4 miles one way and you must get a free permit from the visitor center to enter the Wilderness area at Craters of the Moon. Unforutanley, we didn’t have an NPS Park Ranger, and we didn’t get as much info as we were hoping while getting our permit. With that, we were relying on the basic park map and previous research to find our way to Echo Crater, the main place to camp.

Take the scenic drive through the entire park until you get to the parking lot and trailheads for 'Tree Molds', 'Broken Top' and 'Wilderness'. From the 'Tree Molds' trailhead, follow the sidewalk that loops back around the parking lot, and look for the sign for the 'Wilderness Trail' (it's a small one and a few steps into the trail - see pic).

I highly suggest using a GPS or more detailed map, to make sure you make it to the crater. We thought we were there, but after getting back to service and pulling up the satellite image, we were just shy of actual Echo Crater (see the map picture for more detail). The sights are stunning, both during the day and night, and both on the hike in and the hike out. No fires are permitted, so make sure to bring a stove. We saw some wildlife, but nothing that was bothersome, or an issue. Also, it definitely gets chilly at night.

However, the trail and hike are absolutely beautiful and very much worth the trek. We only stayed for the one night, but would love to return and actually make it to Echo Crater next time around!

#DareToEverywhere

Month of VisitJune

(11) View All