Camping near Boise National Forest, ID

If you don’t have a four wheel drive vehicle don’t go, all wheel drive won’t do it in winter.

In the winter it is not plowed, so you can’t access it. Found out the hard way, lol.

Camped in site #15 on Sept 27, 2024. Paid $10 with senior pass. Nothing remarkable about the campground itself, but the trails leading out of the campground are really good. There is access to the Salmon River at the end of the campground road for bank/fly fishing; caught a nice rainbow trout. Sites along the river appear larger than those backing up to the hill. The river side sites are open sky, good for solar recharging and Starlink. The sites across the road have partial shade. There were a few pull-thrus; otherwise, back-ins. Campground is popular for OHV enthusiasts and hikers. Most sites are close to the dusty campground road. Vault toilet was not quite clean, although it was at the end of the summer season. There is a hand water pump. Site 15 is a small, almost level site with a pea gravel surface; it appeared to have a tent pad at the rear. This site has a table and metal fire ring. There is road noise from highway 75 across the river. It was very busy here during our stay, probably because forest service campgrounds west of Stanley were closed due to wildfires. There were a lot of drive-bys on the campground road. Nearby travel trailers with large noisy families kind of ruined the ambiance of this small campground; did not respect quiet hours. Campground probably okay for an overnight stay, fly fishing on the Salmon River or for accessing the trailheads. Overall, I did not enjoy camping here. I did, however, enjoyed hiking and fishing here. I am not likely to camp here again.

Just off the asphalt on a gravel road. Very dusty and noisy on the weekends. Can be busy because a lot people park in there to float the river.

Loved this spot! Parked our tow behind camper right on the beach. It is very muddy so don’t get too close to the shore, we had to help two vehicles get out of the mud. Also very buggy which is why is lost a star

Beautiful scenery, easy drive in for most vehicles and surprisingly good phone service. Had the place all to myself and got some really nice long exposure shots of the night sky.

My husband and I came to this spot with our 28ft trailer, luckily we were able to squeeze in. Lots of spots to choose from too. The campsites were clean and very peaceful place to camp for a few nights.

Site 10 is right on the river.

Sites are well spaces apart. A quit spot.

Was worried about the weather when I pulled up at dusk during a storm but it passed south of me and I got to watch the lightening. It is remote without any services for miles in either direction off 20, so do check the weather and come prepared.

We had it to ourselves in mid September. Toilets had lots of TP and were clean. Saw some big scat (moose?).

Camping is free, limit of 10 days. Not really any designated sites and surrounded by private land with aggressive signage. Not all roads around the reservoir are public, so be prepared to turn around and back up at dead ends. We came to an orange gate that said "private property", and stopped. While trying to turn around, we noticed a white truck sitting behind us. When we turned around and passed him, he motioned to roll down the window, and then berated us and called us idiots, even though we had not even entered the private land, nor did we want to. We felt threatened. In the end we chose a site on the upper road of the reservoir. The view was nice but not close to the pit toilet. No fire ring. No table. A no frills place. Like many lakes in Idaho, the reservoir is mostly dry. Not a huge deal but not the prettiest to look at. There is only one single pit toilet for the whole reservoir and someone was set up right next to it like it was their own. People ride off-road vehicles here. In an area with slim pickings for free camping, I guess you have to take what you can get.

My wife and I were forced to make last minute changes to our camping trip this year(thanks to the Wapiti 2024 fire in Stanley) and Dog Creek was the only campground available on the dates we had set aside. We had been up to Pine once before but had never explored past the town. 

The campground itself is quiet and away from the main road but it is directly parallel to the South Fork of the Boise River. There are a TON of ponderosa pines and other various pine trees so the campground looks small because of the dense tree cover. From the main road, the main drive is a fairly narrow paved dirt/gravel road and not bumpy at all so most vehicles shouldn’t have an issue with it. 

The camp sites themselves are a little close to each other but you’re not shoulder to shoulder or directly on top of each other. The camp host greeted us upon our arrival, filled us in on the fire restrictions and said to let him know if we needed anything. 

We had reserved sites 10 and 11 but in reality, they might as well call it a group site because there is no separation between the two, you even share a"driveway”. There were fire rings, tent pads(at some sites) and picnic tables, along with shepherds hooks for hanging trash off of the ground. There were also metal tables at every site that we think are intended for camp stoves.(The picnic tables are wood)The fire rings were well cared for(none damaged that we saw and they all had adjustable grills)….but our fire ring was very close to the bushes which was a little sketchy. 

This campground is nice and quiet and full of trees. But unfortunately, for us, that’s where the appeal ends. In order to get to the actual Dog Creek from the campground, you have to hope that sites 2 and 5 are not occupied and even then, the creek isn’t super exciting. It’s pretty but it’s a climb down into a ravine of sorts and it’s not deep enough to lay in and there aren’t any places to setup chairs to just enjoy it. The water flowing through the creek is clean and it is pretty to look at, but that’s about all it’s good for. 

As for other things to do at the campground, there isn’t much. There are no hiking trails as far as we could tell, but if you go across the street to the river, you can actually enjoy your stay, assuming the banks of the river aren’t packed with dispersed campers and their ATV’s. 

The campground does have water spigots and the water tasted fine. The restrooms(vault toilets) were impeccable in terms of cleanliness. Some of the nicest Forest Service campground restrooms we’ve used and the camp host does an awesome job of keeping them clean and bug free. 

Speaking of bugs, we didn’t see many mosquitoes but we did see a good amount of bees, wasps and yellow jackets and there were traps setup throughout the campground so bring an epi pen if you’re allergic to any of them. 

We lost cell service just after the reservoir (T-Mobile) but my satellite communicator worked fairly well at the campground. 

There are dumpsters to take your trash just inside the entrance to the campground, which is a little annoying as you have to walk quite a ways to dump it, but there were also no critters hanging around the sites. 

Dog Creek campground is the type of campground where you setup your camper or RV and leave for the day to do other things. Whether it’s boating at Anderson Ranch, taking the ATV’s up into the mountains or try to find hiking trails. The campground itself is very pretty BUT it doesn’t offer much in terms of things to do while there. However, if you are looking for some peace and quiet, with very little noise from the outside world, it’s great.

Nice lil spot to relax . Really rough road is the only bad part

Found this place after a trip to another spot was not to be. Awesome staff great spot to just relax. Today the views were almost as impressive as the staff. We are going back! dusty 3 mile road and all.

This campground has potential that is not being exploited. Lovely spot beside the Payette River but that’s about it. Water and 30/50 hookups but too few trees, ery little to do without driving a distance. Close to white water rafting outfitters.

Nice level sites overlooking lake. Easy to get to. Lots of cows wandering around. Toilets were clean. We had the place to ourselves.

Clean bathrooms and showers, good space. Didn't see a store of any kind. Tiny view of mountains. They charge an extra amount for choosing your spot, but it makes no difference really as the place is quite small.

We stayed at this campground initially because it was right at the trailhead for the hike to Goat Lake. We got there around 5 and there were still plenty of sites available. It was pretty buggy, but it’s right next to a creek, so that’s what you expect. It was quiet and the sound of the creek made it easy to sleep after a long day.

Spend 6 nights here while exploring Stanley, the sawtooths, and Boise National Forest. Big sites, beautiful lake, and very private. Really enjoyed our stay here.