City of Rocks, near Almo, Idaho, is a unique camping area that offers a stunning backdrop of impressive rock formations and a peaceful atmosphere. With spacious sites that come equipped with picnic tables and fire rings, it’s a fantastic spot for enjoying evenings around the campfire while soaking in the beautiful scenery.

This location is known for its free campsites, which are scattered along the main road, providing a sense of seclusion and tranquility. Visitors have highlighted the calm vibe, with one camper noting, “The rock formations are really cool and the whole place has a calm and peaceful vibe.” While there are no running water facilities or trash services, the area does feature pit toilets, so be sure to pack out what you bring in.

For those eager to explore, City of Rocks is just a short drive from town, making it easy to access local hot springs and restaurants. The surrounding landscape is perfect for hiking and climbing, with plenty of opportunities for adventure right at your doorstep. Just keep in mind that the access road can be rough, so a vehicle with good clearance is recommended.

Whether you're looking to unwind in nature or embark on outdoor activities, City of Rocks provides a memorable camping experience that keeps campers coming back for more.

City of Rocks

Join the fun near Almo. With tons of outdoor activities and scenic camping, this is an excellent vacation spot for all kinds of travelers. Almo is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. Get the dirt on all the best camping near Almo. Browse campgrounds by amenities, site types, and more.

Almo

The Best Camping Near Almo, Idaho

We have stayed in city of rocks a few times! Tons of things to do and a lot to explore! Camp areas are spacious and right in to the rocks! Kids loved it! 

Incredible views! 

Really beautiful and low key state park. The rock formations are really cool and the whole place has a calm and peaceful vibe. There are pit toilets but no other amenities, not even trash, so please take your trash out with you. 

  

Camp sites are scattered all along the main road, and broken up into area numbers. Kind of confusing until you see it for yourself. The hard part here is that the sites are all so different that you really need to see the site for yourself before deciding where you want to camp, but the cell signal here is minimal and sites MUST be reserved through Reserve America (online or by phone).  The highest sites towards the end of the road do have cell signal for both verizon and ATT, but everywhere else in the park there was no reception. There is wifi at the visitor center.

  

Another bummer about the reservation system is the $10 fee per transaction. Sites are $14/night, so we paid $24 for one night.  

  

NOTE: when you are reserving on Reserve America, "City of Rocks RV, ID" is a private RV park in the area. The park you want to choose is City of Rocks National Reserve, ID. 

  

The park is a designated dark sky park, which is cool, but from our site (#63) the lights from the town of Oakley were pretty bright on the horizon, though the stars in the sky were still amazing. We are in a 26ft class c and there were plenty of sites for us to choose from when we visited mid week in July. Very few other campers there when we were there. The paved road ends shortly after the visitor center but the dirt and rocky and at times washboarded road was ok in our motorhome. We stopped at the visitor center on the way up and got lots of helpful info from the rangers on duty. 

  

No hookups or dump station at this park, but we stopped at the Castle Rock campground on the way out and filled our tank with potable water and dumped for free.

Hidden Gem

Okay all the photos and reviews for this site are for City of Rocks camping inside the park. The campsite according to the map is an entirely different campsite; so ignore all the information, pictures and reviews.

  

These are all FREE campsites. As the land is BLM it is public land and there is no charge. It is just outside of town and goes up the hill. 

  

There are probably 15 or so campsites ranging from single use to a few group sites. The road is very bad. Cobbles, ruts, some large rocks. There were RV's and some sedans so it is possible just warning you this road is rough. There was very limited Verizon service there.

  

Each campsite had a fire ring and almost all of the sites have a picnic table. There was some construction going on so it looks like they are adding more sites possibly. There is no running water and no bathrooms. Most of the trees are too small to hammock but some people were. Most of the sites were taken when I went in late October but continuing to the end of the road there were 4 or so spots left. 

  

It is just a few minutes from town so you can get to the hot springs or the restaurants really easy.

Great camping just outside of the park and close to town.

Small campground surrounded by very scenic rock perimeter. Fairly level electric sites that are easily reserved online. Very quiet night with almost zero traffic. We have stayed twice and will most like;y return additional times. Appreciate the site reservation marked with our name and convenient trash can at the site. Large site with covered picnic table on concrete patio is superb.

Photos of City of Rocks

Real photos from real campers