Best Glamping near Blanchard, ID

Jake from the Dyrt here! Elysium Woods was recognized by Business Insider as the best glamping in Idaho for 2020! Check them out and leave a review about your stay on the Dyrt!

Farragut is a fantastic 5 star campground. Currently staying here at $40 a night. Went to book two more nights and found out they now charge out of state people double. My September stay will now be in Montana and I will skip Idaho completely. No gas, no food, no nothing.

Gilmore Campground Farragut State Park, Idaho Lake Pend Oreille

Who Knew?!!

I crossed the Montana / Idaho state line this morning and was pleasantly surprised at the AMAZING scenery . I’m from way over in Kentucky so maybe this is a best kept secret or it’s just not well advertised but NORTHERN IDAHO IS BEAUTIFUL!! I mean, someone says Idaho, I think potatoes/ farmland. So well played Idahoans! I stopped for an overnight at Farragut State Park. The staff was AMAZING! Friendly , informative and took the time to see if there were any cancellations or early departures in the crowded campgrounds. The campgrounds are well laid out in that there are many sites but they are situated in a way that still gives each site space for “stuff”. My site didn’t have a lot of shade but the breeze was enough that it was comfortable all day, temps in the 80’s. We may have hit the end of the mowing cycle or maybe they leave the grass rough cut due to it being dry. Our site was otherwise very well maintained. When I drove in the camp hosts were actually across the lane SWEEPING one of the cement pads clear of gravel. Full hook up, Pit toilets and a few shower houses. The shower house is on the other side of Gilmore CG. The sites over there have older trees and more shade. The general park map is lacking on the hiking trail venue. If you want to hike and in my opinion you do, see about getting a trail map or take a picture at one of the information stands. Even that map was not great, but useable. We took a stroll down through the woods and when we got to Lake Pend Oreille guess what?!! .... IT WAS AMAZING!! If you want a hike along the lake with easy to moderate difficulty 70 along Idlewilde Bay is excellent, it loops around by the parking lots and the shore. Plenty of spots for the dogs to get in and to swim. Once again there are trails coming and going and the trail markings are sometimes confusing but if you have a good sense of direction you’ll be fine.

Bayview, ID is nearby with a laundromat , grocery , etc. On site there is a small museum with the history of the area , a model plane field , a Tree to Tree Adventure Park and of course water activities galore.

We used to camp here in the 80s and it was always peaceful and beautiful. And we liked it because its got free showers and the bathrooms are very clean for camping. However,! There used to only about 34ish spots and now there are 51 spots. Its very crowded and people feel like they are right on top of each other. Your fire pit area is right next to your neighbors picnic table and/or their fire pit. They also clear cut all the bushes between spots and threw wood chips down so there is no privacy at all. I know they are worried about fires but good grief. Hence the reason it feels like you are right on top of your neighbors. The day use area is still pretty much the same as it's always been and the lake is just as beautiful but not the camping part. Thanks a lot Idaho fish and game! :( UGH!!!

The "grand finale" of our 4000-mile road trip was two nights and two days at Silverwood Theme Park in the Northwestern corner of Idaho. The water park and rides were amazing, like a smaller, easier Disneyland. Everyone had lots of fun and we'd definitely go back.

The Silverwood RV Park is attached to the theme park via a pedestrian tunnel and is a whole other story. Hot campground, tiny trees that provide no shade, loud neighbors talking through the night, and worst of all, all tents, chairs, and other items must be placed on the rock pads, not on the grass, since there's sprinklers that go off every night in the grass. I guess this wouldn't have been so bad (maybe a 2 or 3 star location), but we had an especially bad experience when a broken sprinkler blasted our tent and all our gear in the middle of the night (which was in the gravel so should have been safe). We had to move everything to the other side of the pad in the dark and try to dry everything out. A shocking and unpleasant experience all-around.

Pros: Great location if you're going to Silverwood. If you're in a self-contained RV this would work well.

Cons: Horrible for tents unless you're fully outfitted with cots since the gravel makes for an uncomfortable stay and there's no room to spread out. Loud, crowded, and hot.

This park is very well-maintained by the on-site hosts. Very nice, and green grass areas between all of the sites. There is a decently stocked main clubhouse where are you check in, that also has a very nice pool connected to it. They also have a nice on-site playground and basketball court for kids to play. The sites are decent size and we were able to park our 28 for a trailer and park our full-size pick up sideways in the site. The only downside, and our oversight was not all of the units have sewer hook up. The owner had mentioned there are only 23 full hook ups a lot of time in the park, so plan your stay way ahead. If you only have a water and electric hook up there is still an on-site dump station. Considering how close this park is to Silverwood it was worth I’m going without the sewer hook up.

The best thing about the campsite is that it is the closet place to stay near Silverwood theme park. You can easily walk from your tent right into the park, which makes it super convenient.

There are showers on site and full hook-ups. However, you are camping here to go to the park, not to enjoy camping. Sites have little to no tree cover. If it is hot out your camp will be hot, though chances are you’ll be inside the water park anyway.

While we were there the sprinklers went off in the middle of the night, soaking our tent. Management gave us a free night and moved us for the next night. One weird thing is that you have to place your tent on a hard gravel pad, rather than the green grass (see previous sentence about the sprinklers).

If you have an RV, life is a lot easier at this park. That said, you will not find a closer place to stay, and definitely not as cheap.

A slamdunk if you’re going to silverwood. The amenities are nice - showers, bathrooms, great little store. Spaces feel spaced out. We were in loop F. Highly recommend. Kids loved the playground too

Great place to stay if you’re going to Silverwood.

A friend and I popped in for a night so due to being nearby Horseshoe Lake where we planned to kayak the following day. The site was super easy to find and accessible being right off hwy 2, and no one camping but us, so very surprised by how open and available the sites were. Enjoyed the spacious sites and clean bathrooms and hiked some trails before nightfall. As the title suggests, all was well until a minivan pulled up to our site and a very aggressive introduction to the camp site host was made. He walked up to us and rather than saying HI and being cordial started with “everything you guys are doing right now is not allowed!” We were stumped and quiet for a moment as he proceeded to tell us we have to pay to camp ( we did but realized after further discussion, we dropped in wrong payment/ donation box). He then told us no fires and almost told us we couldn’t use our propane fire but admitted he really didn’t know the rules. Finally, we were smoking (marijuana is legal here) and told we could not smoke several times. I tried to lighten the mood with conversation only to find out he’s not from this area and knew nothing of Horseshoe Lake or the surrounding area. Overall, feel it was the rudest intro by a host I’ve ever experienced and the only reason I did not give a better review. He did drive by on two more occasions and we felt it was going to be an all night affair of his visits, but thankfully he stopped coming by after closing the gates and we were able to enjoy our night. Great spot to camp between the many lakes in the area.

**Campground Review: **

 Pend Oreille County Park Is a deceptive name as it is really a large piece of beautiful forest land off highway 2 run by the county. There are miles of hiking/biking trails in this dense forest. The day use is free and has plenty of parking. There are also a large open picnic shelter, ADA accessible vault toilet, Picnic tables, grills/fire pits, and potable spigots. There is also a nice little stream that runs through the day use area during the spring. 

The campground is only$10 a night per site, which is a great deal for what you get. There are 26 sites that each have A picnic table, firepit and area for a tent. There are no defined pads but plenty of cleared area. The best thing about this place is how dense the trees overhead are, the whole area is well shaded for those hot summer days. Another great thing about this place is that I have yet to see it packed, which is strange as it is right off the 2. Even though it is close to the 2, there is enough forest in between that you don't hear any cars. Overall great campground for weekend getaways!

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Product Review:

 One great benefit of being a Ranger for The Dyrt is that I get to try out products occasionally- today the product I am reviewing is.. Men's Rebel Stretch Shell Jacket from Red Ledge. To start I have to say this is the neatest rain jacket I have owned. It is super light weight and rolls up to fit in a ziplock bag! I was impressed with the way it kept water out during a freak monsoon I was in. The zipper is a very cool waterproof design that has 2 separate zipper heads, I found this useful to leave the bottom unzipped a little for easier access to pants pockets. Another great feature of this was the design of the pockets. They are VERY large and secure. There seem to be velcro and cinch cords everywhere ensuring a great sealed fit. The hood has a built in bill which was really nice, though I have yet to adjust the hood correctly so it doesn't flop forward a bit too much. The shell is actually very warm so I will be using it as a full jacket, this will be nice come winter. 

When purchasing be sure to order a size larger if you plan to wear a full sized jacket under it. My XL wont fit over most of my xl jackets but will fit over a large.

 Over all this is a super well made jacket and you can tell the design was a labor of love. I would recommend this to anyone buying a raincoat for backpacking or just all around use. Thank you Red Ledge!