Glacier View Campground

A trip into the Sawtooth mountains and a visit to Redfish Lake has been de rigeur for any visit to Grandma’s for as far back as I remember... beginning with a trip in ‘84 when my younger brother heeded the call of the wild spirits and disappeared into the forest for hours, only to be found munching happily on the assorted snack foods of a group of elk hunters he had surprised. This area still retains a wilderness experience despite numerous infrastructure improvements and new campground development. Of note, Redfish lake is within the 1416 square mile Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve, the first Gold Tier site in the United States. The result is world class spectacular night sky astronomy unimpeded by light pollution, and makes this area a top pick to do some star gazing or meteor watching.

Fauna is abundant in the surrounding area. Deer, elk, bear, marten, moose, and pronghorn antelope all made appearances during my last rip to the area. Fishing at the beginning and end of season might net you Dolly Varden, Rainbow Trout, and Kokanee. The general store has some basic tackle, but the nearest gear and license is in Stanley.

The lodge, separately owned and seasonally operated under USFS special permit, has been in operation since 1929 and offers day rental bicycles of multiple types, horseback riding, boat/canoe/kayak/SUP rentals, a general store, a restaurant, and minimal WiFi and cell service, staying true to its roots wherever possible.

Pro tip: Enjoy the 17 1/2 mile lake loop hike, but if you’d like to split that distance or have other destinations in mind, the marina operates an on demand boat shuttle for hikers to the trailhead at the far end of the lake during daylight hours. No reservation is required, but you can call to schedule pickup.

I got lucky with this campsite. Most of the campground was filled, but this site (#36) had a “see the host” sign on it. Turned out it was only available for that one night, which was perfect for me. Most of the sites had been reserved in advance and I happened to catch it on the one between night. I had amazing views of the glaciers in the Sawtooth Mountains across the lake. The campground is a series of loops, with the best sites in my loop where you have uninterrupted views of the glaciers and mountains. The trade off for the view is that you don’t have any trees on your site, so no shade and no hammock. But the tent pad was nice. The bathrooms are nice and clean, if a bit outdated. When you need a shower you do have to drive to the horse corrals to use the pay showers ($2 for 6 minutes, wait a full minute before getting in unless you like really cold water), but that is a small price to pay. Hiking in the park is amazing! And the only place you will have phone service is at the visitor’s center.

What a nice campground!  We had very low expectations staying at a campground that is almost always booked solid (we figured it would be crowded and loud) and is in one of the most popular parts of Idaho. However, the camping spots are large and are nicely spaced.  Even though almost every spot was taken, the campground was quiet and peaceful.  We prefer dry camping, so liked the spots not having hook-ups and drains. Paved roads made for fun riding of bikes, the flushing toilets in the clean bathrooms were a plus, the fresh drinking water was clean and tasted great, there were trash bins close by and our host "Wally" was so kind. With a short walk, you are on the North shore or Dog Beach and a little further is Redfish Lodge, beach and restaurants.  The food was so good and priced well, next time I will likely take less camping food and just eat at the lodge!  (Easy!)  The water in the lake is the cleanest you'll ever see....LET'S KEEP IT THAT WAY PEOPLE!  Unfortunately, this campground is booked out almost the entire summer, so while we want to go back - it may have to wait until next year.

This campground has paved roadways, paved parking, and pretty good separation between campsites. Most sites have good shade from pine trees, and some have views of the Sawtooth Mountains. Unfortunately, there are no hookups, so prepare accordingly. There are water spigots about every 3 sites, so filling your tank via 5 gallon bucket is possible if you don't mind the labor. There is an RV dump nearby on the main road, so If your Black or Grey tanks get full you can make a dump trip. All 3 loops are within easy walking distance of Redfish lake, and there are trails to the main lodge for extended walks or bike riding. The camp site has picnic table, fire ring, and nice sand constructed tent pads. The only thing that keeps this awesome camp site from being a 5 star is the lack of hookups. We really like to stay for the longest time possible (10 days) but it is really tough on battery power without running the generator constantly, and the bathrooms are busy, so it would be great to have sewer dump at each site.

There were views of the Sawtooths on our walk to the bathroom but the campsites themselves were standard "parking spaces" where people crammed in as many amenities as they could.

The scent of pine was great. The privacy ok but other campers seemed to need to blare radios and constantly drive to the lake below rather than just walk down.

I'm not into this type of Disneyland camping environment so I took respite in the lake area where the views were gorgeous even if the water was cold.

There are long walks to be explored here but not without constantly dodging people, cars, bikes and humans in disharmony with nature.

I had one gorgeous moment alone with quiet and spectacular views of the mountains and that's the best that I remember.

Bathroom was fine. We didn't use the showers there as it was all so packed and we were there only for one night.

If you do go, bring an enormous empty jug to take away the yummiest drinking water ever. Also be prepared to wash dishes at your own site as you are only given a funny dump hole for dishwater. I drive an RV and didn't have to cope with that.