Lower portneuf campground

The campground itself is nice. Nice spots, beautiful river and waterfalls, and close to Lava Hot springs. The trains; however, were a drag at night. Not many ran during the day but at night we counted 8 that went by. The tracks are only about 100’ from most of the spots. The real kicker is, because there’s a crossing to get into the campground, the trains blast their horn literally right as they pass you. Like excessively so, unnecessarily so. It was not a great nights sleep.

Level and fantastic site for an overnight stay. However, the train runs by and must blast the safety horn. Latest was, 11:30pm, earlier was 5am. So be prepare for that several times on an overnight stay

Visited in Early May in a bit of a sleet storm. Sites are relatively level - nice gravel. Seemed like most sites have fire rings. Pit toilet is located in the day-use area nearby. 

Train tracks run right by the campsites - relatively loud when they come through, but didn't wake me up in the middle of the night. 

Not bad for an easy, quick night.

Hot day, but it cooled off quick. No shade, big gravel sites. As a solo traveler I felt comfortable here. Beautiful & quiet. The train was really long but sleep with a fan on and you’ll hardly hear it!

Came through here in late Sept 2022. It is very near the Lava Hot Springs and I loved the little campground. It was full and delightfully quiet... until I realized that the train is anything but. The tracks are directly adjacent to the camping spots and the train came through blowing its horn multiple times during the night. If that doesn't bother you, then the recommendation is a five. Free and very good location.

Pulled up disappointed to see that they have fenced in the area so now there are only 8 spots instead of the dispersed camping that could have allowed for way more. This used to be our go to place, not anymore.

There are train horns since the tracks are close by but that’s everywhere in Lava

Right off the road and convenient to Lava Hot Springs. Pit toilets are easily accessible and it is well marked. However one fatal flaw is that there is a railroad crossing about 100ft from the sites, and we experienced about 8 trains coming through between 1am-6am. Which meant that every time they crossed they had to sound their horn multiple times which was absolutely ear splitting. Needless to say, everyone camped there when we were there on a Saturday had a rough night.

This used to be open camping in a field but they have recently fenced it in, leaving just 8 camping spots, fairly close together. This is a popular place with full-time nomads. We came on a Thursday morning in late September and there were only two spots left. The river is beautiful, and only about 30 yards away, but not actually visible from the campsites. The KOA, just before the turn off, will let you fill your water tank for free but they charge $10 for a dump. Lava is just minutes away with shops, restaurants, grocery stores etc. The highlight are the hot mineral pools, which are open until 11 PM and are amazing, especially in the evenings in the cooler weather.  Lots to do in the area, there’s a ghost town 30 minutes to the north, a reservoir and soda Springs to the east. The one downside are the trains that pass by a few times a day, and even 1 or 2 at night. They are required to sound their horn’s at the crossing which can be annoying, but not a dealbreaker. Otherwise very quiet.

We showed up about 4:00 PM Friday and still had plenty of spots available. Still very green, but not any shade. Was close to town, and we were able to enjoy the town. The night trains will wake you up.

Drove by May 16, 2021 Closed for improvements but appears to be about finished.

Great little overnight stop. Wouldn’t stay more than a night or 2. Very small very open. Close to Highway and very close to railroad tracks. About 7 trains at night when I stayed. Very pretty water rushing made for great sleep sounds when train wasn’t passing.

This place is gorgeous! We parked our 34 ft motor home right next to a river waterfall and did some fishing. A fire pit was already established. Excellent spot right outside of town with good cell service. Paddle boarding, kayaking, and fishing are primo. Lots of privacy and zero dollars

We pulled in here after dark and it was a little hard to find a good spot so try to get here early. Plus the road had some major ruts so it wouldn't be suitable for large vehicles. There was a lot of train traffic that did wake us every time one came through so it's also not ideal for light sleepers. However, if you can deal with all that you can't beat the price. 🙂

Great open field. Some wooded spot are next to the river. 5 minutes from the small town.

The only downfall to this site is that there is a train that come through the town honking its horn. However it’s not frequent.

Take a left at the sign on the right, go over railroad track.