Smokey Bear

Has multiple spots to get to the lake. Nice little trail following the shore line.

I was attending a local wilderness first aid course and was able to have the privilege of staying at Smoky Bear.  I was lucky that is was early in the season and was able to drive in and find a great site for my RV.

The sites were clean and well dispersed...there are a number of pit toilets available, large trash cans and fresh, potable water available.

No cell service for AT&T.

If you have doubles, watch the video i am attaching. Crystal blue lake in the heart of Sawtooth. Mountain views. Off the beaten path and worth it. Hiking. Fishing. Boating. SUP (loved seeing the fish swimming under my board). Chilling. Peaceful serenity. There are no services.. vault toilet.. road in was in great shape. There are some boondocking sites further down the main road if that's what you woukd prefer. But they aren't on the lake. Just close by. At least the ones we saw. We love the Sawtooth and Stanley. We hated to leave

Alturas Lake has incredible views and the crystal clear lake is awe-inspiring! I just recommend checking with the national forest registry before booking especially during fire season. My only regret was only staying one night!

I lucked into this empty campground on my drive to Stanley, Idaho. I had my pick of eight sites, a couple of which were double sites. All of the sites were nice with picnic tables and firepits, including site 5, which I occupied. I chose this site as it wasn’t next to the vault toilet (which was clean), there was a nice view of the lake, and it had some nice trees for shade. It was a short walk down to the lake, and there was a nice trail along the lake with good mountain views. There was a family fishing at the boat ramp and a few people out on the lake, but in general it was very quiet. The water was very clear and if the wind had been still, there probably would have been a nice reflection of the mountains on the lake(unfortunately it was a bit breezy).

My visit was wonderful! Beautiful lake access located on the best alcove of the lake. First come first serve can be frustrating but with a little patience and communication this is the better of the 4 campgrounds on Alturas, even better views than the reserve only one. Reasonably priced, bathrooms, dumpsters and fresh water available. The is also boat access and parking close by. Great water stability until about 2pm and then can become a little choppy but I still SUP'ped quite a bit then. Tip: get to know neighbors! We met someone visiting from Belize!