Challis, ID is a great camping destination for adventurers of all types. Enjoy the scenic camping, fun activities, and sights and sounds of Challis. At The Dyrt, campers like you share their favorite spots, plus tips and photos. No matter where you're headed in Challis, you'll find the best spot for you and your camping crew.
"Near a lake with fishing and hiking opportunities. Campsites are clean with good spacing between them. Super hidden and worth the drive up."
"Yellows and oranges surround the banks, the river. I have the whole campground to myself—all two sites. But, of course, I only occupy one."
"Super nice being next to a river, road wasn’t a problem with loud traffic. Good hammock trees"
"Spaced apart about 3 sites alongside the river access. Trees for hammocking and shade. Relatively even for van parking. Not buggy at all."
"Amazing drive-in BLM campsite right on the Salmon River. Primitive site; no water/bathroom. Great stargazing."
$5 / night
"Absolutely the best spot to set up camp if you're looking at doing an alpine attempt on the roof of Idaho, Mt. Borah! "
"NOTE: No water available at the site. We stopped in Mackay on our way there to get water, food and fuel."
TravelerLovely little campground with many amenities close to Redfish Lake Lodge. Each campsite has a dedicated level pad for tents, a picnic table, a bear box, and fire ring. The sites are a bit open, so privacy can be a bit lacking if that's a concern. This campsite is also walk-in, so you will need to use provided wagons to bring your stuff to your site and park your car in the provided parking lot. There are also bathrooms which had flushing toilets and running water and are well maintained. We loved that Point Campground is within walking distance to Redfish Lake Lodge, which has a bunch of different activities: horseback riding, kayaking, a dog beach, mountain biking, fishing, etc. This campground is great when camping with children, especially with the bathrooms & lack of car traffic on the tent-only side. We will be returning!
LegendIf you show up to Redfish Lake on a busy weekend and all of the campgrounds are reserved/full, no worries. There is a bunch of free dispersed camping all along highway 75. A quick stop at the Forest Service Office down the road and I had a pretty good map of the forest roads in the area, but more importantly, a tip about free camping a stone’s throw away from Redfish Lake and Sunny Gulch campground. The road in is a bit rough with ruts and rocks, but there are several established sites with fire rings. There was a loop to the right with about 8 such sites and a loop to the right with about 5 sites as well as one that was hidden behind the site I chose that you had to walk in to(it was actually a nicer site than the one I chose, but I was tired and set up before I saw it on my explorations. There was one vault toilet that was not especially clean, but free is free, and if you really wanted to, you could walk less than a quarter mile across to the developed Sunny Gulch campground. There are no picnic tables or grills or tent pads, but definitely stone fire rings at each site so no worries as long as you brought your own camp chair. If you need a shower, head into Redfish Lake to use the public pay showers there.
LegendThis is a tent only campground(there is nowhere for RVs to turn around, and backing out would be a horrific proposition) with only seven sites. The best sites are the four that are on the creek side of the camp road. There is a vault toilet(not especially clean) and a bear proof dumpster, and lots of signs about bears, but no bear boxes for food storage. The campsites are nicely shaded, but not especially private(you can see most of the sites from each other). This campground is$2 cheaper than the next closest campground(I drove to the other site to check it out and returned here because except for the price, they were about the same). There is a pretty cool avalanche/rock slide up the road that is impressive in size and there are some pretty cool beaver dams and lodges in the creek/marshy area that feeds into the river. Be careful picking a site along the creek as it runs pretty close to the edge of two sites and I suspect the sites get flooded during big rains(due to the beaver dams). Showers are not terribly far away at Redfish Lake Park.
LegendWow! Absolutely the best spot to set up camp if you're looking at doing an alpine attempt on the roof of Idaho, Mt. Borah! The campground sits right around 7200' which is a decent bit cooler than the Big Lost River Valley to the west. There is also a good bit of shade despite there being few large trees. Its kind of a transition between the sage brush and juniper climate zones. There are picnic tables and metal fire rings @ each site but there is absolutely no running water so be sure to fill your water bottles and camelbaks in Mackey which is the closest town. There are vault toilets but no other amenities. The perk of being fairly primitive is that the sites are only $5 a night!
If you're planning on summiting Borah it's a good idea to get an alpine start <6 AM so you don't get baked by the sun as there's no shade the last 2 miles and sparse shade the first 1.5. It is a brutal hike if you're not prepared. The trail ascends 5200' of elevation in just over 3.5 miles. Your legs will probably burn, bring hiking poles for the descent! If you don't feel like hiking there are plenty of rivers nearby in which to fish and great spots to check out the scarp of the 1980's Mt. Borah earthquake, which you drive across on the way to the campground/trailhead.
GuideBlacktop drive and parking pads with a few pull through sites. You can fish from your camp site. No hookups but water is available. Plenty of space between sites. Fire rings and picnic tables were provided. Firewood was for sale. Bring your bug spray for late afternoon and evening. We needed it in early July.
RangerSunny Gulch is a NFS campground right between Stanley, Idaho and Redfish Lake. The views are incredible and the location can’t be beat. The campground has two loops with the lower loop being closer to Highway 75 (not noisy at all at night) and more appropriate for smaller rigs while the upper loop has some larger sites with some above the Salmon River. All sites have picnic table, prep table, fire ring and tent pad and are quite large and lots of space between sites. Sites are FCFS except for 10 reservable sites; camp host is fantastic and super friendly. Firewood is available at the host site and vault toilets are located throughout the campground and water pumps are also positioned within a short walk of most sites. The Ranger Station is 1/2 mile away and has four dump stations ($12 as of this review) and free fresh water if the pumps at the campground don’t suit your needs.
Redfish Lake and all that encompasses is 1/2 mile to the south; the town of Stanley is beyond the Ranger Station about 2 miles to the north. We’ll definitely stay here again if we’re in the area!
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.
LegendPros: *Views for miles *Steps from the Salmon River *Boat launch for rafting,kayaking,fishing *Covered picnic table *Generous spacing between sites *Serious star gazing opportunities
Cons: *No shade *Close to road, so some road noise.
Pros out weigh the cons for us. 2 thumbs up.
TravelerTrap Creek Campground was great for our group. There are 3 separate fire rings, each with a picnic table, a clean vault toilet, and an amazing view of the adjacent meadow with the Sawtooths. There was plenty of room for large family tents and plenty of shade to let the kids run around and play. It is RIGHT off the highway, so if noise from traffic isn't your favorite, you'll want to choose another campground. There were also quite a few cars that stopped off the highway to use the toilet. Other than that, it was great for our group of families with dogs and kids.
Challis, Idaho, offers a fantastic backdrop for tent camping enthusiasts, with a variety of campgrounds nestled in stunning natural settings. Whether you're looking for serene lakes or rugged mountain trails, there's something for everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Challis, ID?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Challis, ID is Challis National Forest Little Bayhorse Campground with a 5-star rating from 1 review.
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