Best Tent 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.

Ten Mile is a clean camp ground in a nice wooded area just off highway 21. The sites are large with good space between them for decent privacy. A good spot to tent camp, camper camp or bring smaller RVs.

I love this campground. It’s back in the woods, on a creek. Perfect for tent camping. Campers and smaller RVs could also find spots. There is good privacy from the abundance of trees in the campground. This is one of my favorite spots off of Highway 21.

This is a small camp ground right off Highway 55 and across the Highway from the Payette river.  Lots of shade trees.  Not a lot of room for larger campers or RVs, mostly geared toward tent camping.  I did not get cell service here.

It has been a long time since I have been there. Not a lot of amminites then. Best scenery and lots of tent sites away from crowds. Will go back again.

This is one of the few overnight camp spots on the reservoir. It’s not always super clean. The garbage cans fill up quickly and sometimes over flow. Great day access for boats. Not a lot of shade for tent camping, so it can get warm in the summer.

It’s located right on highway 21, a few miles south of Stanley. Very small. Description says 5 camping sites but I only saw 3. There is a running creek a few feet away from the tent sites. Very quiet.

This is a first come first serve for tent camping, and we grabbed the last spot on this trip. However, it was within walking distance of the water for swimming and fishing.

Also VERY clean toilets!

Other than it was hot mid-day, it was beautiful, plus an amazing hiking trail is close too.

This is not my ideal place to camp.  No where to tent camp but there is camper and RV camping in what I would describe as "parking lot style".  That said, if your goal is accessing the water, the boat ramp is right across the dam and this is a glorious place for boating.

This campground is really easy to find. A little before Lowman, right off the road. Average amenities for tent camping. (Only park on the paved road) The camp host is really kind and helpful. There are hot springs right across the street with a beautiful soaking pool and river side view. Good breakfast in Lowman and amazing hot springs in the area!

Sunny Gulch is close to the Sawtooths for great hiking, next to the river if you want to cool off or fish and there were plenty of options. The tent sites are groomed pretty well, and they had the cleanest pit toilet I think I’ve ever seen.

This is one of the smaller campgrounds on the reservoir.  This campground does not have a restroom, most of the others near by do.  Great access to the water but not really great for hiking.  This campground is best for campers or small RV's, you could tent camp her but it would not be my first choice in places to go.

This campground is bigger than many on the reservoir.  There is enough room for groups if you get there early.  Like most of the campgrounds on this road, you have a hill on one side and the reservoir on the other.  This campground is good for campers and some RV's but not so good for tent camping.  Camping here means you are looking for water access,  which is great, at this site.

Edna Creek campground is  off of Highway 21 and is a little farther off the main road that some of other near by campgrounds.   It is a little more private and quiet.  I like this campground because it is more geared toward tent camping.  There is limited space for larger RVs.  There are no RV type amenities.  Just vault toilets, picnic tables and campfire rings.  I believe there is also a water pump.  Lots of access to hiking around here which is a plus for me!

This is a fantastic campsite. The host is super friendly and helpful without being intrusive. It’s on a bluff over a creek and there are hot springs a mere 1/4 mi away. Epic! There were several campsites that over looked the creek (which was easy to hike down to). We had an epic sunrise hot spring experience. We were on site 22 on the RV side which was great because there was more space between sites. There a vault toilet on the tent site and a water pump. We wished we could have stayed longer. Recreation.gov listed a bunch of their sites as first come, first serve which the host informed me they are not. Either way he found us an open spot but with such a nice location I don’t know if that happens often. 10/10 would stay again

This campground is the only no reservation campground accessible by car on Redfish Lake. It’s great if you are looking to score a campsite without a reservation. It’s a great location on the lake, beautiful view of the sawtooth range and a short walk to the beach. The campsites have flat tent sites, concrete pads for the picnic tables and fire rings and most have trees for some shade. The only down side is the boat and jet ski noise during the day. If you are looking to get away from everything you may want to look at some of the nearby river campgrounds. The bathrooms and campsites were very very clean and the camp hosts were very friendly. If you are looking for a good hike take the ferry from the lodge to the far side of the lake!

If you've ever gone up to Stanley and don't believe in having to reserve a campsite on line (it's against my religion) this is your spot. About 20 minutes away from the "hussle and bustle" of tiny mountain town, Stanley, Blind Creek is situated in the Yankee fork of the Salmon River. If you're looking for amenities, don't come here--there's a out toilet, but that's it, no water or trash service. But with the river running right by camp you can easily filter your own water and there's a large dumpster at the Sunbeam pullout right before turning off the highway. Blind Creek only has 5 spots but I've never not been able to camp there, and at $5 a night you can afford to drive a little further to get into the Sawtooths or make the drive over to Challis. Beat for tent camping, though they do have two good sights you could back a trailer into, just do us all a favor, if you're going to run your generator, camp somewhere else. Keep this place quiet!