Best Tent Camping near Dover, ID
The forested mountains surrounding Dover, Idaho offer several tent-only camping options with varying levels of accessibility. Green Bay Campground on Lake Pend Oreille provides walk-in tent sites with lakefront views, though it's temporarily closed for 2024. Nearby, Maiden Rock Campground offers hike-in and boat-in tent camping with basic amenities. For those seeking more remote experiences, Pack River Dispersed Site and Scotchmans Peak provide free primitive tent camping with minimal facilities. Skookum Creek Campground, located about 30 miles west in Washington State, features spacious tent sites along a creek with vault toilets and drinking water.
Most tent campgrounds in the region have limited amenities, requiring campers to bring their own water and supplies. Sites typically feature dirt or forest duff surfaces with minimal grading. Fire rings are common at established sites, but firewood must be brought in or gathered where permitted. Vault toilets are available at some locations like Green Bay and Skookum Creek, but many primitive sites have no facilities. Roads to backcountry tent camping areas often require high-clearance vehicles, with several becoming impassable during winter and spring snowmelt. Proper food storage is essential throughout the area due to wildlife activity.
During weekdays, tent campers often find complete solitude at these sites. One visitor to Navigation Campground noted, "While all the drive-up sites on lower Priest Lake were full, there was no one at Navigation," highlighting the benefits of walk-in tent sites. At Skookum Creek, a camper reported that "each site has a nice fire ring, large picnic table, and loads of elbow room," making it ideal for tent camping. Beehive Lake Dispersed camping requires a strenuous hike but rewards backcountry tent campers with clear alpine waters and seasonal huckleberry picking. Most primitive tent camping areas in the region offer excellent access to hiking trails, fishing opportunities, and wildlife viewing, with moose, deer, and various bird species commonly spotted.