Best Dog-Friendly Camping near City of Rocks National Reserve

City Of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho

Fascinating, desolate, historical State Park. The visitors center is out on the main road and has a short informational trail with some authentic pioneer wagons. The signage is good, if you need water go to the dump site on the way in, there are no spigots at the campsites. When we visited the water was turned off so I was glad I always carry water with me. The sites are well spaced out, intermixed with the rock formations. Our site was huge, with a picnic table, tent pad and fire ring. There was a rock formation on the back side that you can walk up on and see the surrounding area. There were several rock climbers on Practice Rock across from our site. The dogs were permitted , on leash, on the trails however I was concerned about the numerous cactus so we stayed to the dirt roads mostly.

I spent one night in the City of Rocks National Reserve Campground. Nabbed spot 15 - the best one I saw - which had fantastic views from the front and back of my campervan. Sweeping view of valley and mountains beyond from the front, massive rocks through the window over my bed. There is a picnic table and fire ring on the nearly level site which is also very private, tucked away as it was between large rocks.  I camped in February so I could have been the only camper in the park that night, though there are campsites extending up the main road for what must be half a mile, so there is room for many campers both RV and tents. I saw no one other than the ranger during my stay. The bathroom is a pit toilet, very clean and supplied with paper. There are no amenities like power or water at the site. I left my campervan parked and hiked all around the reserve. Million dollar views for dollars a night.

We stayed at Oregon Trail Campground in Twin Falls, Idaho in September 2021. This park is a FHU pull-thru site and also has back-in sites. Our site was flat and level and a snap to set up our fifth wheel. The staff here was very nice and helpful with restaurant recommendations. The only negative for us was that we had to take our pets to the pet area, which was at the far corner of the park, and pets are not allowed to potty on any trees or shrubs. Signs were everywhere stating this. It was difficult to get our dogs quickly to the dog area, which is very small and swampy, when they really had to pee. Other than that we enjoyed our stay here and would definitely stay here again. If you would like to see videos on this park and others, please visit our YouTube channel: Jeff & Steff’s Excellent Adventure.

We loved our stay at Thompson Flat! We had a fantastic time and our dogs loved it too. We were one of 3 campsites in use during out stay in the last half of September. We never saw a camphost anywhere, but the forest service were thinning trees during out stay.  There were clear markings on the trees from antler rubbing by deer and elk.  You are in direct line with a tower on another mountain peek to the East and we got excellent signal for both cell and tv. Lake Cleveland is approximately 2 miles away and has great fishing opportunities. Mt. Harrison Peak is 3.1 miles away and gives beautiful views into the South and West of Idaho.  There is a fire watch tower there along with an interpretive area to learn about the plants in the area.  There is also a monument dedicated to nine military men that died in a military plane, B-24, that crashed nearby in  February 1945. There are restrooms at the campground, lake and Mt. Harrison. The roads are paved until you turn off to the campground and lake just off the highway.

The campsites are a little on the small side if you have more than one huge tent. We went with friends and got lucky with the last two spots being next to each other so we took them both. We have a huge tent and they had a big one as well. We had spot 26 and 27. The spots are first come first serve. We took a hike and got some amazing photos and had a blast fishing. There are rainbow trout and cutthroat in the lake. There is a bathroom but make sure you bring your own toilet paper. It’s also dog friendly and our dogs had a blast as well. It’s been our favorite camping destination so far. There is also cell phone reception which was surprising.

A good stop in an area otherwise lacking in campgrounds. Layout of all pull-through sites. Relatively quiet in the second lot in the back of the casino, although we had to change site because of a barking dog in a neighboring house. The bonus is free access to the casino's very nice pool! Showers snd toilets are ok.

Went down to go climbing.  Wasn't able to get the guidebook due to the visitor center closure (just as the COVID-19 stuff started) but was able to take a nice lap around the main spire and on-sight a few routes for us.  Camped at the main campground for the park (short drive from the climbing).  Campground was surprisingly full for mid-March so we set up the tent at one of the unused "equine sites" away from everybody else so that the dogs could roam a bit.  There is a $5 entry fee and a camping fee as well.  Would definitely go back.

This is a very popular area, but you can still find solitude if you want it. Plenty of activities as well; climb all day, check out Register Rock, or hike the City of Rocks Loop trail around the site to get a little bit of everything. We stayed with our 2 dogs in April, it was definitely warm in the sun, but very cool at night and in the shade. It is high desert, summer months must be stifling!

The sites are nicely spread out, with a few pit toilets and refuse cans between them. Check out the map on the NPS site and make a reservation to ensure you get the spot you want.

This place is unreal. We entered through the Western entrance and didn’t see a single soul the entire stay until we were driving out. The campsites are huge, and every one is unique. Depending on the type of lodging you have you’ll want to double check. We stayed in 38 (I can’t recall but it was in the high 30s) but it’s right by the famous window arch. We have a RTT and just backed up as close as we could to the camping area.

There’s bathrooms in the larger parking lots, and no amenities that are we could find. But the VIEWS from the upper campsites are amazing. You can literally walk right out onto the rocks! We had to keep an eye on the dog but he was fine. Highly recommend this place.

Most of all sites have a Pavillon and the sites on the river has a direct lake access. In my opinion the campground is a little bit open and there is not so much privacy. All in all I would give the campground 4 stars BUT I'm very disappointed from the camp hosts work. He doesn't really care about the people and the campground. From beginning till end on our site was dog shit on the waterstation, all of the tables was very dirty and also trash on the sites. Also the sprinklers work absolutely random. When we woke up on the first day, our stuff was wet. We build a cone by ourself so we can use the site for three days. The camp host shows up the first time an hour before we left and he told us, that we can have a cone from him. Never the less the campground is beautiful rounded by murtaugh lake and the restrooms are mostly clean.

It’s hard to beat a site like this in Idaho with so many amenities. It’s a very large site and the fee isn’t bad about $7 a day if I recall. I’ve mostly camped here for a group event but it’s one of the best Idaho sites I’ve been too. Just be prepared for lots of spiders in July, also this last time coming through we were struggling with chiggers

This was a solid standard USFS campsite in Sawtooth NF southeast of Twin falls Idaho.  A handful of first come first serve sites, and a nice ~2 mile loop trail starts at the campsite.

TTo start off this is an Idaho state park and requires a fee to enter (was $10)  This is a great place to go if theres swarms of climbers at the City of Rocks because of the fee which tends to drive away most dirtbag (endearing term for us) climbers haha.  There are a multitude of fantastic routes there and some good bouldering to be had as well.  Another one of the great things about this park is they have yurt, small house, RV, and tent sites, so no matter how you like to camp theyll be sure to get you into something comfy!

This was a really really small camping area that's located along the creek road going through the south hills of Idaho.  There are absolutely no amenities here however so take care of business at one of the more developed campgrounds along the road!  It had wonderful shade everywhere but there wasn't any flat ground to be able to lay out a tent.  There were also only 2 maybe 3 campgrounds if you squeezed it in and it required a high clearance vehicle to get to 2 of them.  Good thing is if you get these sites you will have no one around you and personal access to a great hiking trail and in the winter snowshoeing back country skiing trail!

This is a no frills campground located in the South Hills of Idaho about 20 miles south of Twin Falls.  Each site has its own fire ring and picnic table with most also giving you a shady spot to set up a tent if you want.  There is only 1 vault toilet though near the info sign.  The campsites are all lined up in a row next to the creek and trees.  There are not many sites so get here early if you plan on coming during the weekend.  It also seems like you could just park your RV in the giant dirt area to the east of the creek.  This area will be hot in the morning and shady in the afternoon as there are no shade trees to the east of the campsites.  A bonus of staying at this campground is that you have walking access to the Third Fork Trailhead!

This is definitely the smallest campground that I encountered while traveling through the South Hills of Idaho that are about a half hour away from Twin Falls.  There were only 2 sites that I could find while driving along this narrow stretch of the river, but they were definitely some of the best sites in the canyon!  Each of the 2 sites had metal fire rings and picnic tables and a vault toilet right at the split between the 2 campsites.  Another bonus was the seclusion you get from the other campground but unfortunately not the road, which isn't too big of a problem as the traffic is pretty light in the canyon during the week.  At the campsite further to the south there were 2 little rocks pools that people had made in the stream that were perfect for cooling off in after a long hot day of hiking around in the hills.  There were also dozens of trout swimming in and around these pools that would make it super easy to fish from a chair within site of your campfire!

A great campground in the South Hills of Idaho that feels like an oasis in the desert!  This is one of a few developed campgrounds that you encounter as you head up Rock Creek Rd.  Like the other sites in the canyon there are metal camp fire ring, picnic tables, and vault toilets.  There are not very many sites, around 5, so don't plan on getting a spot if you arrive after 3 on Friday through the weekend.  Any time during the week you should be fine to get a spot as I visited on a Wednesday around 6 and only saw 1 occupied site.  The fee per night is $5 and there is a wonderful stream right next to almost every campsite that you can fish in and hang your hammock over.  The creek was also low enough to cool off in the waters safely, even with smaller children.  Last thing I noticed was a ton of basalt cliffs and cracks that I'm pretty sure haven't been developed for climbing, so if anyone is feeling super ambitious, let me know and we can develop it together!