Best Dog-Friendly Camping near American Falls, ID

This beautiful state park is located right off of the freeway about 7 miles outside of American Falls, Idaho. There is a little bit of road noise at the park because of the proximity to the freeway but it wasn't a bother at all. The views of the river are beautiful and the sunset was amazing. There are a lot of trails to walk on here, and since the park is pet friendly our three big dogs walked the trails with us. There is a disc golf course, although we didn't try it out. The camp host was great. The bathrooms were clean, although only half of them are open in the off season. The only draw back we could see is that the spots aren't very spacious, so if you're new at parking your rig, or if you have a really large rig, it could be a tight fit. We were in a 33 ft TT and the pull through spot (17) was plenty long, but kind of narrow. Spot has 50 and 30 amp hook ups as well as water if you camp during the summer-no water in the off season.

This is for RV parking with electrical hookups for 20 bucks at the airport. 18 hookups and awesome dog park. Also a bike ride away from a very nice park on the lake with lots of play space for kids during the day. No toilets or showers but a simple stay and there is Wal-Mart everything else you need right in town. Blackfoot Wal-Mart does not allow overnight parking. There is water hookup during season. Also free dump station at fire station.

Coming from the Snake River Plain and eastern montana this campground was just like visiting home for us!  (Idaho is one of my homes)  It was a beautiful site of rolling grass underneath the dark grey skies of an encroaching storm.

At the campground there are a variety of campground from huge 200+ person group sites to single, double, and triple sites.  We really enjoyed having a quick lunch on the far north side of the reservoir where there are awnings with metal fire rings and numerous bathrooms.  Just a warning however that the road leading north towards American Falls was closed when we were there in early July

This site is right above the snake River so you can hear the water, wonderful way to fall asleep! You are in the High Desert of Idaho so this site is amongst sagebrush but has good shade trees also. When I was there I could start a tent but this ground does tend to get pretty hard during dry season so staking may be a bit more difficult.

There are actually 2 sites you can pitch a tent or park a vehicle. There is also a firepit. I got really good cell reception. There are fun trails to explore with beautiful scenery. This would also be a great spot if you like to pole fish. You can walk to the river and cast in! This spot os about 8 miles to the American Falls Dam where you can kayak, SUP, fish, and picnic

The directions were spot on. I recommend a vehicle with relatively high clearance. It os closer to the interstate than you would expect so you can hear vehicles but was super quiet at night

PROS:

• Easy access to the interstate
• Host and Visitor Center worker were extremely nice
• All sites have E/W
• Sites were private, generous and clean
• A lot of the sites have great views of the Snake River and canyon wall
• Great historic area on the Oregon Trail
• Disc golf
• Easy access to the River at the sperate boat launch area 1 mile away
• Day use area away from campground
• Bathhouse on both upper and lower loop. Showers. (Very dated, but clean)
• Hubby said to mention there are ample Pokémon opportunities.
• There are a couple of cabins with great views.

CONS:

• Not a lot of shade
• Closest shopping is American Falls which is very limited. Pocatello is about 40 min away but has great breweries, food, Gander RV (large retail store) and large town stores.
• Bathhouse is dates and has heavy oxidation in the shower which makes them appear dirty, but they are not.
• If in the upper loop, you do hear the Interstate noise. Not in the lower loop at all.

We would definitely stay again

This is an older campground, and space near reservoirs is a hot commodity. The RV park host was very friendly and accommodating. Very clean campground with a nice boat dock and plenty of spaces to get down near the reservoir and fish.

Warning - Some of the spaces felt like extremely close quarters especially with slide outs. The picture below shows one of the older full utility locations. Some units may not have much room to slide out without contacting the utility boxes. Some units offer great shade and an awning next to a shared fire pit, shared picnic table. Some units have a really nice shared grass area between trailers. Also several people here are seasonal campers with monthly rates. This can make finding a space a little more challenging. Call ahead and make sure to get reservations so you can get a spot.

Lot size seems inconsistent between spaces as some feel very cramped and some of the high number units without utilities had larger spaces between them, almost appearing as an extra space between two units people were using for pet/kid play areas.

Dogs are to be kept on leashes, but people should consider short leashes/tie lines as it is easy for pets to cross into adjacent units depending upon where they are staked. Make sure to plan ahead for power adapters. Only one 30amp service so if your planning to run AC, plan to be the first in or coordinate with your neighbor.

Very cool locally managed park with a wide variety of day use activities, in addition to about 20 campsites. It’s huge and has the feeling of being very rural. The American Falls Reservoir is right there and affords visitors a good handful of water sport options, including ice fishing in the winter. There is a boat ramp for boaters and fishermen.

I liked the family feeling of this campground; there is a playground and horseshoe pits, which my kids always enjoy. The way things are laid out, it’s easy for them to walk around and make friends without feeling like they’re intruding on anyone. There are deer and elk in the area that will walk right through your campsite.

But the other thing that will walk through your campsite is hunters. Don’t get me wrong, I get that this is a big duck and goose hunting area and that comes with the territory, but for goodness sake, please do not discharge your firearms within the campground where there are kids playing. There are lots of signs that hunting is not allowed inside the campground, but you know, people don’t always adhere to the rules. It made me incredibly nervous the whole time I was there.

There are three restrooms, which was a little inadequate for the number of people there (especially when you include the day users). Five sites have electric hookups and there is a dump station. I think all sites that I saw had water hookups. An easy, level, paved trail leads out from the campsite and loops around, ADA accessible.

Full hook ups and a pretty creek to walk the dog along. Even have washrooms and laundry.

We choose this site because it is directly across the street from the hotspring pools. Our campsite, 10, was right beside the creek. The temps were below freezing but they have frost free spigots. Wifi was non existent. To get to the hotspring pools we walked behind the motel portion of the property were people had walked their dogs without cleaning up. There are other campgrounds in town but the location to the pools and the creek are the best part of this campground.

When you have a big group and you like to stay up late and have a good time and be loud while at lava hot springs, this is the place for you! There’s a toilet located here, bring your own TP though. The river is fun to jump in and hang out in! The trains come frequently and at times are pretty loud but it doesn’t bother our group. The camping is free and 100% worth it compared to the strict port neuf or koa campgrounds. TONS and TONS of space. It’s never been full when we go. There’s loads and loads of space. It’s only about 2 miles away from town so if you need to go to the bathroom, go to the store, or shop around or eat at a restaurant, it’s not far away at all! Our two dogs love all the free space as well! There isn’t much shade but there are shrubs all around near the river. So bring your shade tents!

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

About 12 miles off I 15 outside of pocatello Idaho, paved road all the way , I have a transit van and a 16 ‘ trailer and had plenty of room! The camp spots are pretty separated . They have toilet buildings every so often and the camp spots have picnic table, charcoal grill and fire pits!