Best Tent Camping near Dubois, ID

Camping on the banks on the banks of the Warm River, which actually is quite cold, can’t get much better than this! There are several options here- tent camping in a tent only walk in area along the river banks and under some pretty good hammocking trees (best sites are #12, 13, 16, and 8 because they have some space from neighbors and are right on the river); RV sites with what looks like at least electric hook ups (best sites for river views and/or privacy are #2, 4, 6, 19); from what neighbors say is pretty good fishing; and an awesome alternative to camping at Mesa Falls if that campground is full. Walk down the road and cross the river to check out a protected area of the river where the fish are HUGE and you can stand with your toes in the river while you feed them bits of bread. The sites all have the usual picnic tables and firepits, with nice level tent pads, clean vault toilets, and firewood for sale from the campground host. The only two downsides are no showers and the campground is wedged between the road and the river, so there is quite a bit of road noise in the day which fortunately dies down once dark sets in. At that point the river covers the road noise (also helpful in the morning). The campground is close to a lot of hiking trails, but there are no trailheads in the campground (so I guess that makes three bummers). All in all, a cool place to camp.

This campground was cramped and all the tent sites are practically on top of each other. We also had a bad run (three days) of loud neighbors that made is unbearable and forced us to leave the campground.

We've stayed here twice in the same tent site because we loved it. Very fun wood park for the kids, and the lake access is included in the camping reservation. Our site had running water and a nearby creek. Great place!

Coordinartes: 44.16547,-112.90392. Beautiful views. Large dirt and gravel site, right along side to Skull Canyon Road, about a mile from ID Hwy 28. Canyon walls on each side. Rough narrow rocky track to the site from the highway; recommend high clearance. High humps on this track. Small rock fire ring. Grass and sagebrush all around site. Some leveling may be required. Tent camping possible. Very peaceful; can hardly hear road noise from highway. The only vehicle that drove by was a national forest truck. No cell service. There are several boondocking sites, some with vault toilets nearby, along Hwy 28 in the Birch Creek Recreation Area.

I stumbled across this campground while driving Mesa Falls scenic by-way. This campground has 27 sites, both tent, RV and a group site right along the Warm River. It also has a day use area. This campground had new vaulted toilets but no showers. Within the campground was the trailhead for The railroad grade trail (great for mountain biking) which I was told use to take train passenger to Yellowstone’s old faithful. Tubing was very popular and the campers next to us insisted that we borrow their tubes so we could try it out for ourselves, very refreshing during our hot August stay.

I snagged the last tent site #21 across the bridge in the northern half of the campground. This large secluded tent site up on the hill had a very small tent pad, fire pit and picnic table and enough room to put up my hammock. This site is next to two double sites. Unfortunately during the 5 nights I stayed some of the RVers close to us ran their generators beyond the 10pm curfew and one RVer felt the need to pull out his noisy leaf blower and blow leafs and dirt everywhere.

There is tons of things to see and do in the area, Mesa Falls, Island Park… but the hidden gem is the close proximity (less than 25 miles) to Yellowstone National Park - Bechler Ranger Station. Bechler Ranger Station is in the far SW corner of Yellowstone National Park. This area has more streams, creeks, lakes and waterfalls than any other area in Yellowstone. There is a historic Soldier Station there that is about 100 years old and there are lots of hiking trails to beautiful waterfalls. You can see cave falls right from the parking lots. I would definitely return to this campground next time I am in the area.

Unfortunately it was raining the whole night we showed up. However there was a covered pavilion, with a fridge, and 2 walls. We were able to stay dry under the pavilion and cook our food on the stove we bought. We were tent camping which offers plenty of picnic tables and nice green grass. There are plenty of areas from for RV camping along with hookups. There's also a boat ramp.

Now the bad, as we were getting ready to go to bed, the sprinklers came on. Thankfully we had springbar tents that were able to take the rain as well as the sprinklers. We tried waking the camp host to turn them off. Didn't work. We just waited it out and we were fine.

The campsite firepits, and pavillions with fridges, basketball courts, a boat doc, and bathrooms (clean, with no nasty smell, and hand blower dryers).

Juniper is an excellent campground located on the Ririe reservoir and recreation area . The campground consists of 3 loops all have large level sites with platforms for tents and full hookups at only $30.00. The entire area is dotted with huge junipers that offer good cover and seclusion. The fishing at “Blacktail is good for Rainbows and perch - highly recommended. The area is out in the middle of nowhere and was only 1/4 full . A great spot to reach Idaho Falls or the Grand Tetons , and Jackson Wy .

Easily accessible. We camped in our tent, the roads were super easy to drive on. Great water access. Lots of wood for campfires. Yes cell phone service and it was free! Although the bathroom was very unclean.

Stayed 3 nights here in reservable loop A. Extremely clean, modern, and quiet. About 20 minutes from Idaho Falls.

The campground itself is well maintained & close to nearby attractions. The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because the bear boxes for food were located at RV only sites-there weren’t any for tent only sites.

Context: this is not an RV resort nor a wilderness experience.  It is a pleasant, scenic, rural highway-side campground.  We stayed in early May en route from Bozeman to Moab.  Small pleasant campground near the highway between Yellowstone and SE Idaho sights and Jackson Wyoming.  Small cottonwood shaded sites adjacent to farmland and Teton views.  Clean bathrooms with warm comfortable showers.  The campground is ideal for a stopover or basecamp for visiting the west-side of the Tetons, Craters of the Moon, and other sights in SE Idaho (or passing through on trips between the Greater Yellowstone Region and Utah).  Hookups, wifi, 5G Verizon service.  Only drawbacks, are possible wind and some highway noise.  The owners, living on-site in a beautiful farmhouse, are friendly and accommodating.  It is a trusting handshake type of reservation, payment, and communication system (cash or credit card on site).

UPDATE: as of 2023, online reservation system and payment.  Easy to use.