Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Boise, ID

Bad Bear is a nice little campsite outside of Idaho City. The sites are good size with adequate privacy. There is lots of tree cover for shade during those warm summer days, and a babbling brook at the back of the campground. Each site had a picnic table, fire ring, and there is a well for water and a vault toilet. We enjoyed our stay here, mostly because there wasn't anyone else camping in the campground when we were there in mid-July! Score! We grabbed the big site, but the other sites seemed a bit small. Would recommend for a easy campsite close to Idaho City and just a quick little jaunt from Boise.

Flood Waters washed out the bridge that connects Hwy 21 to the campsite in 2016.  

UPDATE:  Grayback Gulch is OPEN and a wonderful little campground a short drive from Boise.    No hookups, but the toilets are clean and there are two fresh water pumps.   Fishing is available in nearby Moores Creek.  If you can get a campsite along the north end, you may have walking access to a small stream that burps and gurgles down the hillside.   There may be ATV traffic as it's a popular location for families.  I really like using this as a quick 'getaway' overnight.

We stayed here over a weekend in the summer. This Campground is got an hour and a half from Boise and above Idaho City on the Highway 21. The last 20 or 30 minutes Beyond Idaho City going east is a pretty steep Winding Road and a little bit narrow. The longer your trailer and rig the more skill you will need to climb this route. Edna creek is just over Mores Creek Summit and it's it about five thousand feet. It's a great place to cool off. Campground is shaded in most cases. Nice variety of little spaces including a little bit of water going by some of the sites. It's a small cluster of sights on a loop road and again you'll need to maneuver tightly in a few of the corners. Definitely not for a large or long rigs.

Located on the shore of Arrowrock reservoir, this camping area is bare bones. The road in is all gravel on a steep hillside along the shore and several miles to get in. Many potholes and ruts. It will take you about 20-30 minutes from Boise to get to the dam and then another 30 minutes to get to Irish point if you are towing a trailer. You'll have to go slow. This is a nice reservoir and great sunsets and some shoreline camping. In the late season, the water level is usually quite low making it difficult to launch boats. We have a 30ft travel trailer and once was probably enough for quite some time. Tough access. Bad road. The only site improvement at Irish Point is a vault toilet.

UPDATED 2021: This place continues to provide excellent service and clean, spacious sites. Propane is a reasonable price ($2.70/gal as of 3/21). One awesome discovery I made this time around was a trailhead that starts behind Walmart and extends for about 2.5 miles towards Legacy Park. If you’re a runner or walker... give it a shot!

Everything about this RV Park is well-planned and fluid. From the arrival greeting to the spaces themselves, the facilities and the landscaping... it’s all warm and welcoming. They take great care of this park. The spaces are level, the grass between spots is large and manicured, and all the facilities are clean. We didn’t use the restrooms or showers but were told they’re in excellent condition. The sites are very easy to access and the picnic benches are spotless... which is borderline weird. There is a dog run, heated pool and spa, laundry, tetherball and more. Mountain Home RV Park is about 1 hour from Twin Falls and 45 min from Boise. In between both cities are tons of opportunity for outdoor adventure. Less than a mile from you RV spot is a Walmart and a Pilot station. They have propane refilling on site at the park. We would have stayed here for a month if we had the time. We will definitely return.

I have camped a couple times at Hot Springs campground. Pros are that it is easy to get to (campground is literally right off the highway), only about an hour and 20 minutes from Boise, and the amenities are nice (fire pits, tables, bathrooms, etc). The best part about this campground is it is right across the highway from an awesome little Hot Springs pool overlooking the river. Easy access any time of year. The main reason I gave it 3 stars is because I like to feel a little more secluded / not right beside the highway when I camp. On that note... Cons are that since it is so easy to access, it can often be very crowded, especially on weekends obviously. You do have to pay for parking / camping, and it is not very secluded - you can hear cars passing on the highway. There is some shade but not on every site. In my opinion, this campground would be best to camp at in early spring or fall.