Best Glamping near Craigmont, ID

So, I’m not sure why “resort” is in the title, this certainly not a resort in the traditional sense. But, this is a great place to stop if headed up the Lochsa River and has something for everyone.

The “resort” has riverfront cabins, double occupancy motel rooms, A frame cabins, RV spots with hookups and a large tent camping area for motorcyclists, bicyclists and hikers. The mix of campers makes thing interesting. Add to this that the river raft guides take out at this location and this is a busy and fun place to spend a night. It has been very busy every time I have stopped, often full of RV’s with families spending a long weekend.

There is a small market, restaurant and bar, and an outdoor pool and hot tub. The market is well stocked with most of what you might have forgot to pack. They sell firewood as well. The bar offers typical burgers and bar fare and was lively enough even in peak Covid. This is Idaho after all, Covid seems like an afterthought in most of central and North Idaho.

The resort is located along a sweeping bend of the Lochsa river, which the highway follows on the opposite side. With the proximity of the highway, the RV’s in the campground, the cabins, etc, this is not a tranquil wilderness campground. It is however a great spot to spend the night while passing through.

I was on a motorcycle and there were probably 8-10 other riders tent camping. Several fires were going and folks were friendly and outgoing. There was no cell service for AT&T, but the market and bar had WiFi that you could access by sitting outside the front door.

I’ve stayed here 3 times and it will always be on my list when passing through this part of Idaho.

To start, what a gorgeous area! Quiet, calm, nice. 

At first when we rolled into our spot I thought I was going to be in huge trouble- drive through spot with a wicked drop off on the right side (camper door side) with the fire pit and picnic table at the bottom. I pictured kids falling, food mishaps, general non fun trudging up and down. Well, it actually turned out ok: we moved our 5th wheel as far from the edge as possible which allowed for a decent platform and we ended up having a birds eye view of what all the kids were doing. If that's still a problem, be mindful of what site you are signing up for, meadow ones are available. 

• Bathrooms and showers were ok, though the standard, push the button every 30 seconds to have water flow in your shower is a little annoying (maybe i'm just a princess). 
• Sweet little nature trails were pretty and easy for smaller children to walk through. 
• Easy lake access is only in the park/play area. The rest of the lake access is a pretty blunt drop off from forest to water (read: no wadding in the sand). But the play area was pleasant. I heard that this year (2021) is was a bit more run down than usual so maybe next year it'll improve??? We still enjoyed the water and had a ton of fun finding tadpoles. 
• You can rent SUPs and canoes and have a little explore around the lake. Very enjoyable.
• NO CELL SERVICE. You just have to be present with one another. 
• Important for our family- when we went in June, there were next to no mosquitos! My poor teenager usually gets eaten alive anywhere we go and he left unscathed! 
• THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP::::: Even though we loved the location, we won't be returning simply because of the road to get there. Google maps wrecked us- I selected "quickest route" and had NO warnings that we would be driving up the narrowest gravel road with a 11% incline!!!! We have a diesel F350 but towing a big 5th wheel made it horrifying. Please be smarter than me and do your research. Once we started the decline it was mercifully paved but signage posted stated "2 road lane can be used as single lane" as it becomes the Lombard St for recreational vehicles! I saw some class A's that had boats towed behind them and I'm not entirely sure they didn't use witchcraft to make it work.

Upon arrival, we immediately felt the peacefulness. Our site was tucked into the pines creating a canopy of coolness in the midst of the oppressing heat of this record breaking year.

The sites are somewhat level. Easily adjusted to make them work. The space between sites are not as generously spaced as with othe Idaho SP we have stayed in. There are vault toilets throughout the campground with one building that houses flush toilets and 2 shower stalls. They are older but squeaky clean.

There's a great day use area that has a large covered pavilion, playground and boat launch/ pier. I don't fish, but loaner poles are available at the visitor center. The boat launch is further around the lake and provides ample parking and a vault toilet. No motorized watercraft are allowed on the lake which makes it a wonderful place to kayak and SUP.

There are a few trails around the lake. Nothing hard. There are tons of thimbleberries bushes along the road yo the boat launch and were just about ripe. They are so delicious!

Enjoying the peace and quiet of the SP should be your expectation as there is not a lot of other options nearby.

2 bars AT&T LTE

Pro note: Wolf Track micro brewery is about 30 min. away in Cottonwood. Good beer. Also, stop at the Bark Park just as you enter the town of Cottonwood. You'll understand once you visit.

We stayed in Birch Loop for 2 nights. This was our maiden voyage so we opted for something close to a city as we were still setting up our camper coming out of winter.

Our spot was plenty long enough, but not as wide as I would have liked. There are two big trees on passenger side that prevent setting up a comfy patio. That said, the fire pit area is perfect size.

The center of the loop is for groups, so noise is centralized. Other than that, good space between sites and all are pretty level and paved.

The hiking trails are great with lots of options for easy hikes by the water or tougher ones up the mountain. Either way, you can’t go wrong. The noise on the river from jet boats was mild as it is only end of March.

Great Verizon coverage at site and on trails.

I’ve been in search of local winter camping spots. I’ve never paid so much for a tent site in my entire life. It’s important to note that even though it says it’s an RV Park there are tent spots offered here.

I think the price is high just because it’s in touristy location.

There were enough trees to set up our hammocks!

The biggest thing I disliked about this site is that the 30 dollars they charges us was not enough. They will charge an additional 3 dollars per head and 5 dollars for an additional car.

If you go in a group like we did, that really adds up. 🥵

There was a playground on site but other than that it’s nothing special.

The park manager was very social. I don’t mind but if you want privacy you may want to stay at a different location. My partner likes the privacy camping brings. We will never return, but if you have safety concerns with children, I can see this as being a bonus.