Craters of the Moon-Arco KOA, near Arco, Idaho, is a straightforward campground that serves as a convenient base for exploring the nearby Craters of the Moon National Monument. With a mix of tent sites, RV spots, and cabins, it caters to various camping styles, making it a practical choice for families and travelers alike.

The campground offers essential amenities like showers, restrooms, and laundry facilities, which many visitors found clean and well-maintained. Guests have enjoyed the friendly staff and appreciated the free waffles and coffee in the mornings, adding a nice touch to their stay. One camper noted, “The staff was very friendly during the check-in process,” which speaks to the welcoming atmosphere here.

For those looking to venture out, the stunning landscapes of the national monument are just a short drive away, providing ample opportunities for hiking and sightseeing. While the campground itself may not have extensive shade, it does feature roomy sites that are generally flat and easy to set up. Whether you're passing through or planning a longer stay, Craters of the Moon-Arco KOA offers a solid spot to rest and recharge.

Craters of the Moon-Arco KOA

Are you in need of a campground near Arco, ID? There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in. Experience some of the most stunning views that Idaho camping has to offer. Discover great camping spots near Arco, reviewed by campers like you.

Arco

The Best Camping Near Arco, Idaho

We stayed here on our way to Yellowstone. Has most of the usual KOA amenities: clean bathrooms, pool, cabins, full hookup RV spots, and a few tent spots. Even has a couple of teepees. Very friendly staff and a well stocked store/deli. Near Craters of the Moon National Monument. The town of Arco was charming and has an interesting history as the first nuclear-powered city in the US. If our travels take us this way in the future we'll camp here again!

Pretty typical KOA, which is a good thing!

Cute campsite/RV Park. Nothing is around, so bring food and activities! The store is really cute, they serve ice cream in the evenings and pancakes for breakfast. Nice touch, since there isn’t much else around. Small pool, but it’s great after a hike in the park.

Far out there RV Park - middle  of nowhere!

Staff was friendly, bathrooms were ok, no dedicated shower rooms (for the men at least). Playground for kids was minimal, but pool seemed nice. This is a good jumping off point for craters of the moon.

They had free waffles and coffee on the Saturday morning we were there. Not sure if that’s an everyday thing, but it was nice.

About 20 min drive to Craters Of The Moon, and it’s worth it to go out there and check it out.

Beware google maps doesn’t map properly to this campground and may take you down an old dirt road. You should turn in town at “pickles place”.



Good spot for craters of the moon

We passed through here heading from the Tetons to Oregon. Looks a lot like several other small town KOAs we’ve stayed at. Free waffles for breakfast was a nice touch. We got a site with a large shade tree but many were totally exposed to the sun. Beautiful countryside nearby but not much going on in the town of Arco. Only 20 minutes to the Craters of the Moon visitors center. Great location to stay to check out this remote and amazing NPS site. 

Great spot to see Craters

56 bucks for one night and it’s not that nice looking but it’s there and has hookups. 

Way too expensive 

Staff and grounds were amazing.  Pool was perfect for kids.  However, on a super hot week site A1 was not strong enough to get our AC running. We were so hot at night in our camper.  😕. Asked staff about it and they said they were aware and repairing it was going to be very costly but they really needed it.  

Weak Electricity 

We drove 10 hours from Denver and didn’t know how late we’d be arriving, so we placed a reservation in advance using the KOA app.  Check-in was quick. Our boys got to enjoy the pool before it closed for the evening.  I’m the morning they offer FREE waffles, so after packing up the car, we enjoyed breakfast before heading over to the National Monument. 

Family Friendly

The staff is very friendly and always working. The pool and store are nice. Looks like they are doing everything they can to make this KOA nice. 

Great place for Craters trip

We staid here one night. Rolled up around 7 and there were three tent sites remaining.  We took T4 which was big enough to pitch two tents.  Yeah he site was clean and quiet.  The facilities clean. Hot water in the shower in the morning.  There is a little bit of construction around the pool but it wasn’t active when we were here.    The hosts are friendly.  Would stay again 

Quiet, clean, free coffee and waffles 

The place seemed to going under alot of repairs.  It was clean and decent.  They had a daily ice cream social and waffles every morning.   Convenient location for visiting crators of the moon.

Under repair

We are full-timers in a 36 ft Class A with a Cherokee Trailhawk tow, were meeting friends in the area and visiting Craters of the Moon NM. The CG was experiencing some electrical service outages at some of the sites, which also impacted the pool and septic system, but they ran a generator when needed to alleviate the septic issues. We were in site D4 for 1 day in early August. The campground is showing some signs of age, but is ok for a short visit to the area. They do offer free waffles and coffee in the mornings and an ice cream social in the evenings. AT&amp;T coverage decent, ranging from 3-4 Bars of LTE with service up to 16 MB/s. We were able to get DISH coverage on all three western satellites at our site. There were no OTA channels to be had with our fixed omni antenna.

Friendly staff and just a short distance from Craters of the Moon NM

Got a good spot. Electric and water hook up. Quiet and clean. 

Pretty good spot 

Stayed here for 2 days and it’s a standard KOA. It’s surrounded by views of huge mountains and open plains with a horse pasture next door. It was quiet and everyone here was respectful of others.

Tranquil Horses

All of the spaces are decent. We arrived late and registered easily.

Quiet, clean, friendly

Although it was snowing, the KOA was nice. The showers and laundry areas were clean and well maintained. 

Nice

Great place, a nice pool for a dip, and there were was an ice cream social for a $1.00 school fundraiser. Very nice staff, with a little store and restaurant 

Arco Idaho / Craters of the Moon

Great little campground with full hook ups, 30 or 50 Amp. Spaces for tent camping up to Class A motor homes. Several pull through spots, a few back in spots. The campground is well maintained and had friendly staff. Amenities included showers, restrooms, laundry, small store that sells firewood and propane among other necessities, ice cream social (for a donation) in the evening, free waffle breakfast in the morning, pet friendly with dog park, playground, and pool (although not super warm). Good activities in the area if you enjoy the high desert. We stayed on 4th of July weekend and even with a full park it didn't feel crowded. 

Fun holiday camping 

The Rv spots were pretty roomy.  There’re gravel and pretty level.  WiFi is hit and miss, pretty typical for a Koa.   Rest rooms are dated but clean but also heavily used when I was here from big tent groups.  It’s pretty dusty but that’s a function of the location.  Very convenient to Craters of the Moon. 

Roomy Sites, typical KOA

We like staying here while traveling through Idaho.  It’s a short drive to Craters of the Moon National Monument, and Arco, Idaho is a neat little town.  The Showers and Laundry facilities at this park were not used by us during this visit.  Staff was very friendly during the check in process.  There is limited shade in the park.

Nice KOA campground 

Stopped at Craters of the Moon on our trip home from Mt Rainer. It’s not a large campground, and it off the main road. A little hard to find. (Behind Pickle’s Place).
Convent to Craters of the Moon ! 

Nice quiet camping

For our family's first vacation in our new travel trailer, we foolishly chose to visit the KOA campground in Arco, Idaho. We had informed them of our late arrival around 11 PM. Upon arrival, they handed us a map and pointed to a campsite number. None of the spots were properly marked, but surrounded by other trailers, we assumed we were in the right place. The next morning, we discovered the bathrooms were absolutely revolting, clearly not cleaned for days, despite a sign claiming daily cleaning. Mud on the floors, mold and mildew in the showers, overflowing trash, and toilet paper strewn about—it was utterly disgusting. When we returned later that day, a staff member immediately confronted us, accusing us of lacking a reservation. We provided the requested documentation, and they disappeared. Then the owner or manager approached us aggressively, violently pointing out our supposed error on the map and ordering us to move everything to the correct spot—right behind where we had parked, already occupied by another family they had mistakenly placed. In a menacing tone, he begrudgingly decided to relocate the incoming family to our original spot. This whole scene unfolded in front of numerous families at the KOA, with no regard for our embarrassment or the other campers' discomfort. After this disgraceful ordeal, we decided to just pack up and leave, not even bothering to request a refund. As we were packing, the manager approached, still not apologizing, but handed me a receipt for a refund that I never asked for nor wanted. I informed him firmly that this was not about money but about their appalling mismanagement. I intend to dispute the refund because this KOA should not be associated with such incompetence and filth and I will not accept hush money.

First family vacation gone wrong

We arrived with a reservation for a rental RV, smooth and friendly check-in.
But then...
Small site, no shade at all. Nicely flat though.
Firepit/BBQ filled with cigarettes, non-usable.
Pool was as small as can be, 10 pax= overcrowded.
Toilets and showers outdated, broken and terribly dirty.
The neighbour will play a loud national anthem at 9 p.m. and an even louder reveille at 9 a.m.
One can see as far as possible, but the scenery consists of old trailers and mess.

Pro's: 
The showers were for free and nicely warm.
4 washing machines ($1,75 half an hour)
4 dryers ($1,50 half an hour)
Free wafles  and coffee between 9a.m. and 10 a.m.
Friendly staff.

Overall: nearly good enough for a one night stay. Never saw something like this before. 


Disappointing and " unique"

We stayed here 1 night in mid-October, 2024.  Bulletin board directed us to our reserved site. never saw any of the staff and received our welcome email at 9 a.m. the next day as we were departing.  Poor trees are half dead.  Stay was OK except for the racket from a neighboring property with massive loudspeakers blasting reveille in the a.m. and an annoying, caterwauling rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner at sunset.  Nutty Arco.

Photos of Craters of the Moon-Arco KOA

Real photos from real campers