Looking for the best options for tent camping near City of Rocks National Reserve? The Dyrt helps you find campsites with tent camping near City of Rocks National Reserve. Each tent campsite offers quick access to one or more of City of Rocks National Reserve's most popular destinations.
Independence Lake Campground and Picnic Area is a non-fee campground and picnic area where reservations are not required. There are 5 single sites. This area is accessible for a season that varies usually between July through October. Sites are handicapped accessible. Campground amenities include 9 tables and grills, toilets, and livestock facilities. No drinking water or trash service is available. Nearby Independence Lakes Trail (#35) is 3.1 miles to the Lake. Only non-motorized travel is authorized. The first mile is rocky, however the remainder is a reasonable grade with switchbacks to the first of four lakes in the alpine cirque basin.Fish Your National Forests: This site can be accessed by Passenger Car; Fish available include: Trout; Types of fishing available include: Wade, Shore, Non-motorized boat, Float tube, Fly, Spin, Bait;
Group Campsite: up to 25 people, 7 motor vehicles maximum including RVs
Third Fork Trailhead Picnic and Campground area is composed of 5 individual units and an accessible vault toilet. This area is suitable for motor homes and trailers and best suited for day use. Barrier free stock loading is available. Amenities include toilets and an accessible transfer station. Third Fork Trail (#004) is an easy multi-use trail that accesses an extensive trail system including Wahlstrom Hollow (#38) and Rim View Trails (#235), the latter a hiking/horse trail over moderate terrain. Rim View Trail is 9.5 miles long and runs from Buckskin Ridge to the confluence of Third and Fourth Forks of Rock Creek; it is open to foot and horse travel only. There is an approximate gain of 1900 ft. from the third Fork Trailhead end of the trail on Buckskin Ridge as it generally follows a gentle moderate grade of 8%. The trail crosses several live streams and for the most part goes through areas covered with sub-alpine fir and aspen trees. Excellent views of Rock Creek abound as the trail traverses the canyon rim along the west side of Rock Creek. During the winter, there is great skiing on the Rock Creek Trail, just south of this campground. Opening off the head of Rock Creek are 4 cross-country ski trails ranging in length from 1.2 to 8.1 miles; three of the trails are groomed and signed.
Bostetter Campground is composed of 10 individual units and 1 group unit. It is located in a stand of Lodgepole pine and stretches along Cottonwood Creek with one site tucked up above in some Aspen trees. The campground is pack it in and pack it out. The area is suitable for trailer and tent camping. Anglers can take advantage of a nearby stream. Campground amenities toilets.
Father and Sons Campground and Picnic Area is a developed campground located near Cottonwood Ridge. The campground is composed of 12 individual units and 1 group units that can accommodate a total of 100 people. The campground is suitable for trailer and tent camping. This area is accessible for a season that varies usually between June and September. Campground amenities include toilets. The area is attractive for exploration on an ATV or a mountain bike. Fishing opportunities can be found nearby at Big Cottonwood Creek.
Bear Gulch Campground is a developed campground composed of 8 individual units and 1 group unit near the Shoshone Wildlife Pond. The area is suitable for trailer and tent camping. This area is accessible for a season that varies usually between May and October. Campground amenities include toilets and the facilities are handicapped accessible. A short trail from the campground goes to the pond which is fenced to provide habitat for bird and wildlife species; fishing is available in the creek and pond. For equestrians, there is a barrier-free stock loading ramp and corral near the campground. The area is a winter play area from December through March.
Mill Flat Campground is a developed campground composed of 7 individual units located in an open setting within a canyon. This is a non-fee campground and picnic area where reservations are not required. This area is accessible for a season that varies usually between June through October. Campground amenities include restrooms. The campground is well suited for trailer and tent camping. Visitors can fish for trout in the stream and explore the mountains canyon by canyon on the extensive trail system.
Legend
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.
GuideI 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.
Ranger
We spend on night there in July on our way to Boulder Colorado. Being an RV resort but tent camping we were a bit concerned about being placed between big RV. But for tent camping we were told we could install wherever we wanted in one of 2 very large grass fields. We end up being the only tent in that field; a few tents were in the second field. As indicated by its name there were many trees which was also greatly appreciated for the shade. The only con was that it was relatively close to the high way so noisy at night.
Scout
The campground was very nice. The only negative is the ground and grass areas are pitted with holes from gophers. If tent camping bring a good ground cover to put tent on
TravelerBeautiful sites with many areas to rock climb. Pit houses don’t stink too bad. Good tent sites.
TravelerDry camp that fits for small trailees and tent camping. Larger trailers have limted spots so check dimensions before reserving..Lots of trails nearby. Mountain bike trail as well. Weather can be unpredictable so be prepared for rain and possible storm occasional which makes for amazing skys.
ScoutOne group site and multiple walk in tent sites, each with a good level pad. Dark, quiet and starry at night with long views to the south. Lots to explore in locale. California Trail passed nearby.
Legend
Really beautiful and low key state park. The rock formations are really cool and the whole place has a calm and peaceful vibe. There are pit toilets but no other amenities, not even trash, so please take your trash out with you.
Camp sites are scattered all along the main road, and broken up into area numbers. Kind of confusing until you see it for yourself. The hard part here is that the sites are all so different that you really need to see the site for yourself before deciding where you want to camp, but the cell signal here is minimal and sites MUST be reserved through Reserve America (online or by phone). The highest sites towards the end of the road do have cell signal for both verizon and ATT, but everywhere else in the park there was no reception. There is wifi at the visitor center.
Another bummer about the reservation system is the $10 fee per transaction. Sites are $14/night, so we paid $24 for one night.
NOTE: when you are reserving on Reserve America, "City of Rocks RV, ID" is a private RV park in the area. The park you want to choose is City of Rocks National Reserve, ID.
The park is a designated dark sky park, which is cool, but from our site (#63) the lights from the town of Oakley were pretty bright on the horizon, though the stars in the sky were still amazing. We are in a 26ft class c and there were plenty of sites for us to choose from when we visited mid week in July. Very few other campers there when we were there. The paved road ends shortly after the visitor center but the dirt and rocky and at times washboarded road was ok in our motorhome. We stopped at the visitor center on the way up and got lots of helpful info from the rangers on duty.
No hookups or dump station at this park, but we stopped at the Castle Rock campground on the way out and filled our tank with potable water and dumped for free.
GuideBe careful which site you book. Many are walk in tent sites or don’t have room for even a sprinter van. We had site number 29 which was beautiful. Definitely recommend staying in the 1-30 sites. Many back up to rocks but all are very different.
Legend
Sweet little county park in the middle of farmlands. We arrived just after dark on a Monday night without reservations and there were plenty of sites. Camp host collected $5 cash for a tent site. Woke up to lots of birds, including red-winged blackbirds, yellow-headed blackbirds, white pelicans and swans. Clean vault toilets. A playground for kids.
Legend
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!
ScoutI had an okay tent camping experience here.
Price is good at $5.
If you have trouble finding where to pay there’s a little building in the campground where you drop your envelope and take a receipt stub to put on your car.
Bathrooms are just toilets.
Lots of bugs at night! I was here late Aug/early Sept
Sprinklers come on at random hours and it’s hard to know what ground they’ll cover.
GuideFound this place when we were in desperate need of a last minute site. We pulled right in around midnight and set up. We put $5 in the cash box in the morning. The tent site area is nestled in the trees right next to the lakeshore. There is running water and compost toilets! Stunning view of the lake for sunrise. Would defiantly recommend
Guide
This cute, convenient campground is right outside downtown Twin Falls, giving access to everything you need. The tent sites are close to the road and the RV sites are close together. The laundry room is open 24/7 and it's super cheap. The shower water is good and hot. Verizon signal is pretty good. Super sweet staff. For the $29 I spent, I got my money's worth.
Traveler
New park with nice open spaces w mostly level gravel parking. New trees that will provide shade in the future. Water and power sites available as well as dry and tent sites Free wifi which was good because there was no Verizon cell service. Also available at the ranger station. Walking distance to the ranger station and town. Close to the entrance of the City of Rocks. Onsite informal manager and owner both stopped by to ensure we did not need anything. A great experience.
Traveler
This is a State Park with beautiful landscaping and walking trails. There are plenty of RV and tent sites. The lake is absolutely beautiful with views of mountains in the distance. We stayed in space #13 with a lake view. The space had its own bbq grill, fire pit, picnic table and full hook ups. The park was about 1/3 full and quiet. We definitely want to go back. We highly recommend, especially if you want to include boating or fishing.
Legend
There is a large group site that has 2 large tables and a fire pit and most of the other 1 and 2 tent sites have cemented fire rings. Right next to the creek and plenty of Shade make it a perfect place for hammocks. For most of the year this campground is sparsely populated so it's a nice place for solitude. There is also a large ~200' cirque at the end of a 3 mile hike that continues onto the high point of the range and of Box Elder County! Nearby are numerous archaeological sites and the Joshua Tree-esque devils playground
Legend
While there was no climbing on this trip we did get to see the City in a whole new perspective!
The breadloaves has one large group site right next to the bathrooms and parking and numerous dispersed tent sites, some with long approaches so check the map on the Gov website!
The breadloaves are thoroughly catalogued on the mountain project website but some classic to try are Bloody Fingers and Carol's Crack. There is e ough climbing at the Breadloaves alone for a couple weeks of entertainment but the fantastic Morning Glory Spire is nearby as well along with other smaller walls
Scout
We reserved a site at Thompson Flat well in advance last summer. The drive up and into the campground was absolutely exquisite-beautiful meadows with flowers, and tree-covered mountains. You can imagine our surprise when we pulled into the campground and found that the ENTIRE place was completely overrun by large crowds of people. The campsites were all full with multiple vehicles that were spilling out into the road, loud music was playing, and it was almost like a party had rented the entire campground. There were no campground hosts present, and we realized that there was no way that we were going to be able to get a decent night's sleep if we stayed(we were tent-camping). We actually pulled out and left--something that we have never had to do before. I don't know what was actually going on here, and perhaps it was a fluke, but this was so disappointing for a national forest campground. Definitely not the remote, quiet, family camping experience that we enjoy.
Legend
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!
Travelercash or check only Great location! Huge grass areas prevent any crowding and all but a couple RV spots are facing the lake. Fun to watch jet skiers, etc. go by. Slight cow smell a couple times but barely noticeable. Vault toilets are spotless. Generators only allowed for emergencies so not sure what other reviewer was talking about. Grass is green - which is great unless you are in a tent when they water Monday-Thursday then you’ll either enjoy the sprinklers or run for cover. I’m in an RTT so parked off the grass. Can’t believe tent spots are $5/night and RV with hookups is only $15. A couple large trailers parked across the way so seem to fit fine. Tent spaces not delineated but I’m the only one here so no issues with personal boundaries. Will definitely stay here again when I’m in the area.
GuideIt’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
Traveler
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.
ScoutPulled in late, found the tent area, small grassy spot near road, noisy in the morning, flat, bathroom was open in the morning for early departure.
Legend
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.
Scout
Basic BLM land, dispersed camping about 2mi outside the City of Rocks on the Bread Loaves side, perfect for rock climbers. At least 3 rock fire pits spaced out for several different groups with plenty of room and flat areas for tents. Appears to be a similar area on the other side of the road too
ScoutPrimitive camping requires hauling camping goods to site. No site parking for the tent people. Rv parking is good with plenty of room. Nice little boat launch with Great Lake to play in. Fishing was good and kids loved the swimming.
Tent camping near City of Rocks National Reserve in Idaho offers a unique blend of stunning landscapes and outdoor adventures, making it a perfect getaway for nature enthusiasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near City of Rocks National Reserve is Independence Lakes Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 4 reviews.
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