Looking for the best tent campgrounds near Clarkia? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. Each spot offers quick access to one or more of Clarkia, Idaho's most popular destinations.
Take the opportunity to travel the lovely White Pine Scenic Byway, Idaho 6, north from the quaint town of Harvard, Idaho for just over 7 miles to visit this special site. Named after an enormous, 600 year old white pine that has since been cut down due to disease (but still resides in the campground!), this cozy and inviting campground has 14 developed sites, all resting in a lush forested setting. Many hiking trails are in the vicinity of the campground, including the National Recreation Trail 224A, the East Fork Meadows Creek Trail.
Northeast of the Elk Creek Reservoir, located in Elk River, Idaho, the Partridge Creek Campground offers 13 developed campsites, the new 3.5 mile Patridge Creek ATV Trail, and an opportunity to drive our scenic Elk River Backcountry Byway!
Located in the southern portion of the Mallard Larkins Roadless Area, this alpine trailhead offers dispersed camping and a rustic hiking/stock trail (Trail 240) which connects to many other trails in the area, making it a great place for day hikers as well as for those seeking a longer, more strenuous backpacking/stock packing trip.
This is a primitive backcountry site with six tent camping units and a vault toilet; no other services or facilities are available. The access road is narrow, steep and rough.
The Isabella Point Trailhead serves as the beginning to trail 95 which connects to trail 399, taking hikers/stock on a journey into the spectacular Mallard Larkins Pioneer Area. Two campground units are located at the trailhead.
Traveler
Great tent camping. Also, it's a great starting point to some really good dirt bike trails. Be prepared for no cell service. 0 amenities. it's just a place to pitch a tent and have a fire. And it cost nothing.
Ranger
This is primitive off grid camping. No services, no water, no tables, just a bathroom in a field with a few campsites around it near the creek. Great location to stay if you're doing the Hiawatha trail and want to camp in the area. The busses picking up hiawatha trail users go right by the campground multiple times a day in the summer.
Traveler
We were glad we read the reviews for directions & info about spots — like others mentioned, the best spot is a big grassy area amongst the trees (continue past the first circular parking area). However, the entire area has sportsman access, so we listened to gun shots most of the day… not exactly the peaceful nature vibe we were hoping for. Would likely come back, but pray it’s a day of no hunters
Traveler
No one is here on a beautiful October long weekend Saturday. I can see why. The reservoir level is way down! Just getting to the water is a challenge. Maybe this was nice years ago but it’s a good ways out from Orfino. Not worth the drive.
Guide
What a place! I saw no trash or broken glass, it was very clean. I got there after dark and left first thing in the morning, wish I had more time to explore. Sites only had a fire pit, I believe there are also pit toilets but I didn’t have time to check them out.
The road up is rough, potholes, it does get better about halfway up. Expect at least 30 minutes to get up after you hit the gravel, and that’s pushing it pretty hard.
TravelerStopped at the little restaurant and got a fantastic meal after being on the road all day then headed past all the massive houses to end up in such a gorgeous location. This is one of my favorite spots now!
Guide
This is a cute campground with great hosts. Most folks come in to bike the trail. Verizon is not great and our Starlink had some blockages, but that’s what you get with lots of trees.
GuideWe were able to get our fifth wheel (40ft long, 13 1/2 ft tall) in and out easy! Lots of spaces and places to turn around. After crossing the bike path, take the first right onto the dirt road at the sportsmans access sign (parallel to the small paved parking lot.) Like another said, the best spot is past the first circular area. Keep going down the road and you’ll see a big shady area in the trees. (You can go further along to two more sites more suited for smaller pop-up campers, tents, or vans.) Close to the water so of course, there were some bugs: lots of bees and mosquitoes.
ScoutThis is my 2nd time visiting and the quality has dramatically dropped. Maybe the difference was that I went in early fall 4 years ago and this time was late summer but YIKES.
There was broken glass EVERYWHERE. We cleaned up so much trash in our site and off the road. The pit toilet was completely out of toilet paper (which we anticipated). Despite being stage 1 fire restrictions, multiple people were having fires, one person's was still smoldering when I got up the next morning. Due to the number of people, ATVs, dirt bikes, nearby shooting range, etc it was just much more noisy in the busy season. I recommend going in the off season.
The road up to the lake is really rough and narrow but manageable with a proper vehicle.
The lake is gorgeous! I just wish people were more considerate.
FYI There is a moose that frequents the area so keep your trash in your car to avoid feeding the moose.
Traveler
Albert is a very kind, chill and accommodating host. My only regret is I couldn't stay long enough to listen to his guitar skills. A gost that with stum hos guitar for his guests? Thats a good enough reason to go see the place and what made me pick it out from all the others. His prices are very reasonable too. We won't rake you over the coals if you forget something. The place can be really busy on a hot Saturday and he runs it well shuttling people around. i loved that there were clean bathrooms and showers and a general store incase you forgot or ran out of something. I also enjoyed the cool old iron bridge and the peace and quiet of the place. It's no party zone where teenagers have keggars. I was there on a Friday and by 10pm it was quiet and peaceful then the next morning everyone showed up to have swim or float the river there and the water looked nice a shallow and slow perfect for small children and for kayakers it gets a little faster on the other side and fast enough to not have to worry too much about your kids drown but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't pay attention.
Scout
This location is currently closed because of the recent fire.
Traveler
We were riding the Idaho BDR (Backcountry Discovery Route) and needed a place to camp near Pierce. There aren't many options that are accessible for our Support Truck but found Deyo Reservoir as a welcome spot. The West sites are very open and close to each other and are what you see first. I kinda stumbled down to the East Campground which is more for Truck/Tent camping and is wooded and cooler (it was 95 degrees when we rode in). Typical for Idaho the sites were nicely spaced, well maintained (it is hosted) and the Vault Toilet was very clean.
TravelerTook about an hour to get to our campsite, but was so worth it. Was a creek at the top of a mountain in the middle, I guess hence the name. Local had wondered how we found his special fishing spot. Was a place to swim, but we did not get in. Such a beautiful view and lots of nature to see.
Legend
Bell Bay Campground was a total gem for our recent camping trip with friends.
It is located almost an hour south of Coeur d'Alene on a very windy road with limited guard rails. There are also no facilities the entire way so make sure you have what you need before leaving CdA.
The views of the lake and surrounding mountains were stunning, even if it got a bit hot and dusty at times. We spent most of our days just chilling on floaties in the lake that we could access by a (pretty steep!) trail directly from our campsite. Previous user's photos showed a dock but there wasn't one in sight. The facilities were spot-on—clean vault toilet, water spigot with great pressure, and spacious campsites that gave us plenty of room to set up our 2 tents and hang out around the campfire. The campground has firewood for sale but my only warning is to check burn bans in the area ahead of time.
Guide
Needed to find a camp spot last minute on a Friday evening. Took our chances and drove out to Rainy Hill Campground. We found the last open spot in the rocky low area that was wide open. A few big rigs could pull in there but would be best for one group rather than many. Not the most beautiful spot but did have some nice surrounding trees. The other campgrounds were up on the hill and far enough away to still feel private but the area we parked was highly visible from the road and people looking down from the hill tops.
Some mosquito activity and the ground was pretty rugged that we opted to stay in the vehicle for the evening and move on the next morning.
TravelerJust stopped for one night but I enjoyed the rest. Pretty spot close to the lake, but the mosquitoes are abundant! I had my door opened for just a few minutes and had to kill like 20 before I could sleep.
Scout
Came in late and stayed with friends for a night, was able to get a tent site right next to them. Shower & bathrooms were clean, very safe and secure campground ♥️
Traveler
This is a great little private campground in the Wolf Lodge Bay, and their added free amenities made this campground a really fun alternative to the usual state park/national forest campsites I go to more often. The swimming pool was well kept, and we really enjoyed using the free canoes. They had a lot of decent looking free firewood, but we were camping during a fire ban and weren't able to use it. (This, of course, is no fault of the campground. But if we camp there again it will be nice to have free firewood!)
We originally booked tent site 3, which I cannot recommend as it had no shade or privacy, but the attendant was very kind and let us switch to a shadier site for free. I think this was tent site 4 or 5, which were much better. Tent site seven looked really nice as well and I would recommend that one. But if we go back we will definitely be booking the island tent site 201, it looked to be the best one of all.
Ranger
Small spots by Aquarius rapid. She’s a class III wave train and the sounds sent me to peaceful sleep. In high water some of the spots may be inaccessible, however there are other campgrounds nearby if it doesn’t work. Do not recommend large rigs in here, it would be hard to turn around if the campground is full, again better options up or down river.
Ranger
Nice campground along the North Fork of the Clearwater. There are stairs by one of the vault toilets to walk down to the water but be careful, it is cold and fast! Several riverside spots including one group site as well as shady groves. Water was shut off when we were there June 2024; unknown when it will be back on.
Ranger
More of a primitive type of campground, although there are vault toilets. Plenty of spaces along the river; however there is a river take out that may be used to back trailers up to, so the flat spots across from it may not be ideal.
ScoutI tried to cancel a reservation. Last week, no one answered the phone. They didn't respond to email. And as of today, their phone is disconnected. Another source stated they were in bankruptcy (unconfirmed).
ScoutEasy access only 20 minutes from interstate - quiet except the bird songs and occasional coyotes. No mosquitoes in May but imagine it could be very buggy in summer months since it’s next to a river/marsh. Seemed like there was 5-6 spots for car / tent camping.
Guide
Lost Moose Campground is a hidden gem tucked 8 miles off of I-90. This campground was clean and well-maintained, and the owners were extremely pleasant and friendly. There are 14 RV sites with water and electric, 6 pull-through sites, and 8 back-in sites. There are 4 tent sites along the Latour Creek if that is more your style. There is a small gift/ general store on site with goodies for everyone.
After turning off I-90 at Cataldo, ID, it is a two-mile paved drive followed by a 6-mile gravel and dirt road to the campground. The gravel and dirt road was well maintained with only a few potholes to avoid. As long as you do not mind getting your rig a little dirty, this campground is well worth the trip.
TravelerWent with the family in mid May on a perfect weekend weather-wise. If you drive past the first couple grass campsites and continue on the narrow road with water on both sides, just off to the right is a single secluded campsite amongst the tree. The best site there imo. privacy, lots of trees so the site gets a good amount of shade but sun still pokes through, perfect.
Mosquitos weren't so bad that it affected us but we all had a few bites. My only knock on this site, which isn't much, is that you can see homes from the sites. What can I say I like to feel like I am far from everyone.
Good site to camp for a family.
Scout
Tried to find Porters Camp. It us not in the Pines subdivision as on the map. According to locals, it is owned by Potlatch and not available to the public. It was a logging camp.
Scout
it is a very nice place to camp, since there probably won’t be any people outside your own group. the owner was very responsive to texts and was helpful with all of my questions. this has been one of my favorite camping locations so far.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Clarkia, ID is Giant White Pine Campground with a 3.8-star rating from 5 reviews.
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