Boise National Forest Bad Bear Campground

This is a large camping and day use area.  Most of the campsites are across Highway 21 (not on the river side).  There is a picnic area/day use area on the river side with its own restroom, so you don't have to cross the road back to camp if you need one.  The campsites are spacious with lots of room to park.  It is right on Highway 21 so there is a little road noise.  That said, there is not a lot of traffic so it's not really a big deal.

Bad Bear is a nice little campsite outside of Idaho City. The sites are good size with adequate privacy. There is lots of tree cover for shade during those warm summer days, and a babbling brook at the back of the campground. Each site had a picnic table, fire ring, and there is a well for water and a vault toilet. We enjoyed our stay here, mostly because there wasn't anyone else camping in the campground when we were there in mid-July! Score! We grabbed the big site, but the other sites seemed a bit small. Would recommend for a easy campsite close to Idaho City and just a quick little jaunt from Boise.