Best Tent Camping near Fish Haven, ID

Sunrise CG is located right of hwy 89 about 10 minutes west of Garden City.  The CG sits above Bear Lake. The sites are pretty spacious, heavily wooded with good shade. There are picnic tables and fire rings at each site. There are 27 sites available. There are no hooks or dump stations. There a vault toilets and no showers. there is drinking wager available. This CG can accommodate walk in tent camping to RVs. You can reserve some sites on rec.gov. 

This was a good stop that was convenient on the way through northern Utah. The camp host was awesome and funny.

 Beautiful, quiet campground. We could hardly hear the road noise, especially from our spot at the furthest end of the loop at #18. We just showed up on a Wednesday and the entire place was empty but many people came throughout the evening. Some hiking trails along the creek where beavers have made extensive dams.

 Several sites are pull through sites, and we only saw a few random sites that had bear boxes. Each site had a picnic table and a fire pit, and was nicely separated from neighboring sites. Each site had a different configuration as well as parking pad length. 

Anyone from tent campers to large trailers can easily find a spot, larger fifth wheels and class A rigs may have a bit of trouble finding a suitable campsite here. Sites, however are not very level. 3 sets of gendered handicap accessible vault toilets. At least one had a trash bag hanging inside. Otherwise no other trash bins at this campground. There are hand pump water faucets, but a sign said that water is not tested and water should be boiled or treated prior to drinking. We did not try the water but another camper said he pumped for about 30 times and no water came out. 

Zero cell service for any of the 3 major carriers.

Disclosure: It is NOT 3.5 miles to the campground, it is 1.5 to the lake and another to .25 or so to the camping area on the east side of the lake. The app on my phone was screwy. Sorry for the confusion in my videos.

Campground Review: For a primitive camping area this place is pretty sweet! They have metal fire rings with grills and there is an outhouse as well. The picnic tables are built of of half hewn logs. I did see that one of the tables at a site was badly broken, so everything is not in the best repair. There was also garbage left behind by the previous visitors which we packed out for them. The views more than make up for it, though! This lake is the most beautiful blue-green color. Lake Alice is home to the only pure lake strain of Bonneville Cutthroat Trout in Wyoming. We caught about 4 this trip but I wasn't quick enough with the camera to share any shots. We had to leave just as the fishing was getting good in the evening. Fish AM/PM, the wind can pick up in the afternoons, and temps rise making fishing not so great in the afternoon. Horseback riders are frequently in the area, so make way for them on the trail. We passed a string of about 8 riders going in further. You can trail ride through all the way to La Barge Creek Road. The campsite at the very beginning of the lake has a primitive corral for the horses. There are a few ambitious folks who have packed canoes into the lake. There are also some forest service water crafts locked away. Maybe if you had the right connections…It would be so fun to canoe this lake!

If you continue along Poker Creek Trail that follows the east side of the lake, you can visit Mount Isabel which is 5 miles from the start of Lake Alice. Poker Creek Trail will reach LaBarge Creek Road at mile 9.

Don'f forget to leave no trace! Picking up after others is frustrating.

Gear Review: ICEMULE Coolers https://icemulecoolers.com/collections/pro-coolers/products/the-icemule-pro-large Occasionally the Dyrt will provide gear to demo on camping trips. I had the opportunity to demo the ICEMULE Pro Large Soft cooler. I have been using this cooler for a little over a month now and it has come along on a variety of adventures and has not failed! This was the longest trek I've carried the cooler. We went for a day trip into Lake Alice. The trail to the lake is 1.5 miles. I was able to pack the fully loaded cooler with lunch, drinks, and snacks for 4, into the lake comfortably. I loved that this cooler has the crisscross bungee cord to hold additional gear. It held my fly rod case snugly as we packed in. The cooler has a vent on the side, you can inflate the side walls to help extend the insulating factor of the cooler. It also helps it float! The bag rolls closed like a dry bag and clips closed. The shoulder straps are adjustable and there is a chest strop for a good fit. It worked just as good as a garbage receptacle as we packed out trash we found in the campground. #leaveitbetterthanyoufoundit

Stayed one night at the end of May. The road along Oneida Narrows is good graded gravel. At the base of the dam, a sign recommends against large RVs and towed vehicles so I scouted it first, but it's ok, just a little rutted in places. The campground is small, 12 spaces. I suggest not towing a camper that's longer than 20 ft or so, due to the general smallness of the pull ins and the narrowness of the road. Sites have picnic table and fire ring. Vault toilets that were reasonably clean. No water or trash service. There is access to the reservoir shore, but it has a lot of aquatic growth near the shore, which i don't like. So many fish jumping, big ones! I don't know what they were. It was about half full when I was there mid week. Quiet except when the neighbor was playing his trumpet -- are you kidding me?!?! No cell service, Verizon.  Nice shade from the maples. Surrounding ridges are scenic.

This is an older campground, and space near reservoirs is a hot commodity. The RV park host was very friendly and accommodating. Very clean campground with a nice boat dock and plenty of spaces to get down near the reservoir and fish.

Warning - Some of the spaces felt like extremely close quarters especially with slide outs. The picture below shows one of the older full utility locations. Some units may not have much room to slide out without contacting the utility boxes. Some units offer great shade and an awning next to a shared fire pit, shared picnic table. Some units have a really nice shared grass area between trailers. Also several people here are seasonal campers with monthly rates. This can make finding a space a little more challenging. Call ahead and make sure to get reservations so you can get a spot.

Lot size seems inconsistent between spaces as some feel very cramped and some of the high number units without utilities had larger spaces between them, almost appearing as an extra space between two units people were using for pet/kid play areas.

Dogs are to be kept on leashes, but people should consider short leashes/tie lines as it is easy for pets to cross into adjacent units depending upon where they are staked. Make sure to plan ahead for power adapters. Only one 30amp service so if your planning to run AC, plan to be the first in or coordinate with your neighbor.