Best Campgrounds near American Falls, ID

Small free campground right by the river some areas had benches. Pit toilets available, only downside was got woken by the train sounding the horn only happened once in the morning but great spot if you are passing through.

Paved roads in, plenty of trails that lead to even greater views. Clean bathrooms and showers. If you don't have an RV, they have cabins that look very nice also.

Stayed here a few days on our way to Oregon. Quiet campground off the interstate. Not much nearby though. Showers/ restrooms clean and great hot water. Good place to ride bikes. A lot of history in the area. We also visited Lava Hot Springs which was about 1 hour away. Great spot

About 10 dispersed spots right next to the water/right off the road but holy shit it’s VERY ACTIVE TRAIN TRACKS about 50 yards from these spots. A train every 1-2 hours that blows its horn the whole night so not very peaceful

Good spot to stop for a night. Big gravel parking lot and some hiking trails nearby. Close to the highway.

Great location just a few minutes off the highway with multiple sites. Offers great views of the river and several prebuilt fire rings around the area as well. 4 x 4 recommended to get down to some of the lower spots, but there’s sites up top as well that would be suitable for 2-Wheel drive vehicles. Bring bug spray if you visit in the hotter months

I don't know how people are finding the beautiful places they show here. I used the GPS coordinates from here and it led me to a maze of twisted little passages. Very deeply rutted roads challenging me and my 4wd led to a complex of turns and turnarounds. The only road that appeared to lead down to the river was dirt at about 45 degrees. There are many ways to go and I don't know how to could know which to take. Must be dumb luck to find a pretty place by the river.

So, I left and went to the location that the BLM website gives for this named place. It's not the same place. The official location of this place is farther west. That is poorly identified, too. There's a signed turnoff but down the road there's a "Y". I went right. That led to confusion and nasty flies going into my nose and eyes. I left.

Looking at the map later it appears that I should have gone LEFT at the "Y" instead of right. I have no idea what that's like.

Basically, this place has many roads that intersect and go to unknown places. I don't know why there are so many roads, circles, "Y"s, along the river, perpendicular to the river.

The BLM website isn't helpful. I called them and expected a call back but didn't get it.

I wouldn't go here without one of the people here who submitted great reviews with beautiful photos. It's not worth the confusing directions (both my Garmin RV GPS and Google Maps were wrong in different places) and ambiguity of destinations.

Nice little area with plenty of random spots. There is an outhouse at the entrance - probably a 10-20 minute walk from any site, but nice to have. There were some dumpsters when I was there for garbage too which was nice.

Water in the ponds looked a bit scummy, too bad - would be nice for a swim otherwise! Good spot to spend a night while passing through.

Such easy access off 86, so it’s the perfect pull out for a road trip. We were traveling from Colorado to Oregon and found this spot late in the evening of our 2nd day and couldn’t have been happier. We rolled in amongst the thunderstorms, which blew over just in time for a beautiful sunset. There was a little noise from the road, but once we crawled in the tent it was hard to distinguish the traffic noise from that of the river.

Very clean, lots of spots, 10 out of 10 would stay here again.

Nice stop, road is a little rough, but other than that it was great

Easy access from Lava with about 10 designated spots, most with room for two vehicles and one(?) pull through spot that fit my truck/30foot TT. Most had either a metal fire ring or picnic table or both. Pretty enough area, but right off the road and even closer to a train that passed through multiple times at night.

Pulled in at 10:30 pm Saturday night July Fourth weekend and was able to snag the last spot so very clutch!

NOTE - Google satellite photos are NOT accurate, the area is fenced off and sites are limited, no longer the free for all it appears to have been

This review is from July 2024, and it appears to have been a dry year.

I found the campground over run with Red Currant Bushes which were full of mature fruit.  There was also a lot of Crested Wheatgrass and Sagebrush.  The 5 campsites are still in good repair, but due to the Red Currant Bushes, access to the springs area was difficult if not impossible.  The Springs themselves, due to the low water table were all but dried up, with only a small puddle of water marking each one.  The water pump is still missing it's handle, and is now dry, so no water could be pumped.  There was a moose present when I was there, but he was down in the outflow area, and did not seem interested in anything but lying down there.  The Vault toilet was clean, odor free, and well maintained.

I cannot recommend this campground for mid summer or fall.

This review was from a visit in May of 2014, See my other review for July 2024

Twin Springs, a stop on Hudspeth's cutoff on the Oregon Trail was an important stop because it was the only stop that had water for 22 mlles.

  The road leading to Twin Springs is an oiled road until you reach the trail head. 

 There are 5 sites located in Twin Springs, each with it's own table. benches, fire pit and awning. The tables and benches are sturdy painted wood, the fire pit is a cement square with an iron grate on top and open at one side.    Located between sites 1 and 2 is the vault toilet.  Bring your own toilet paper as there is none supplied.  The sites are on the outside of the central loop about 340 feet long with  an old water pump  in the center of the loop. the handle of the pump is gone, but you can pull the central rod up and down and it will pump.  To the north and east, of the south end of the loop the ground slopes down to the 2 springs that the campground is named for.  South west of the campground is Rock Creek, a small stream.  There are lots of birds, and small animals around and a lot of wild flowers.  The camp is isolated and generators should be no problem.  There is no internet of any kind, just a nearby cell tower for cell phones.  The camp is best in Spring and early summer, and brown and dry, and less pleasant in late summer and fall.  

NOTE:  these pictures are from 2012

Roads are rough but the area is pretty. Next to the river and multiple spots available.