Best Cabin Camping near Challis, ID

A trip into the Sawtooth mountains and a visit to Redfish Lake has been de rigeur for any visit to Grandma’s for as far back as I remember... beginning with a trip in ‘84 when my younger brother heeded the call of the wild spirits and disappeared into the forest for hours, only to be found munching happily on the assorted snack foods of a group of elk hunters he had surprised. This area still retains a wilderness experience despite numerous infrastructure improvements and new campground development. Of note, Redfish lake is within the 1416 square mile Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve, the first Gold Tier site in the United States. The result is world class spectacular night sky astronomy unimpeded by light pollution, and makes this area a top pick to do some star gazing or meteor watching.

Fauna is abundant in the surrounding area. Deer, elk, bear, marten, moose, and pronghorn antelope all made appearances during my last rip to the area. Fishing at the beginning and end of season might net you Dolly Varden, Rainbow Trout, and Kokanee. The general store has some basic tackle, but the nearest gear and license is in Stanley.

The lodge, separately owned and seasonally operated under USFS special permit, has been in operation since 1929 and offers day rental bicycles of multiple types, horseback riding, boat/canoe/kayak/SUP rentals, a general store, a restaurant, and minimal WiFi and cell service, staying true to its roots wherever possible.

Pro tip: Enjoy the 17 1/2 mile lake loop hike, but if you’d like to split that distance or have other destinations in mind, the marina operates an on demand boat shuttle for hikers to the trailhead at the far end of the lake during daylight hours. No reservation is required, but you can call to schedule pickup.

Located on one of the most beloved and popular lakes in the Sawtooth. Redfish Lake. And with good reason. It has, orgeous views sny kind of water sports you crave. Backpacking destination trails. Short or long hiking. Biking. The lodge next door offers live music on the lawn. A restaurant with really good food, full bar, ice cream stand, camp store, sandy beach, boat/kayak/SUP rentals. Boat shuttle. All this and close to Stanley to boot. It reminds me of the lake retreat in Dirty Dancing. There are pay showers $3, laundry and dump station on the main road. Very limited, ok just say no, AT&T cell, but you can get wifi at the lodge.

Seeing is believing

This place is not a dream.... this campground was full. So we stayed down the street at Mtn View. Regardless. We went to investigate in order to report with first hand knowledge

On one of the most beloved and popular lakes in the Sawtooth. Redfish Lake. Gorgeous views. Any kind of water sports you crave. Backpacking destination trails. Short or long hiking. Biking. The lodge next door offers live music on the lawn. A restaurant with really good food, full bar, ice cream stand, camp store, sandy beach, boat/kayak/SUP rentals. Boat shuttle. All this and close to Stanley to boot. It reminds me of the lake retreat in Dirty Dancing. There are pay showers $3, laundry and dump station on the main road. Very limited, ok just say no AT&T cell, but you can get wifi at the lodge.

This is one of the coolest places that I have ever stayed. I stayed here for a couple of nights before venturing into the Frank Church. Although this spot isn't quite in the wilderness, it sure feels like it! Driving up to Yellowjacket and through the abandoned mine sites feels like a step into the past. The "ghost town" looks more like several abandoned mines, but is still so interesting to see. The guard station sits in a little meadow beside a creek in a small canyon. The first night that I stayed here, the loudest thunder that I have ever heard rolled through the area! This is truly a wild, unpredictable, beautiful place.  The guard station is a lovely building. Depending on the time of year, there is available water, as well as water from the creek. There is a fire ring surrounded by stump seating in the field. There is a pit toilet a little ways from the guard station that oddly smells like pipe tobacco. There are also corrals for horses, and it seems like a great place to go riding. There aren't official tent sites, but there is lots of flat, grassy spaces that several tents can be comfortably set up in. I was in this area for about 2 weeks and didn't see anyone I didn't plan to! A refreshing breath of solitude. It is a pretty far trek to drive out, make sure to have directions ready ahead of time. In mid-May, this place was seemed like ground-zero for ticks. Watch out and check often! Other wildlife seen included rattlesnakes and deer, and I wouldn't be surprised if Bigfoot was hanging out here somewhere. This is a really unique place to experience and a great starting point to explore the Frank Church Wilderness and Salmon-Challis National forest. I would absolutely recommend visiting this spot.

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.

Stayed here for two nights. The first night I have the whole area to myself. The second night there was two other campers. Doesn't seem to be super popular or high in demand. So finding a spot shouldn't be a problem. There was about six or more parking/camping areas. No Wi-Fi or Verizon signal. There is a toilet available. Access to the river as well.

 Though this campground sits along the highway it is easier to tolerate noise when its free! 

The campground loop is gravel and has “pull next to” (bump out?) type sites with covered picnic table and a fire pit. There are also pit toilets and a hand pump water spigot. There is also a boat ramp and a day use area. 

The river is very shallow and the bank is quite muddy -- our little dog sank up to her belly. 

No privacy here and lots of road noise but you get to see the river and the meandering cows across the river. 

Did not see any wildlife unless you count the swarms of tiny bugs of the variety that squeeze their little bug bodies through your screens. 

Zero cell reception ATT, verizon or TMobile. The WeBoost was able to give us bars of LTE but still was not very usable.

Good for an overnight but not much around to keep us occupied for anything longer.

It was the perfect location close to Stanley. It was a bit dusty. Bathroom was clean. Showers were good. The food at the restaurant was amazing. We have AT&T and no cell service. There is no trees for shade. Had to walk the dogs a little further to do their business.

I decided to stay here for one night. Spots were open but were reserved for a few days later. Other folks came in and are doing the same. A gentleman with a golf cart will come up to your site and collect the fee and give you a parking pass. I have a car and a tent, 3 people, and it was $20/night. There is running water and bathrooms available. The sites have fire pit, picnic table and area to place tent.
We walk easily to the lake to fish in the morning or later in the evening.

We could not imagine a more picture perfect setting to camp and relax.

The view are spectacular and watching sunset from our campsite over the sawtooth's were nothing short of magical. Next time we might stay for the maximum of 10 days.

Wish it had power on the sites was the only shortcoming. Otherwise, it was awesome

This campground has scenic beauty all around it. If you like taking pictures of dramatic mountain peaks reflected in a lake, or fields of colorful wildflowers amongst the boulders,you will find plenty of opportunity here. Despite the fact that we were there over the 4th of July, the only busy place was at Redfish Lake. Many people walked down to the lake to fish or to paddle on inflatables, and a few braved the cold lake temperature to swim. We had the trails to ourselves, and the campground itself was reasonably quiet and never filled to capacity while we were there midweek. The campsites are large, with paved and relatively level driveways for campers and RVs, and flat cleared areas to set up a tent. Bathrooms are clean, with flush toilets. No showers here, but they are available within the Redfish Lake area. The drinking water was cool and tasty. Firewood is available for purchase, and the campground host, Wally, was very friendly and helpful.

Reserve early, but it’s worth it! Our site had an amazing view and great host.

So this site was absolutely beautiful at Redfish Lake in ID. We were in site 40 which still had amazing views of the Sawtooth range from up on a bit of a hill. I will say the reason this one falls short of 5 stars is that it is a pretty busy campground in June, but we were lucky in that our neighbors did not show up which kept everything nice and quiet. However there is a tent pad that’s big enough for two 4 person tents as well as a fire ring and picnic table. Not a bad stay during the weekdays.

I got lucky with this campsite. Most of the campground was filled, but this site (#36) had a “see the host” sign on it. Turned out it was only available for that one night, which was perfect for me. Most of the sites had been reserved in advance and I happened to catch it on the one between night. I had amazing views of the glaciers in the Sawtooth Mountains across the lake. The campground is a series of loops, with the best sites in my loop where you have uninterrupted views of the glaciers and mountains. The trade off for the view is that you don’t have any trees on your site, so no shade and no hammock. But the tent pad was nice. The bathrooms are nice and clean, if a bit outdated. When you need a shower you do have to drive to the horse corrals to use the pay showers ($2 for 6 minutes, wait a full minute before getting in unless you like really cold water), but that is a small price to pay. Hiking in the park is amazing! And the only place you will have phone service is at the visitor’s center.

This place was great. Great view. Friendly staff. Had hot showers. Bathroom and laundry. The night sky was beautiful.

Clean bathrooms and showers, good space. Didn't see a store of any kind. Tiny view of mountains. They charge an extra amount for choosing your spot, but it makes no difference really as the place is quite small.

Clean bathrooms and showers, good space. Didn't see a store of any kind. Tiny view of mountains. They charge an extra amount for choosing your spot, but it makes no difference really as the place is quite small.

Such an awesome little campsite. The owners are very attentive and nice. Bathrooms, showers and laundry room are pristine for a campground! Hot water was no issue and they have a great little store if you’re out of anything. 10/10

Clean, large sites

We stayed here for four nights the weekend prior to July 4th weekend. Our expectations were that it would be full and would be a bit difficult to find a site as it is first come, but we were wrong. When we arrived on Thursday morning the campground was almost completely empty. We easily found a great site that gave a view of Redfish Lake and the long stretch of lodgepoles behind us. Sockeye Campground was below us on the lake but you won’t even know from our site. The vault toilets were clean and maintained. There was a campground host on site who were friendly and provide firewood for $7 a bundle which was significantly better than in town at the Stanley market. There are several trailheads that are an easy walk through woods to find in Sockeye and trails that go around the lake with beautiful views. We will definitely be returning for another long weekend.

Come prepared for cold nights even in the summer. Water will be just as cold unless its August but it's refreshing and extremely clear. Clean campground with fire ring. Camp hosts were very nice.