Looking for an adventure where you can explore Gibbonsville and then fall asleep in your tent? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. Each tent site offers quick access to one or more of Gibbonsville, Idaho's most popular destinations.
Crazy Creek Campground hosts 7 sites with picnic tables, fire rings, vault toilet and a well with hand pump for water. There is no garbage service so Pack it in/Pack it out. Campground can accommodate trailers under 26 feet.
12 campsites on Wallace Lake with picnic tables and fire rings. Within the campground are vault toilets and drinking water. Fishing in the lake. Primitive boat launch can be used for non-motorized canoes or rowboats on the lake. The drive on Salmon River Mountain Road offers fantastic views of the Salmon River Range and of deep pine forests.
Available for group picnicking and boat launch
This 2.5-acre access offers primitive camping below US Highway 93. There is a beach area at low water along the Salmon River. A small boat could be launched here with difficulty. The road is unimproved and steep. Camp trailers and RVs are not recommended.
Deep Creek Campground features 3 campsites complete with picnic tables, fire rings, and a vault toilet. Site will accept RV's or trailers to 30 feet. Stock can be kept in this campground.
This campground is named after an early homesteader, the "Wild Man of the Mountains" George Pettingill. His grave is nearby. He is widely admired in the area although he was somewhat of a hermit. The campground is located where the Wise River meets Pettengill Creek.
Scout
I have only tent camped here. Really nice flat grass for tents. $12 gets you campsite showers and toilets, WiFi and coin laundry. Also really great access to the bitterroot valley if you’re into hikin and river activities. Everyone’s really friendly and it’s a good place to crash when you’re out on the road.
Guide
This is a nice smaller forest service campground adjacent to grasshopper creek. A great spot to stay if exploring the Pioneer Mountains.
There are 7-8 spaces, most suitable for a trailer or van. We were tent camping as were others. There are vault toilets and the ubiquitous forest service green potable water pumps/drinking fountains.
There are no dumpsters so have to pack trash out. There are campground hosts but they don’t have firewood for sale, so either need to bring or be prepared to do quite a bit of hunting for wood. The area around the campground is picked pretty clean of good firewood.
This is bear country and there are food storage boxes located throughout the campground for shared use. I expect the presence of bears is also why they don’t have any dumpsters on site.
The campground sits at approximately 7000 feet and by late summer gets near freezing temps overnight. Bring your fall/winter sleeping bag if tent camping here in late August or late Spring!
Just a few minutes up the road from the campground is Elkhorn Hot Springs where you can pay a few bucks to use the rustic pool and hot springs.
Scout
Stayed two nights at this campground in August. There was a camp host setup, but we didn’t see him at all while we stayed. He did not seem to be staying here. The toilets ran out of tp and many people could not get their questions answered. It’s also only about 20 feet from the highway, so expect a lot of traffic noise at all hours. There is a boat loading dock located here as well, so many people were driving in and out all day. Cell service was good if we needed it but there are several more remote areas only about 20 minutes in to the forest that actually feel like camping (Cougar Point and William’s Lake). Overall it’s decent but I recommend it more as a pit stop if you need to crash for a night. The tent sites are well maintained and running water was a plus.
TravelerBear Creek Pass Campground is semi-official dispersed camping at Bear Creek Pass, the location of two trail heads. I surveyed the site during a hike but did not stay over night.
There are two trail heads, about 1/2 mile apart. Between is a turn off for the“campground” which is little more than a pull out and a turn around. I didn’t see tent sites off the road. A little further on is a large parking area with vault toilet. A little beyond that a small parking area near the second trail head. Between these two is the one place that did look like a camp site. There was one fire ring and vegetation had been pressed down.
There are facilities for horses: several hitching posts and a loading ramp. These don’t look like they have been used for a while. We did see signs that horses were up here recently but the area is little impacted by horse use.
The area is in open pine forest with meadows. There is a stream flowing near by.
I would certainly sleep in my vehicle over night here or set up a tent. You can overnight here before starting on a hike from one of the trail heads. However, this site has little to recommend itself as a destination for an extended stay or overflow if nearby Schumaker is full.
ScoutWe set up our daughter in our Super C here for 2 months while she worked in nearby Salmon during the busy season. We were so happy with the beautiful scenery, quiet grounds, and excellent service from the owner. If she ever needed anything, they were happy to help. There is a clean laundry room, showers, and bathrooms onsite, and more than enough space for a 40 foot RV. There are shade trees, some grass sites, some landscape rock sites, picnic tables, a gas firepit, and an onsite mini-store if you need. The owner waited for us until we arrived, helped us get our bearings, and then grew to be a friend. If you are needing to camp(even in a tent!) anywhere near Salmon, Idaho, you need to go and see Stewart at Elk Bend RV Park. Say hi to the deer that roam the area, too, or walk across the street and listen to the Salmon River. Just a beautiful area! Sites with full hookups and not. Would not hesitate to recommend Elk Bend RV Park.
Pet Friendly!
Guide
It is a very off the beaten path, tucked away in the woods, true getaway from the busy city life. Travel south on 278 from Wisdom, MT and take the chance on an 18 mile gravel road to find a place only you see in pictures and read about in magazines. Drive through open cattle ranges and find a beautiful campground nestled up to 2 small lakes connected by a shallow channel. Clear water to see the bottom where it's shallow enough. No motorized boats allowed, so bring your own kayak or canoe and a fishing pole or two to enjoy the refreshing waters at the bottom of the mountains. Even in July, you can see snow atop the mountains on the Montana-Idaho border.
Guide
Very clean. Highway noise is not bad at night. I slept well in a tent. Three other people there including one who slept in her car. If you want privacy or shade, go to the end of the day use area and put your tent by the picnic tables around the rock. It is closer to the road tho, and the river.
GuideNice are to get away from it all. Road is best traveled with AWD-4WD. Campgrounds are nice and level for tents.
Traveler
We went there with two tents. The sites are large and there are enough space for more than 2 or 3 tents easily. The sites are well organized and clean, the bathrooms are well maintained and the camping is pretty close to the lake, you can reach the lake with a 3 - 5 minutes walk. We had a really good experience. Just be aware to check your car breaks because the back travel is downhill the mountains.
Scout
Tis campground was a favorite on our Idaho trip. Lots of spots available on a week night. Great campground host. Bathrooms were really clean and great tasting water. Sites are very nicely spaced and lots of privacy between them.
LegendShoup Bridge Campground is a small Campground surrounding cottonwood trees along the banks of the Salmon River. It is also right along the Highway. We found this a pleasant campground to stay in, plenty of flat ground for our tents and only $5 a night. A few sites are quite small, but still room for a tent. This was our Scouts jumping off point for a backpacking trip the next day. While next to the highway we expected a lot of noise during the night, but that was not our experience, the only real road noise we had was in the early morning with worked out as it helped wake us up. Each site has a picnic table and metal fire ring. Water is available and the area has a vault toilet and trash cans. Campground has a boat launch.
Guide
We stopped here to sleep on our way to Glacier NP. It was easy to find but off the main road and quiet. Very clean campsites with fire pits and trash cans. We drove around the campsite before we left, all the sites were camper trailer friendly and had grassy areas for tents. All for $5
Traveler
Great location along big hole river for fishing and hunting.Some rvs run generators all night long very rude, caused some tent campers to leave because of noise , I guess some people do not respect to space of others. This site is run by blm
and does not have hours posted or Regis posted as to noise.
Traveler
This is a beautiful campground at higher elevation. The wildflowers were amazing in early July. There were a good amount of spots for tents and rvs. Its up high in elevation so it's hard work on the engine towing a trailer up there but worth it to take it slow. Vault toilets were clean and you can hand pump drinking water. A really lovely place!
Traveler
We had a lovely site that was close to the Wise River. Even with a full camp, the ambient sound of the river shielded the sounds of people talking or kids playing. The bathroom facilities were clean. Most campsites had some shade for either sitting or having a tent. Most people were in self sufficient RVs since there are not hookups. The campground also had a water pump with clean and very cold water.
Traveler
Great location closer to the north side of the park near Wise. Was great falling asleep to the sound of the river. Everything in the park was a short drive away. Campsite was clean, good spots to pitch the tent. Vault toilet was clean and had a fresh bottle of hand sanitizer. Highly recommend Crystal park as an activity for families with kids, but even adults find it highly enjoyable. Highly recommend this location.
Traveler
A friend and I car camped at one of the three main camping sites at Lake Como. We stayed at the one just before the boat launch on the other side of the lake from the main beach area. We were pleased by the lack of bugs! We had plenty of room to set up our tent and hammocks. Bathrooms were readily available. I would recommend arriving around 2pm to acquire a spot and communicate with camp site hosts. We loved running the 8 mile trail around the lake in the morning while the beach filled up with day time visitors.
Guide
It is absolutely beautiful, and the ability to fall asleep under the stars while listening to the rushing river nearby is exactly why I would recommend other people stay here. It’s located pretty close to the Crystal Park entrance, and allows one to be a bit further away from the RVs and majority of the campers. We had a group of 8 people, and two camp sites was plenty. Some people hammocked & said the groves of trees were perfectly spaced for this, while others stayed in tents. There is a campfire with an attached grill, along with a nice picnic table.
Guide
This is a cozy little campground about 20 minutes outside Salmon, ID. It's located directly on the Salmon River. It's a well-run site, is clean and has full hookups, laundry, a store, etc... If you're traveling north along the Salmon River, it's a good place to spend the night before heading up over the pass towards Lolo and Missoula, MT. No cell service, but serviceable WiFi, and its location on the river is excellent for anglers and those looking to enjoy the river. Spaces are a little tight, and there are definitely other boondocking sites along the river in this area, Wagonhammer provides a nice spot for those looking for the comforts of home while nestled in the wilderness. It's a quiet, calm, and safe place for travelers staying in everything from tents to enormous RV's.
GuideThe campground is very nice, it was clean and had 2 water taps available. You can hear the creek at night, which is a huge plus for me. They have mutiple food storages available that are shared. There wasn't any firewood that was easy to find. I recommend bringing your own or running to Ma's County Market. For kiln dried wood, it doesn't last long, but you can cook with it.. The cost was 15.00 USD a night with 5 dollars more per vehicle. Site 5 could park 4 vehicles easy. The rest can only fit 2. Bigger parites can go to the group campground in the front. Number five could park about six cars easy. Also you could pitch about 7 to 9 tents on it.
Legend
This is a very nice yet small campground. The campground has 5 sites, the best site is site 3 as it is next to the creek and has large logs around the fire ring for sitting on and enjoying the fire and plenty of flat ground for a tent or two. The campground has a hand pump for water and a vault toilet that has its own bridge leading to it. Most of the sites get plenty of shade due to the mature pines through out the camp. All fire sites have tables and fire rings. Site 5 has both a fire ring and a BBQ grill. The entire campground is paved including parking pads. Cost to camp is $8.
LegendRight on top of the highway, you definitely get some road noise here. The trees are pretty thin (maybe not good for hammocks), but there are a lot of them which provide a bit of privacy. The restrooms needed to be cleaned when I was there, but it had just been a busy weekend. No Georgetown lake access from the campground, but there is lake access right across the street at the day use area. You’ve got the ususal picnic tables and fire rings and some sites also have grills. Watch carefully as not all sites have a level place to put a tent. You are only 11 miles from Philipsburg where you can get a shower and a beer in which ever order you want.
Legend
Only 3 miles off the main drag, I’m not sure why more people weren’t camping here. While there are only about 8 sites only 2(including mine) were taken. Maybe it was the smoke from distant first fires. Anyway, great little campground! Right next to the creek, with another small branch cutting through the middle of the campground, the only thing I could hear was the water and later a fire spotter plane overhead. The vault toilet was super clean and serviced recently. Sites were of different sizes(the parking pad curbs had lengths listed on them), and of differing amounts of levelness. I had site 2 and had to go to a fairly low spot to find a level place to pitch my tent, not a problem during a drought, but it would have been wet if it had rained. Saw a doe and fawn on the way out in the morning.
Guide
this is definitely the place to roost for anyone who enjoys fishing. all fifty spots are either on the bitterroot river or a short walk away. A pleasant walk along the water provides ample bank fishing for the plentiful trout. other fishing spots including lake como are just a short drive away.
staff are friendly and the small store sells fishing licenses as well as a few groceries and fishing supplies. the bathrooms, showers and laundry are clean and centrally located. very slow wifi.
the site itself covers 15 acres with 1/4 mile of riverfront. this includes 70 rv and tent spots. the sites themselves offer a variety of camping experiences from side by side coziness to more isolated spots. there is also a group site.
we would happily return for any future fishing trips to montana.
GuideAwesome campground, the camp host is friendly and making rounds to ensure the bathrooms are stocked and that everyone is enjoying their time. We camped at number 5 last time, and we just got done camping at number 15 for the weekend. Crystal park is not thst far and the Wise river is right after it. Also vheck out Elkhorn hotsprings th a ts the next turn for a natural spring nad suana. Can't wait to camp here again. The picture below will show you our camp set up sadly Teo fridns had to take off earlier before photos. We easily fit 4 tents and had 2 dogs with us. The site provides shared food storages, also vualt toilets, and drinkable water at the faucets through out the camp ground. It was 25 a night for 3 vehicles so we spent 50 in total. Another perk if you need or forgot something go to Ma's store it has a bit of everything. It's just on the other side of the lodge in Grasshopper.
Legend
Fish Trap FAS campground is a nice campground along the Big Hole River. The campground is in the open as no trees occupy this area, the closest you can get to trees is some willows on the west end of the campground. While this campground sit along state highway 43, it is quiet at night as this is a lightly used highway with little to no truck traffic. The campground's 17 site all feature level gravel parking pads, picnic tables and metal fire rings, and plenty of grassy areas to pitch a tent. Two vault toilets serve the campground and water is listed as available on FWP's website, but I don't recall seeing it, but I did visit during the off season. I would consider this with out water if you where to camp as the website also list the boat ramp as being concrete but sure looked like a rock approach to the water. No trash service. Easy fishing access along the length of the camping area, about½ the campsites sit along the river. Camping fees are$12 with a valid fishing license,$18 without.
Traveler
It is uncommon to be able to drive this high into the mountains. These facilities and roads to them probably exist because of a history of human activity around this site. Lower twin lake(and some others in the area) are created by human made dams.
Schumacher is a loop of about 12 sites in open pine forest. Sites have picknick table, fire pit, and a tent pad. Most also have space for additional tents. There are two vault toilets, single seat. No water. Camps on the lake side are about 200 ft away with trails leading down to the shoreline.
Further down the road that runs west of Lower Twin Lake are three more sites, set closer to the water. Outhouse for these are further along the road to the trail head.
Lower Twin Lake, though constructed by a dam, is reasonable beautiful. There are pine trees around the lake, some meadows along the east shore, and round, rocky peaks around the basin.
The road in is 20 miles of dirt in good condition. I could have made it with my Mini but the Honda CR-V was more comfortable. The road is narrow enough that when meeting oncoming traffic both need to come to a near stop and pass carefully. In a few places, one or the other must back to the closest wide spot. We passed a few people pulling trailers. Not sure if they were all the way up tot Schumaker, but could have been. Near Schumaker are some trail heads that people drive stock trailers to. So, it is a long dirt road but most cars can make it as well as people experienced driving their RV on forest service roads.
Along the road there were multiple places for dispersed camping, including one official dispersed site. On a Sunday afternoon these were 80% full.
To my surprise, Schumaker was nearly empty. There were a couple day-visit groups. On our first night there was only one other group in the camp ground and on our second 4 other groups. I suspect it was full over the weekend, which would imply it is mainly used by locals.
If Schumaker is full the near by Bears Creek Pass dispersed camping will probably have space for you.
We have the enjoyments of a nearly empty campground in sub-alpine terrain. The lake is warm enough to swim in. There are a couple trail heads for hiking near by.
On the down side, there are lots of bugs and the weather is warm. Horse flies, black flies, and mosquitoes are all out during the day. The evening mosquiting hour is vicious. I can’t speculate about bugs in other times in the season but this year late July is bad. Despite our equipment, hanging out in camp is not comfortable.
We spend two nights and decide to move on in hopes of finding fewer bugs, maybe at a lower elevation.
Gibbonsville, Idaho, offers a fantastic backdrop for tent camping enthusiasts, with several well-reviewed campgrounds nearby that provide a mix of natural beauty and outdoor activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Gibbonsville, ID is Crazy Creek Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 2 reviews.
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