Looking to go glamping near Boise National Forest and enjoy a rustic retreat into nature? The Dyrt can help find the best glamping in and around Boise National Forest, ID. Glamping offers quick access to one or more of Boise National Forest's most popular destinations.
Mountain View Campground is located just east of Lowman, Idaho, along Highway 21 at an elevation of 3,900 feet. Visitors enjoy rafting, kayaking and fishing on the South Fork Payette River, and soaking in the area's many hot springs pools.
The South Fork Payette River offers whitewater rafting, kayaking and trout fishing. The Deadwood and Danskin River Access areas are nearby. Popular Kirkham Hot Springs is less than 3 miles from the campground, with several soaking pools on the river's edge.
Towering Ponderosa pines cover the campground, offering partial shade in most sites. Summer wildflowers dot the landscape. Deer and elk may be seen wandering through the area on occasion.
Numerous natural hot springs pools can be found along Highway 21, the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway and the Banks-Lowman Highway, also known as the Wildlife Canyon Scenic Byway. Both byways offer scenic views, wildlife watching, historical information kiosks and several trail opportunities. Whitewater rafting and kayaking are popular activities on the South Fork and Main Payette Rivers. Several companies in the area offer guided half and full-day trips.
For facility specific information, please call (208) 259-3361.
$15 - $30 / night
Helende Campground is located 10 miles east of Lowman, Idaho, along Highway 21 at an elevation of 4,100 feet. The South Fork Payette River lies a few hundred yards away. Visitors enjoy fishing and rafting on the river, soaking at nearby Kirkham Hot Springs and exploring the extensive Kirkham Ridge Trail.
The South Fork Payette River offers whitewater rafting, kayaking and trout fishing. The Deadwood and Danskin River Access areas are nearby. Popular Kirkham Hot Springs is less than 5 miles west of the campground along Highway 21. A trail with staircases leads down to the soaking pools on the riverside. Kirkham Ridge Trail is one of the Lowman Ranger District's premier trails. It begins near Kirkham Campground and stretches through beautiful country for 35 miles, connecting with many other trails in the area. It is open to hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. Sections of the trail are open seasonally to off-road vehicles.
The South Fork Payette River offers whitewater rafting, kayaking and trout fishing. The Deadwood and Danskin River Access areas are nearby. Popular Kirkham Hot Springs is less than 5 miles west of the campground along Highway 21. A trail with staircases leads down to the soaking pools on the riverside. Kirkham Ridge Trail is one of the Lowman Ranger District's premier trails. It begins near Kirkham Campground and stretches through beautiful country for 35 miles, connecting with many other trails in the area. It is open to hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. Sections of the trail are open seasonally to off-road vehicles.
The campground is situated in a dense forest of lodgepole and Ponderosa pine, which offers plentiful shade in most sites. Summer wildflowers dot the landscape. Deer and elk may be seen wandering through the area on occasion.
Numerous natural hot springs pools can be found along the Banks-Lowman Highway, also known as the Wildlife Canyon Scenic Byway and Highway 21, the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway. Both byways offer scenic views, wildlife watching, historical information kiosks and several trail opportunities. Whitewater rafting and kayaking are popular activities on the South Fork and Main Payette Rivers. Several companies in the area offer guided half and full-day trips.
$12 / night
Bull Trout Campground is located on the shores of beautiful Bull Trout Lake at an elevation of 6,900 feet. The lake offers great fishing and canoeing opportunities. Many trails for hiking, biking, horseback and off-road vehicle riding are in the area. Only equestrian users may reserve equestrian sites. If an equestrian site is not reserved, it may be occupied by other user groups on a first-come, first-served basis.
Bull Trout Lake offers excellent canoeing and kayaking opportunities, as the lake is for non-motorized watercraft only. Anglers fish for brook and rainbow trout. A primitive boat ramp is located on the west side of the lake. Martin Lake is nearby, offering canoeing and fishing. The lake is stocked with rainbow trout. Many miles of trails can be found in the area, including the 11-mile Warm Spring Trail for hikers. The 35-mile Kirkham Ridge Trail is open to hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and dirt biking.
The campground is situated in a mixed-growth forest of Douglas fir and lodgepole pine, which offers partial shade. Summer wildflowers are abundant.
$15 / night
Nestled in the Treasure Valley right on the Boise River, we are close to many area attractions. Boise RV parks offers a full range of enjoyment for the whole family and facilities for group gatherings. Our friendly and personalized service will be waiting to make your family or group's stay comfortable and enjoyable. We offer clean restroom facilities, hot showers, laundry facilities, river and greenbelt access surrounded by large commons areas.
$53 - $95 / night
This location is available on a first-come, first-served basis only. Visitors are required to physically arrive at the campground to purchase and claim a site. Once on-site, you may be able to pay for your campsite(s) by scanning a QR code using the Recreation.gov mobile app, and the Scan and Pay feature. If this option is available, you will need to__first download the free Recreation.gov mobile app https://www.recreation.gov/mobile-app prior to your arrival__as some remote areas have limited or no cellular service.
Alturas Lake Inlet Campground is located on the shores of scenic Alturas Lake at the foot of the Sawtooth Mountain Range.
This site is part of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, where outdoor activities abound. Alturas Lake offers excellent boating, water skiing, canoeing, kayaking and fishing for bull trout and Kokanee salmon. The 10-mile round trip Alpine Meadows Trail begins nearby, with spectacular canyon, meadow and alpine lake views. The trail is also a popular area for bird watching.
Alturas Creek runs through the campground, where summer wildflowers are plentiful and a mixed-growth conifer forest provides partial shade. Temperatures are cool, with an average summer high of 78 degrees and a low of 40 degrees.
The Sawtooth National Recreation Area offers a myriad of excellent hiking and biking opportunities, and an estimated 750 miles of trails crisscross the valley and surrounding mountains. Perkins Lake is less than 2 miles away, with excellent fishing and canoeing. Pettit and Yellowbelly Lakes are nearby, with more fishing, canoeing and hiking. The Salmon River offers fishing for rainbow trout, Westslope cutthroat trout and occasional hybrid cutbows and bull trout. Popular area events include an Arts and Crafts Fair in July, and Wagon Days, Salmon Festival, Quilt Fair and Fireman's Ball in September.
$24 / night
Great place to camp with horses, pets and family. Just one mile North of quaint Idaho City. Walking distance to the Rodeo Arena, playground and just around the corner is the public RV Dump. About a mile to Morris Creek for a cooling swim. 2.5 miles to The Springs, Hot Springs Retreat. So much history in this part of the Boise National Forest. Right off Highway 21. 123 Bucking Horse Lane, Idaho City, ID First Come, First Serve. Pay Station with envelopes provided. Individual sites might be reserved, please check for signs.
$35 / night
River Side Campground is located along the Deadwood River at the north end of scenic Deadwood Reservoir at an elevation of 5,300 feet. Boating, fishing and hiking are popular activities.
Because of its remote location, Deadwood Reservoir is quiet and unpopulated, making for great fishing for Chinook and Kokanee salmon, and rainbow and cutthroat trout. Boating, water skiing, canoeing and kayaking are popular on the lake. A boat ramp is located about 2 miles away at Cozy Cove Campground.Many trails for hiking, mountain biking, horseback and off-road vehicle riding are in the area.
The campground is situated in a mixed-growth pine forest, which offers plentiful shade. Summer wildflowers are abundant. The entire campground affords views of the river.
$12 / night
A nice small campground in the trees along Bench Creek near Highway 21. Fishing in the stream and nearby Bull Trout Lake. Trail adjacent to the campground, heading southeast to Stanley Lake. Each of the 5 sites have picnic tables and fire rings with cooking grills. Amenities within the campground include a vault toilet. No drinking water is provided on site, and this small campground accommodates smaller trailers and motorhomes up to 30 feet long.
Ranger
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.
Traveler
Found this gem few miles off the highway with amazing views all around. Plus the owners were incredibly nice. Would definitely stay again.
Scout
Well, guess the review below should have been posted after we checked out. Why? We went for a walk and upon our return at 9pm we were greeted by the management advising us we needed to immediately depart. If we didn't we were told we'd be trespassing and.... This is a first for us. A bit surprising as we are both retired health care professionals(surgeon and MPH). Plus, we have volunteered as camp hosts in both state parks and a KOA. Not a good experience. We are in a 38' Class A, and we're assigned site 17. The"guide' took us to our site. He had the people in the next site move their car so we could pull through and back in. Then he directed my husband pull through an area where there was a dead tree with the branches cut off, but still with the trunk and large limbs present. The top of our RV got caught under a protruding branch, scraping the top edge of the coach. The guide shared this was his first week and he didn't understand why they assigned us this site. He got his manager to come look at our coach and the site. The manager said he would have parked us differently, and they are not responsible for the damage. We asked for a different site, and the approach was better. Still very tight. Not a great way to start the visit and very disappointed in the management. Leaving early and likely won't be back or recommend this park to others. We camped at Boise Riverside RV Park in a Motorhome
Guide
Very calm and peaceful this weekend. Able to get our favorite spot by the river.
GuideLike most (it seems) campgrounds, this place is badly in need of maintenance. When it rains, the "roads" (term used loosely) are mud puddles. Your site is too, unfortunately. Most of the park is long-term scum campers, junk all over the sites, loud trucks, loud music.
To top it off, many of these hobos take pleasure in putting dog food bowls of duck food out, so you can count on duck crap all over the place, on your rig, on your vehicle. The constant quacking makes you think you're on an island in the river. It will drive your dog nuts too.
The Greenbelt:
Pretty, but VERY overcrowded. If you're looking for some peace walking by the river, forget it. Spandex wearing cycle maggots, too self-important to even bother to say "on your left" or ring a bell, come ripping up behind you, inches away, as if they despise you "being in the way". Most are wearing mirror shades so they don't have to smile at anyone.
All in all, there are much better places to spend time in Idaho. Try Idaho Falls, or Twin Falls. Stanley and Coeur d'Alene are both gorgeous. Boise is basically California, including the the corresponding batch of jerks just like you find in California.
Originally planned to stay here three months, left after a few weeks. Obviously, won't be returning.
GuideGlorified 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.
Scout
New owners have downsized the RV area to only six sites. That being said I'm enjoying our trip in mid-September since only half are being filled. That being said site 1 is not very usable due to not having a table or sewer hookup.
We paid $100 a night which is a premium but given the location it felt worth it.
ScoutWe love camping in this campground. The reason for only three stars is because of the extremely rude behavior of the"camp host". We will not be going back as long as she is still there. This is our third time camping there and we have never seen treated so poorly by a camp host.
Scout
Great spot for groups! Limited spaces and not super close together -- which we love. View of the water is beautiful and there are many trees to provide shade for the entire campground.
Ranger
Close to the road so you get a little road noise. Nice small quiet campground. Wasn’t to busy when visited. Got starlink but no Verizon service. Clean sites and nicely paved.
Ranger
Nice clean campground. Only issue you did have some road noise since it’s right on the road. Picked up starlink service but no Verizon signal. Campground was pretty quiet not busy at all.
Scout
expected this to be free but it is not any longer. $20 per night or $10 with your senior pass. well worth it. we were camped right by the river in site 14. cleanest vault toilets ever. asphalt roads and sites in good condition. picnic table and fire ring. would come back here for sure
ScoutWe stayed at this park in Sept 2022. We decided to make a reservation again in 2023 because the best part of this park is you are right next to the green belt. Unfortunately, This place is run with a "like it or not, we don't care" attitude. Toni, who runs the place, has terrible customer service skills and there is no room for negotiation. We made a reservation on Mar 17, 2023 for 8 days in August, 5 months in advance and we cancelled on April 2, 2023, within 2 weeks of making the reservation in the first place. We were required to pay a $300 deposit which is non-refundable. Their non-refundable policy, is to make up for money lost because a site was tied up, but for this reservation it was tied up for only 2 weeks, so I'm pretty certain they didn't lose money. We have tried to reach out to Toni by phone at least 10 times. Once, we even got her husband and he promised us he would have her call us. Nope. Never happened. The customer service rating is because Toni will not return a call and refuses to negotiate. She won't give the common courtesy to work something out with her. She really doesn't care what you think or even your side of the problem. Not a good way to run a business. Like I said, if you ride bikes and like the greenbelt its a okay place to stay but make sure you don't put a $300 deposit down. The entire park is gravel/dirt roads except for some lawn that a few small campspots are on. There are lots of residents staying long term in very old and run down trailers. Kind of junky. Be careful if you decide to stay here and for sure don't make a reservation for more than a couple of days so you don't lose your deposit.
ScoutVery friendly and helpful staff. We had a beautiful site on the river.
GuideManagement was vindictive and disorganized. They pulled multiple unauthorized charges from our account claiming we exceeded the 5 mph speeding limit. When we asked for documentation or a receipt they became extremely confrontational, yelling and accusations.
Our site was poorly maintained. We voiced concerns about some tree branches hanging over our site with branches that had clearly broken off. The water was leaking terribly and we immediately shut it off and notified them. They did not address either issues nor offer another site.
It took me 3 weeks, multiple phone calls, physical visits to book this campground. That is how disorganized management was, even their pricing was unclear.
Avoid this park!
TravelerI passed this place on Labor Day weekend and decided to stay. They officially don’t have tent sites but had some grassy area where I could pitch my tent anyway. That did mean there were no picnic tables or fire rings for me but the RV sites did have them.
The bathroom/showers were small but clean.
The bar/restaurant serves good food and the staff and locals were very friendly and offered all kinds of suggestions for my trip
TravelerThis campsite was a little slice of heaven, I honestly contemplated reviewing it because it want to keep this gem hidden. We were originally booking in an equestrian site but we don't own horses the camp host left us a little sticky note (there is not cell service) on the fence when we arrived to let us know that our campsite had been moved. We drove down the dirt road a little more and went to our new site, as well pulled up we were greated with the best lake view and a massive campsite. There isn't that many amenities at this campsite, it's a pack in pack our but there is a dumpster and vault toilets one for every I'd say 8 or 9 sites. The views were the best part, the camp hosts were kind and frequently driving through to make sure we are ok. They do sell wood bundles for $5 which was great because we ran out of wood multiple time and driving to Stanley they wanted $13 a bundle. This is now our favorite campsite and we will for sure be back!
TravelerStayed here for 5 nights. Staff was extremely cooperative. Rode some awesome dirt bike trails. And enjoyed some delicious food.
LegendWe LOVED our campsite at Bill Trout Lake. We had a lakefront spot, tons of trees around, and enough space to have privacy from other campsites. All of the campsite we’ve seen were very spacious. We had a camper van and other people had tents. The sites fit a 5-person tent plus a 2 person tent, hammocks, camping table plus camping stove. Each site has a concrete picnic table and concrete benches. All of the lakefront sites on our side had individual access to the lake. The lake is shallow and perfect for paddle boarding and kayaking. We saw one person fishing! This campsite is remote, no cell phone signal and that’s what we were looking for. We were able to disconnect, relax and reset! We had our dog with us and were able to have his lead tied to two trees to allow him to run from one side to another. Tons of chip monks (drove him nuts LOL). We saw a lot of chip monks and pretty birds. Thanks fully we did not see any bears although it is bear country! There was one bathroom by our campsite. Super clean, the campground manager came around everyday to check on the sites and she made sure only those who had a reservation were there. We had a beautiful view of the lake. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I read a book in two days! We definitely want to go back. Our campsite was number 5 and my favorite. Great shaded area. We liked the fact there was a lot of space and you are not on top of one another. We had a camper van and it got a bit chili at night but we had blankets so we were fine. There’s a small area for kids to go biking around these campsites. The closest grocery store and gas station is about 45 minutes from the campground so make sure you have everything you need, unless you plan on driving around! The roads are not paved so make sure your tires are in good conditions so you don’t get a flat. You would be on your own cuz there is no cell signal until you are back on the road (freeway/highway). Well worth the trip! We were there in the middle of the week so it wasn’t busy but it started getting crowded as we were leaving (on a Friday). We would recommend this campground! Get a lakefront spot, bring enough food, drinks, water, a paddle board or just your camping chairs, enjoy the beautiful views of the lake and mountains, disconnect from technology and reconnect with nature and have fun!
ScoutPerfectly level paved sites, incredible views you are directly on the salmon river. Very spacious lots of space between sites.
ScoutFairly quiet RV park near many of Boise’s attractions. Bath house is minimalist but always clean. Small grass area for day camp sites. A little dusty as all roads and sites are gravel/dirt.
LegendRight off of Hwy 75 you’ll find this first come first serve campground that has camping on either side of the road. The river side is currently closed for revegetation, erosion control, and habitat restoration. The other side is open. The river side is nice with campsites close to the river while the other side is just a street crossing away. Both are very similar otherwise.
Dusty gravel roads will loop you through the campground. The sites themselves are dirt and gravel with mostly level parking areas and each site varies in length. We would fit in many of them in our 26' Class C but larger rigs may have a problem. Each site has fire pit and picnic table. There are pit toilets and hand pump water available as well. There is a dumpster for trash but no recycling. There are no bear boxes so store food appropriately as bears are common in this area.
Road noise is an issue during the day as the campgrounds sit very close to the highway, but it dies down at night. Only 2 other campers there when we went.
$18/night
Fire restrictions in effect at this time so NO FIRES
No cell reception ATT, Verizon or TMobile
Guide
Beautiful view of the river from many sites. Reservations seem to be accepted but we did not have a reservation. We camped here to be near white water rafting. Consider rafting with payette river company 208-720-7039. They are awesome and take rafts out at the end of this campground.
GuideFun REC for kids, playground, and party fire pit area. Individual spots were extremely tight. Employee had to help us park (even though we didn't feel like we needed it).
Scout
When the water is high, and you have a boat available the lake can make the trip almost bearable. However, the high costs, terrible spot organization, continuous UTVs on the road, and overall maintenance at this campground really tend to kill any good vibes you may have had on the water. We have tried coming here multiple times and always are underwhelmed with the results. Also, if you by chance were thinking of staying in the "resort" expect higher than normal prices for a room with a bed and bathroom, no services are provided (including cable), they do however have a dvd collection you may barrow from if you are in need of something on the tv.
LegendThis is great stop for a visit to Craters of the moon. Our site was close to the highway, but not much traffic in the evening. The campground was very clean and well kept. The sites were not very far apart, but fine for a couple nights. We did not check out the restaurant, but heard it was good!! We would definitely stay here again if in the area.
TravelerOther than WiFi sucks, 5G on Verizon 😃 Nice Laundry open 24hrs. They remembered us from 5 yrs ago. Dog friendly
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Boise National Forest?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Boise National Forest is Mountain View with a 4-star rating from 5 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Boise National Forest?
TheDyrt.com has all 24 glamping camping locations near Boise National Forest, with real photos and reviews from campers.
