Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Boise National Forest

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.

A membership RV camp 23 miles north of Mountain Home, Idaho. An oasis of trees in the middle of sage brush on the middle of nowhere. Located just inside Boise National Forest. The pool was closed but I'm sure it would have been very nice. If we lived in a nearby city like Boise I would buy a reasonably priced membership without batting an I. We reserved thru our RPI membership. $10 a night for us. I'm in love with Fort Running Bear.

The only thing I can say is it would be nice if there was more room between RVs. Other than that, excellent facilities, crew, pool, spa, off leash dog park, laundry, showers, garbage pick up(wow right!), Good power, good water pressure, stores nearby, just a great stop!

Glorified parking lot. Sewer connection isn’t threaded, instead they provide you with a rock to place on top of your line so it doesn’t blow out everywhere. Pets are allowed but the only grassy area in the whole park dogs aren’t allowed in. The entire front of the dumpsters had broken glass scattered all over the ground mixed in with the dirt and rocks. And my last complaint BEES!Hornets and wasps were surrounding our outdoor area. The laundry building was clean and maintained. Overall it worked for the 3 nights we stayed but I wouldn’t want to stay longer.

This site was right along a river that was very beautiful but the campground was on higher ground so most people walked down to the entrance where you could get to the river or some people stood on the bridge to fish. Not all spots have trees, so be careful if you have pets. They did have three campsites for people with horses to camp. Not our cup of tea but if you are low maintenance or bring it all with you then this may be your pace. No other amenities. Right up the road from Stanley.

No need for a hotel in Ketchum Idaho. Park and camp here! Several dispersed sites after the Sawtooth National Forest boundary, with creek running by and a hot spring down the road.

The recent burn made the site a little dusty, our dogs needed a towel off.

I needed a place to stay to visit family. It is conveniently located. Spaces all had strips of grass on either side, and nice shade trees. Bathrooms were very nice and very clean. Laundry was cheap to do. Lots of folks with dogs, I like that. But no dog poop on the grounds. I had full hookups for a Saturday and Sunday. Site 12. Nice pull through. I would stay here again. Justin was very friendly and offered help for anything I might need.

What a nice campground!  We had very low expectations staying at a campground that is almost always booked solid (we figured it would be crowded and loud) and is in one of the most popular parts of Idaho. However, the camping spots are large and are nicely spaced.  Even though almost every spot was taken, the campground was quiet and peaceful.  We prefer dry camping, so liked the spots not having hook-ups and drains. Paved roads made for fun riding of bikes, the flushing toilets in the clean bathrooms were a plus, the fresh drinking water was clean and tasted great, there were trash bins close by and our host "Wally" was so kind. With a short walk, you are on the North shore or Dog Beach and a little further is Redfish Lodge, beach and restaurants.  The food was so good and priced well, next time I will likely take less camping food and just eat at the lodge!  (Easy!)  The water in the lake is the cleanest you'll ever see....LET'S KEEP IT THAT WAY PEOPLE!  Unfortunately, this campground is booked out almost the entire summer, so while we want to go back - it may have to wait until next year.

Beautiful place to boondock overlooking the river. Great scenery. Many trails around both for hiking and four wheeling. Loved it except for one thing - there's a shooting range near the highway and the airport. Guns going off random times all day and into the evening. Ruins the tranquility. We have a dog too that freaks out. Love this place except for that. We won't be coming back unfortunately.

Clean, leveled, friendly, only 1/4 mile to their downtown. Friendly and helpful staff, showers, toilets, beach area for swimming WITH lounge chairs, swimming right in front, volleyball court, dog walking trails, fire pits, horse shoe play area, etc! Only wish I was able to do laundry but coming back again! Oh and the best part, great fishing under the bridge!

What a beautiful campground with the views of the lake and mountains. Our site was perfect for our 23’ travel trailer and well maintained. While we did not have cell service at the campground (Verizon), the short drive to Stanley provided that when needed. There is constant traffic from site seekers and continual dusting because of it. Our only complaint was campers not following the leash rules for their dogs or stopping them from being aggressive towards us on the trails.

Pretty little spot with pretty decent cell service. Lots of space for my dogs to run around. Could see other campers in the distance. Everyone had lots of room to themselves. I could see it becoming a little bit busier on the weekend. No facilities available at all, which is fine by me! Unfortunately people seem to leave trash around. There was a fire pit which I appreciated but greasy tends in the pit. There also trash bags and a few other things around. Overall, this did not majorly detract from the site. I would recommend bringing bug repellent or a thermacell to ward off bugs.

Small campsite with well-spaced sites. Pretty good Verizon signal. Close to the road but not noisy. Close to Idaho City, which has awesome little spots. Shady, no morning sun. The real treasure is the nearby hot springs resort, The Springs at Idaho City. This is not a big kiddie swimming pool, rather it is a lovely, serene spot and by far one of the nicest in Idaho. They even serve IPA poolside!

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.

This is beyond the Payette River campground, if you follow the South Fork road down a ways, you will see a few turn outs, likely with several filled. This is US Forestry or BLM or both land. You’ll hear echos of gunfire, the occasional semi blasting up the highway or the rumble of tons of bikes making their way up the highway... and if its fire season, there will be helicopters coming in and filling giant buckets of water as there is a Ranger station and water reserve near by. It is a surreal view and area. Dispersed, no amenities, nothing but you, the dirt, rocks, tall pines and little critters. The chipmunks like to tease dogs, but they also taste amazing fried up with some potatoes. There are huge fish in the river below and the water is unbelievably clear, albeit 40ft down from the camp sites in most areas. There are some markers in a few of the areas identifying the land and the forest rangers like to come out and make sure you dont have a campfire. People get possessive over these spots, even though it is public land. Seems a few of these campers have setup and been there a while.
Regardless, it is stunning and perfect!

One thing my family and I always look for when we camp is if there are great hiking spots nearby. The Buckhorn Campground, located within the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest has some great hikes nearby. Not to mention the campground is great too. There are also some great spots to see waterfalls. There is the lovely Buckhorn Tower Viewpoint which is a must see if you come here. The views here are spectacular, the pictures don't do it justice. So many beautiful ridges and canyons. The campsite was pretty popular, maybe because of the great hiking? You can also fish, and I hear/read it is a great place to hunt in the fall. The campsites were great, although I don't think there are very many spots. We got their super early and were able to snag a great spot next to some picnic tables. We also brought our dog- which is allowed. We kept him on his leash the majority of the time, because it was busy. One hike we enjoyed was the Indian Village Grove located about 5miles away from the campsite off of FR880. There is also another hike along this FR, but I cant remember what it was called. Great place to visit!!