If you're looking for a place to pitch your tent near Carmen, look no further. Find the best information on tent camping near Carmen, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your camping experience. Each tent site offers quick access to one or more of Carmen, Idaho's most popular destinations.
12 campsites on Wallace Lake with picnic tables and fire rings. Within the campground are vault toilets and drinking water. Fishing in the lake. Primitive boat launch can be used for non-motorized canoes or rowboats on the lake. The drive on Salmon River Mountain Road offers fantastic views of the Salmon River Range and of deep pine forests.
This 2.5-acre access offers primitive camping below US Highway 93. There is a beach area at low water along the Salmon River. A small boat could be launched here with difficulty. The road is unimproved and steep. Camp trailers and RVs are not recommended.
Available for group picnicking and boat launch
Crazy Creek Campground hosts 7 sites with picnic tables, fire rings, vault toilet and a well with hand pump for water. There is no garbage service so Pack it in/Pack it out. Campground can accommodate trailers under 26 feet.
4800-foot elevation. 3 campsites along Deep Creek Ridge. Short trail to Leacock Point.
TravelerProbably 15-20 camper spots all paved. 5 or so tent sites. Very nice. Water and dumpsters!
My recommendation: stay on the river side, the highway side can get a little loud.
Guide
This is a nice smaller forest service campground adjacent to grasshopper creek. A great spot to stay if exploring the Pioneer Mountains.
There are 7-8 spaces, most suitable for a trailer or van. We were tent camping as were others. There are vault toilets and the ubiquitous forest service green potable water pumps/drinking fountains.
There are no dumpsters so have to pack trash out. There are campground hosts but they don’t have firewood for sale, so either need to bring or be prepared to do quite a bit of hunting for wood. The area around the campground is picked pretty clean of good firewood.
This is bear country and there are food storage boxes located throughout the campground for shared use. I expect the presence of bears is also why they don’t have any dumpsters on site.
The campground sits at approximately 7000 feet and by late summer gets near freezing temps overnight. Bring your fall/winter sleeping bag if tent camping here in late August or late Spring!
Just a few minutes up the road from the campground is Elkhorn Hot Springs where you can pay a few bucks to use the rustic pool and hot springs.
Scout
Stayed two nights at this campground in August. There was a camp host setup, but we didn’t see him at all while we stayed. He did not seem to be staying here. The toilets ran out of tp and many people could not get their questions answered. It’s also only about 20 feet from the highway, so expect a lot of traffic noise at all hours. There is a boat loading dock located here as well, so many people were driving in and out all day. Cell service was good if we needed it but there are several more remote areas only about 20 minutes in to the forest that actually feel like camping (Cougar Point and William’s Lake). Overall it’s decent but I recommend it more as a pit stop if you need to crash for a night. The tent sites are well maintained and running water was a plus.
ScoutWe set up our daughter in our Super C here for 2 months while she worked in nearby Salmon during the busy season. We were so happy with the beautiful scenery, quiet grounds, and excellent service from the owner. If she ever needed anything, they were happy to help. There is a clean laundry room, showers, and bathrooms onsite, and more than enough space for a 40 foot RV. There are shade trees, some grass sites, some landscape rock sites, picnic tables, a gas firepit, and an onsite mini-store if you need. The owner waited for us until we arrived, helped us get our bearings, and then grew to be a friend. If you are needing to camp(even in a tent!) anywhere near Salmon, Idaho, you need to go and see Stewart at Elk Bend RV Park. Say hi to the deer that roam the area, too, or walk across the street and listen to the Salmon River. Just a beautiful area! Sites with full hookups and not. Would not hesitate to recommend Elk Bend RV Park.
Pet Friendly!
Guide
It is a very off the beaten path, tucked away in the woods, true getaway from the busy city life. Travel south on 278 from Wisdom, MT and take the chance on an 18 mile gravel road to find a place only you see in pictures and read about in magazines. Drive through open cattle ranges and find a beautiful campground nestled up to 2 small lakes connected by a shallow channel. Clear water to see the bottom where it's shallow enough. No motorized boats allowed, so bring your own kayak or canoe and a fishing pole or two to enjoy the refreshing waters at the bottom of the mountains. Even in July, you can see snow atop the mountains on the Montana-Idaho border.
Guide
Very clean. Highway noise is not bad at night. I slept well in a tent. Three other people there including one who slept in her car. If you want privacy or shade, go to the end of the day use area and put your tent by the picnic tables around the rock. It is closer to the road tho, and the river.
Traveler
We went there with two tents. The sites are large and there are enough space for more than 2 or 3 tents easily. The sites are well organized and clean, the bathrooms are well maintained and the camping is pretty close to the lake, you can reach the lake with a 3 - 5 minutes walk. We had a really good experience. Just be aware to check your car breaks because the back travel is downhill the mountains.
GuideNice are to get away from it all. Road is best traveled with AWD-4WD. Campgrounds are nice and level for tents.
LegendShoup Bridge Campground is a small Campground surrounding cottonwood trees along the banks of the Salmon River. It is also right along the Highway. We found this a pleasant campground to stay in, plenty of flat ground for our tents and only $5 a night. A few sites are quite small, but still room for a tent. This was our Scouts jumping off point for a backpacking trip the next day. While next to the highway we expected a lot of noise during the night, but that was not our experience, the only real road noise we had was in the early morning with worked out as it helped wake us up. Each site has a picnic table and metal fire ring. Water is available and the area has a vault toilet and trash cans. Campground has a boat launch.
Scout
Tis campground was a favorite on our Idaho trip. Lots of spots available on a week night. Great campground host. Bathrooms were really clean and great tasting water. Sites are very nicely spaced and lots of privacy between them.
Guide
We stopped here to sleep on our way to Glacier NP. It was easy to find but off the main road and quiet. Very clean campsites with fire pits and trash cans. We drove around the campsite before we left, all the sites were camper trailer friendly and had grassy areas for tents. All for $5
Traveler
This is a beautiful campground at higher elevation. The wildflowers were amazing in early July. There were a good amount of spots for tents and rvs. Its up high in elevation so it's hard work on the engine towing a trailer up there but worth it to take it slow. Vault toilets were clean and you can hand pump drinking water. A really lovely place!
Traveler
We had a lovely site that was close to the Wise River. Even with a full camp, the ambient sound of the river shielded the sounds of people talking or kids playing. The bathroom facilities were clean. Most campsites had some shade for either sitting or having a tent. Most people were in self sufficient RVs since there are not hookups. The campground also had a water pump with clean and very cold water.
Traveler
Great location closer to the north side of the park near Wise. Was great falling asleep to the sound of the river. Everything in the park was a short drive away. Campsite was clean, good spots to pitch the tent. Vault toilet was clean and had a fresh bottle of hand sanitizer. Highly recommend Crystal park as an activity for families with kids, but even adults find it highly enjoyable. Highly recommend this location.
Guide
This is a cozy little campground about 20 minutes outside Salmon, ID. It's located directly on the Salmon River. It's a well-run site, is clean and has full hookups, laundry, a store, etc... If you're traveling north along the Salmon River, it's a good place to spend the night before heading up over the pass towards Lolo and Missoula, MT. No cell service, but serviceable WiFi, and its location on the river is excellent for anglers and those looking to enjoy the river. Spaces are a little tight, and there are definitely other boondocking sites along the river in this area, Wagonhammer provides a nice spot for those looking for the comforts of home while nestled in the wilderness. It's a quiet, calm, and safe place for travelers staying in everything from tents to enormous RV's.
Guide
It is absolutely beautiful, and the ability to fall asleep under the stars while listening to the rushing river nearby is exactly why I would recommend other people stay here. It’s located pretty close to the Crystal Park entrance, and allows one to be a bit further away from the RVs and majority of the campers. We had a group of 8 people, and two camp sites was plenty. Some people hammocked & said the groves of trees were perfectly spaced for this, while others stayed in tents. There is a campfire with an attached grill, along with a nice picnic table.
GuideThe campground is very nice, it was clean and had 2 water taps available. You can hear the creek at night, which is a huge plus for me. They have mutiple food storages available that are shared. There wasn't any firewood that was easy to find. I recommend bringing your own or running to Ma's County Market. For kiln dried wood, it doesn't last long, but you can cook with it.. The cost was 15.00 USD a night with 5 dollars more per vehicle. Site 5 could park 4 vehicles easy. The rest can only fit 2. Bigger parites can go to the group campground in the front. Number five could park about six cars easy. Also you could pitch about 7 to 9 tents on it.
Legend
This is a very nice yet small campground. The campground has 5 sites, the best site is site 3 as it is next to the creek and has large logs around the fire ring for sitting on and enjoying the fire and plenty of flat ground for a tent or two. The campground has a hand pump for water and a vault toilet that has its own bridge leading to it. Most of the sites get plenty of shade due to the mature pines through out the camp. All fire sites have tables and fire rings. Site 5 has both a fire ring and a BBQ grill. The entire campground is paved including parking pads. Cost to camp is $8.
LegendRight on top of the highway, you definitely get some road noise here. The trees are pretty thin (maybe not good for hammocks), but there are a lot of them which provide a bit of privacy. The restrooms needed to be cleaned when I was there, but it had just been a busy weekend. No Georgetown lake access from the campground, but there is lake access right across the street at the day use area. You’ve got the ususal picnic tables and fire rings and some sites also have grills. Watch carefully as not all sites have a level place to put a tent. You are only 11 miles from Philipsburg where you can get a shower and a beer in which ever order you want.
Legend
Only 3 miles off the main drag, I’m not sure why more people weren’t camping here. While there are only about 8 sites only 2(including mine) were taken. Maybe it was the smoke from distant first fires. Anyway, great little campground! Right next to the creek, with another small branch cutting through the middle of the campground, the only thing I could hear was the water and later a fire spotter plane overhead. The vault toilet was super clean and serviced recently. Sites were of different sizes(the parking pad curbs had lengths listed on them), and of differing amounts of levelness. I had site 2 and had to go to a fairly low spot to find a level place to pitch my tent, not a problem during a drought, but it would have been wet if it had rained. Saw a doe and fawn on the way out in the morning.
GuideAwesome campground, the camp host is friendly and making rounds to ensure the bathrooms are stocked and that everyone is enjoying their time. We camped at number 5 last time, and we just got done camping at number 15 for the weekend. Crystal park is not thst far and the Wise river is right after it. Also vheck out Elkhorn hotsprings th a ts the next turn for a natural spring nad suana. Can't wait to camp here again. The picture below will show you our camp set up sadly Teo fridns had to take off earlier before photos. We easily fit 4 tents and had 2 dogs with us. The site provides shared food storages, also vualt toilets, and drinkable water at the faucets through out the camp ground. It was 25 a night for 3 vehicles so we spent 50 in total. Another perk if you need or forgot something go to Ma's store it has a bit of everything. It's just on the other side of the lodge in Grasshopper.
Traveler
I was camping at a nearby national park site that had a flyer for Camp Sula, saying that if you show the receipt from your stay you can use Camp Sulas shower, laundry facilities and wifi at no cost. I arrived there and the ladies working in the combination store/restaurant/gas and coffee station were so friendly and down to earth. I was given a towel and shampoo/conditioner for the shower, they had complimentary and coin washing machines, and coin dryers, all very efficient. After my shower and waiting for clothes to dry, I walked around the camp, the log cabins are adorable and cozy, each has its own porch, picnic table and adjacent fire pit. There is free put-put golf, horseshoes, tetherball and a small well stocked fishing pond with benches to watch the action or simply admire the beauty of the surroundings. It is close to the main highway but tucked back enough you feel "away" from the bustle. I enjoyed myself so much I inquired about camping there for the night & I would only need a parking space because I sleep in my truck bed canopy. They were full (accommodates RVs and tents) but offered a makeshift spot right by the creek. It was perfect. Because of COVID, they had limited reservations for dinner, and practiced social distancing and requested patrons wear masks. Not everyone participated with their request but were equally treated with kindness and respect. I highly recommend their breakfast, big fluffy pancakes and local meats. They kept the restaurant, showers & bathroom & store very very clean. The location is a landmark, the Lewis and Clark expedition camped there on their way to discover the west. I highly recommend them
ScoutThe campground is very open, a few patches of trees, but mostly it's bare. It sits right on the edge of the salmon River, and is only 15 minutes from town if you need supplies. The host of the campground is really nice too. It's got about 5 spots for camping, and a volleyball court, spot for horseshoes and a fairly open field perfect for any other activities.
I would say it's a better rec site than camping spot.
TravelerSmall place, only 10/15 campsites. Sits right on a river, very spacious sites and super cheap ($5). Camp host is a cool guy too, that always helps. First camp site in 2 weeks I’ve decided to stay for multiple days because it’s a beauty.
GuideNice camp host. Spots are decently far from each other (25-50yds). River is beautiful.
GuideMorgan bar was a nice place to stay the night I loved to hear the river flowing in the background it was very peaceful. There was 2 other people camped so it was quiet. Bring bug spray it was buggy! We had a cute bunny visit our site as well as the camp hosts dog she was very sweet. I will definitely be back.
Don’t follow the dyrts coordinates they are wrong use google.
GuideI stayed here for one night. It is $5 per night. I had decent Verizon signal. There were at least eight camping areas. While I stayed here about half were full. The camping limit for this area is 14 days. There is a camping host that lives here so you cannot overnight park for free. There is river access. The only plot that I found that I could use my hammock at was plot 8. Just because of the lack of strong trees.
Tent camping near Carmen, Idaho offers a chance to immerse yourself in the stunning natural beauty of the region, with various options for outdoor enthusiasts seeking adventure and tranquility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Carmen, ID?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Carmen, ID is Camp Creek BLM Camping with a 4.4-star rating from 5 reviews.
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