Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Almo, ID

Straight up. The ONLY thing stopping me from giving this place 5 stars is the lack of trees at the sites. If it were July, this place would be hot without shade. Full hookups, WiFi, Dog park close to town. Great staff. Just need more trees!

One of the best no approach climbing areas in the country! We've come here numerous times and never get tired of it. There are bathrooms interspersed throughout and the closest amenities are in Almo. There is also a restaurant in Almo where you can get a burger and beer after a hard day of sending!

Close to City of Rocks and the small town of Almo. Hot springs in Almo. Small market in town which makes their own ice cream and has a little restaurant across the street but not much in the way of groceries. Couple other restaurants in town but they were not open while we were there. Also water not yet turned on in the campground so bring your own water if you are coming through early in the season. But it was quiet and we were able to explore and hike without running into many people

Great family camping. Gets hot in July-August. Lots of hiking and exploring to do. Main recreation activity is rock climbing. Durfee Hotsprings in Almo is a must on any visit. The Outpost for a good burger or Rock City for pizzas.

We stayed up by the Breadloaves group camp for a night and was treated to the entire Rockford being lit up by the moon. Being right next to the Breadloaves you have close to 100 routes to choose from with a combo of both traditional and sport.

There's toilets nearby in the parking lot and the trees offer a nice respite from the wind. There are amenities in nearby Almo. The steakhouse has good diner food and Rock City has all your grocery shopping needs! All campsites have fire rings and picnic tables.

BOOK YOUR SITE EARLY! The sites fill up quick there's close to 0% chance you'll get a walking site from May-Oct.

We literally stumbled upon this gem of a camping area while driving through Idaho. About an hour south of the Snake River, and Interstate 84, it rewards the modern traveler with a truly unique landscape of unsurpassed beauty, just as it greeted the wagon trains following the easily recognized formations over 150 years ago. 

Rocks, rocks, rocks, everywhere are amazingly interesting granite towers and domes, though the mountains feel far away. The camping options are as unique as the formations, here. Rather than cluster the camping in a formal campground the park loop road links the small sites to the greater park and each other. Even on a busy day, this means that you can get enough solitude and quiet.  Pit toilets, and water spigots are as fancy as the services get, but we found them clean and conveniently placed. 

A hiker and rock climber’s dream the area offers bouldering, sport, and traditional climbing routes. If you’re not crazy about going vertical, you can easily link miles and miles of climber access trails for an hour or an all day adventure. The park also offers a few mountain biking trails, from easy to intermediate. 

The small town of Almo, ID is the closest place to get gas, and pick up a few groceries, as well as grab a bite to eat. But come prepared to feed yourself, unless desperate, because Tracy’s General Store doesn’t offer much more than convenience or non-perishable food. 

One hilarious and endearing quirk about this park is the pay envelopes at the iron ranger. They wanted cash, rather then check, which I can understand I mean, who doesn’t; but they had a very specific price, $12.72 and they wanted exact change!

Caution:  Save yourself some time, dust and frustration and enter Smoky Mountain Campground into your GPS and not Castle Rock State Park like we did.  Haha.

We were so surprised when we got to this campground. Private sites.   Clean.  Paved,  not gravel.  Not the most level we’ve been in but totally workable. 

Bathrooms were clean.  Toliets are on one side of the building and individual shower rooms on the other.  All handicapped accessible and plenty of places to put you stuff so it stays dry. 

Also, DARK Skies!!!  A star gazer’s dream. 

Be sure you have gas before Sunday rolls around because the  one station around is closed on Sunday.   The next closest one is 1 hr away.  Speaking of, the Tracys General Store in Almo is really nice.  Gas, Cafe (even offered a vegan burger!) and other general supplies.  Rock City Pizza, just down the way, also has groceries. 

We got caught in 3 different local cattle drives on the roads. It was so cool to watch real cowboys at work.  Oh, and I even saw a jack rabbit! They are a hoot!

This is easily my favorite campground. Ever. The sites are clean and comfortable. All spots are well maintained but still feel organic and don't encroach on the wildlife. I especially like how close the sites are to the climbing, which is the main draw of City of Rocks for me. There is an excellent guide book you can pick up at Rock City in Almo but routes are also posted on Mnt. Project.

Water: There are two places to get water, which is free and tasty. The pump at Bath Rock is my go-to.

Toilets: There are pit toilets, which aren't gross and there is always plenty of toilet paper inside.

Trash: There are trash and recycling cans at Bath Rock.

Cell Reception: I get enough service (Verizon) up on top of Bath Rock to make phone calls.

Other stuff: The rangers are helpful and kind and sometimes there is an artist in residence you can meet up with. If you are a good, responsible camper who cares about protecting beautiful places, I highly recommend this campground! If you are a garbage leaving jerk, you should stay home. If sites are full, there is BLM camping nearby that isn't as pretty but does the trick.

Smoky Mountain campground is very close to the entrance of City of Rocks NR and just slightly further is Castle Rocks SP, however, the grounds are managed by the state park. There are some RV/equestrian sites that have 30/50 amp power and water hookups. There is a dump station on the road to the grounds but it was closed for repairs when we visited. There are plenty of pit toilets around the area and the ones we used were quite clean. Spots are mostly back-in but pretty easy access. The camp hosts were very friendly and the camp reservation includes a parking pass for the State Park ($10 value). The RV sites are very private and nicely spread out with pine trees in between. Great views of City of Rocks. Plenty of biking and hiking trails around and TONS of climbing. The visitor center is about 2 miles away and a general store another half mile beyond that. There’s opportunity for gas and food on the way to the grounds (both Albion and Almo have options) but best to get what you need before you leave the major highway. Having hookups at a State Park with such awesome views was sweet and the grounds are very well maintained. Reservations seem hard to come by during the high season.

City Of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho

Fascinating, desolate, historical State Park. The visitors center is out on the main road and has a short informational trail with some authentic pioneer wagons. The signage is good, if you need water go to the dump site on the way in, there are no spigots at the campsites. When we visited the water was turned off so I was glad I always carry water with me. The sites are well spaced out, intermixed with the rock formations. Our site was huge, with a picnic table, tent pad and fire ring. There was a rock formation on the back side that you can walk up on and see the surrounding area. There were several rock climbers on Practice Rock across from our site. The dogs were permitted , on leash, on the trails however I was concerned about the numerous cactus so we stayed to the dirt roads mostly.

We loved our stay at Thompson Flat! We had a fantastic time and our dogs loved it too. We were one of 3 campsites in use during out stay in the last half of September. We never saw a camphost anywhere, but the forest service were thinning trees during out stay.  There were clear markings on the trees from antler rubbing by deer and elk.  You are in direct line with a tower on another mountain peek to the East and we got excellent signal for both cell and tv. Lake Cleveland is approximately 2 miles away and has great fishing opportunities. Mt. Harrison Peak is 3.1 miles away and gives beautiful views into the South and West of Idaho.  There is a fire watch tower there along with an interpretive area to learn about the plants in the area.  There is also a monument dedicated to nine military men that died in a military plane, B-24, that crashed nearby in  February 1945. There are restrooms at the campground, lake and Mt. Harrison. The roads are paved until you turn off to the campground and lake just off the highway.

Stayed: 5/13/2021

Cost: $14/night plus $10 reservation fee 

Site: 61

Vehicle: Volkswagen Atlas

Equipment: Tent

AT&T and T-Mobile: No Service

This is a very unique campground. Sites are dispersed throughout the entire park, as opposed to being condensed into one central location. It makes for some very unique and private sites - no two alike.

We went for site 61 for two reasons. 1) It was the most private that was remaining, even though 2) it was very close to a bathroom. Most of the sites near bathrooms, were more grouped together. The bathroom itself is less than a 1 min walk from the site. We had one neighbor on the other side of us, but you could only see them if you walked by to go to the bathroom. I think that site 61 could be the most private of all, with site 63 having some of the most beautiful sunset views (pictured).

This site was also nice, because it is tucked-in next to a large rock wall, blocking the wind coming from the north. Do be aware, that Area 7 of the campground (sites 61-64), are at a much higher elevation. Driving to the site from the main part of the park, we climbed over 1,000 feet (up a winding, dirt road), ending at 7,000+ feet. So, the temperature is going to be a little different than it is when you’re checking the weather in Almo. It was about a 10º difference when we were there.

Overall, this is a very nice campground with a fire ring and picnic table. All pictures are from Site 61, with the exception of the sunset from Site 63.

#DareToEverywhere

The campsites are a little on the small side if you have more than one huge tent. We went with friends and got lucky with the last two spots being next to each other so we took them both. We have a huge tent and they had a big one as well. We had spot 26 and 27. The spots are first come first serve. We took a hike and got some amazing photos and had a blast fishing. There are rainbow trout and cutthroat in the lake. There is a bathroom but make sure you bring your own toilet paper. It’s also dog friendly and our dogs had a blast as well. It’s been our favorite camping destination so far. There is also cell phone reception which was surprising.

Went down to go climbing.  Wasn't able to get the guidebook due to the visitor center closure (just as the COVID-19 stuff started) but was able to take a nice lap around the main spire and on-sight a few routes for us.  Camped at the main campground for the park (short drive from the climbing).  Campground was surprisingly full for mid-March so we set up the tent at one of the unused "equine sites" away from everybody else so that the dogs could roam a bit.  There is a $5 entry fee and a camping fee as well.  Would definitely go back.

This is a very popular area, but you can still find solitude if you want it. Plenty of activities as well; climb all day, check out Register Rock, or hike the City of Rocks Loop trail around the site to get a little bit of everything. We stayed with our 2 dogs in April, it was definitely warm in the sun, but very cool at night and in the shade. It is high desert, summer months must be stifling!

The sites are nicely spread out, with a few pit toilets and refuse cans between them. Check out the map on the NPS site and make a reservation to ensure you get the spot you want.

This place is unreal. We entered through the Western entrance and didn’t see a single soul the entire stay until we were driving out. The campsites are huge, and every one is unique. Depending on the type of lodging you have you’ll want to double check. We stayed in 38 (I can’t recall but it was in the high 30s) but it’s right by the famous window arch. We have a RTT and just backed up as close as we could to the camping area.

There’s bathrooms in the larger parking lots, and no amenities that are we could find. But the VIEWS from the upper campsites are amazing. You can literally walk right out onto the rocks! We had to keep an eye on the dog but he was fine. Highly recommend this place.

Most of all sites have a Pavillon and the sites on the river has a direct lake access. In my opinion the campground is a little bit open and there is not so much privacy. All in all I would give the campground 4 stars BUT I'm very disappointed from the camp hosts work. He doesn't really care about the people and the campground. From beginning till end on our site was dog shit on the waterstation, all of the tables was very dirty and also trash on the sites. Also the sprinklers work absolutely random. When we woke up on the first day, our stuff was wet. We build a cone by ourself so we can use the site for three days. The camp host shows up the first time an hour before we left and he told us, that we can have a cone from him. Never the less the campground is beautiful rounded by murtaugh lake and the restrooms are mostly clean.

It’s hard to beat a site like this in Idaho with so many amenities. It’s a very large site and the fee isn’t bad about $7 a day if I recall. I’ve mostly camped here for a group event but it’s one of the best Idaho sites I’ve been too. Just be prepared for lots of spiders in July, also this last time coming through we were struggling with chiggers