Looking for an adventure where you can explore Howe 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. You're sure to find the perfect campsite for your Idaho tent camping excursion.
This campground has 21 campsites with a maximum length trailer size of 35 foot. Seven sites are located along Iron Bog creek and the rest are out in the open sage-brush. There is one hand pump (during summer months) and two accessible restrooms. Four campsites have shade-awnings. Non-reservable campground with a $10.00/night fee. Hitching rail available, one group campsite with 25 person capacity. Nearby Iron Bog Lake, Brockie Lake and Fishpole Lake. Smiley Mountain looms overhead. Use is light, with the exception of holiday weekends.
This area serves as a base camp for climbing the tallest mountain in Idaho. It has 5 campsites, accessible vault toilet, No drinking water, safety and informational signs. Nearby areas of interest include Earthquake site and Mackay Reservoir.
$5 / night
The Timber Creek Campground has 12 camp units in a wooded setting, with two creeks flowing on either side of it. Two faucets provide potable water in the summer months. There is also one accessible vault toilet, a horse hitch rail and unloading ramp. Nearby areas of interest include Mill Creek Lake, and Timber Creek ATV trail.
Copper Creek/Garfield Campground is a primitive, non-fee, non-reservation campground composed of 8 campsites in a canyon carved by Copper Creek. This area is accessible from May through October. Fishing is available in area streams. Mormon Hill trailhead is located at the end of Forest Road #130. This trail extends north into the Challis National Forest. Campground amenities include a vault toilet, picnic tables, fire rings, and hitching posts for stock.
Guide
We staid here one night. Rolled up around 7 and there were three tent sites remaining. We took T4 which was big enough to pitch two tents. Yeah he site was clean and quiet. The facilities clean. Hot water in the shower in the morning. There is a little bit of construction around the pool but it wasn’t active when we were here. The hosts are friendly. Would stay again
Guide
This place was so cool, I mean... not temperature cool, but so amazing to see! It was, however, pretty hot. There is little to no shade, so if you are not in a trailer and are tent camping (or roof top tent camping like we did), be prepared to cook a little bit outside. There also was a decent amount of wind, so that'll cool you down a bit.
With the temperature out of the way, let's talk about how incredible this place is. You are literally camping around lava boulders and lava fields. A decent hike leads you to the "tree molds." You have to kind of know what you're looking for, but once you find them (see pictures below), you are just blown away. There are also smaller hikes that take you to lava tubes (some still have snow in them!) This is a must see if you are looking for something that you generally won't see anywhere else.
The visitor center is at the top of the entrance road and has a good amount of gifts/ stuff to buy as well as information about the park. If it's hot, they also have AC... so... take your time a browse!
LegendReally cute private campground right off I30 near Lava Springs, Idaho
Some highway noise. Very clean sites. Vault toilets, clean and decorated nicely. Really wish they had a bathhouse and place to wash dishes. Firepit. Picnic table with flower pot was really a nice touch. Level, gravel, back in sites. Prices a bit high for just water and electric $40 to $55 They also rent tiny trailers, $55 a night. Lots of tent sites as well. Grass playground. Creek nearby. No camp store but they do sell firewood. Owner Annie, super friendly and accommodating. Refunded two nights since we wanted a shower. Only charged $5. 9/5/19
Ranger
This BLM campground has 26 paved sites with water and electric and trash bins throughout, dump site up the hill. First come first serve with a $14 nightly fee $7 with senior pass. Tent camping in a separate area. Boat launch and covered picnic day use area. 2 camping areas, one offers some shade the other has beautiful views. We picked the views! Can be a bit windy I'm told by the host. Would rate this a 10 if I could!
GuideGreat little campground with full hook ups, 30 or 50 Amp. Spaces for tent camping up to Class A motor homes. Several pull through spots, a few back in spots. The campground is well maintained and had friendly staff. Amenities included showers, restrooms, laundry, small store that sells firewood and propane among other necessities, ice cream social (for a donation) in the evening, free waffle breakfast in the morning, pet friendly with dog park, playground, and pool (although not super warm). Good activities in the area if you enjoy the high desert. We stayed on 4th of July weekend and even with a full park it didn't feel crowded.
Legend
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.
RangerRight along the river, not too far but not too close to all other campgrounds and town. Some tent sites didn’t have any grass/shade, but still very put together. Had man made port-a-potty’s which were very nice. Renovated old time trailers are for rent per night/weekend also. We were located right by the river so the water blocked out much of the freeway noise however not certain about other sites. There is also a trail leading right to the hot springs from the campground.
Traveler
It’s a long uphill drive on a narrow road to get there but it’s worth it! Each camp site is nice with plenty of space, fire pit and tent site. We took our chances on a Wednesday night in mid August and got lucky. Two sites were still open. With the drive and location we were surprised how many people were there but it was still very quiet and peaceful. The lake is beautiful and would be fun to kayak or paddle board on. We did some hiking up the trails to look over the campsite and the lake but did not take the full trail. Bathrooms were very clean and well stocked.
LegendWe stayed here in October when the water was turned off and the sites were half price. There were no services at all including water, electric or dump station. Regardless the sites are all amazing. The park is very fun and interesting. Depending on how much hiking your want to do will determine how long you stay. We did limited hiking, arrived early in the day and only stayed one night, We took the full auto tour and saw so much. We had no cell service at all, even at the visitor's center and no WiFi. Campfires are strictly prohibited. If you tent camp, you will be laying on a lot of crushed lava rock so bring padding. It was FCFS in October but plenty of spaces were available. I would definitely come again in shoulder season, I think it would be very hot in summer.
Legend
$10 ($5 with interagency pass). First-come, first-served. Camped one night in site #13 on Sept 24, 2024. Gravel road to this out-of-the-way campground was in good condition. Pretty part of the Challis National Forest. Nothing remarkable about the campground itself. Looks like some of the sites have not been maintained in a while; overgrown with weeds, grass and sagebrush. Sites have tables and fire rings; some had shade-awnings over the tables. The vault toilets were clean. The hand water pump did not pump water; water was probably turned off for the season. No payment envelopes were provided - maybe because it was the end of the season. No hiking trails. Most sites are in the open with no shade; a few were shaded near the creek. Gravel campground road and site driveways. Site sizes varied. No privacy between sites. Tent camping possible. Solar recharging possible at my site. Great views of the mountains around the campground. Very quiet, peaceful evening; only one other site was occupied during my visit. No T-Mobile and AT&T cell service. There were several boondocking sites on the way to the campground.
TravelerOne of best places I’ve been to. I’d definitely recommend several days if you can as some of the trails are pretty challenging though definitely see the spatter cones and the one before it (can’t remember the name but big black hill you can climb even if not in great shape by taking a break every 50 feet or so. Most unique and gorgeous campground with helpful staff. Most spots have at least a couple sides completely blocked off from other spaces. No designations so you can take as big or little of a spot as you want with everything from pull-through s to tent sites with just parking for a car. Recommend to arrive between noon and 3pm for most options to pick your spot. Planning to go back for maybe even a month later on though have to switch spaces after 14 days. Off-season has no running water but vault toilets are clean. If you have handicap/senior access pass, only $4/night off season. If not, you have to also pay park access fee daily. Payment is one-day only so have to go get new receipt from machine every day but close enough for easy walk to entrance.
LegendSuper cute little campground with nice custom touches for the bathrooms. It sits down in a valley near one of the main roads in Idaho so it's not super quiet during the day but they are really good about enforcing quiet hours and people are very respectful.
It has a creek that runs by it and it has easy access to Lava Hot Springs in town. This is a great site for families with kids with easy access to local restaurants and fun at the springs water park.
The sites are part of a large field and are ideal for RV privacy but tents are more exposed. I didn't end up setting up a tent in my site, I slept in my car so I had more privacy.
TravelerWe like staying here while traveling through Idaho. It’s a short drive to Craters of the Moon National Monument, and Arco, Idaho is a neat little town. The Showers and Laundry facilities at this park were not used by us during this visit. Staff was very friendly during the check in process. There is limited shade in the park.
ScoutThis is what you would expect in the wilderness of Idaho! A unique location, and an experience worth having!
Please obey posted fire safety warnings as Idaho is plagued by enough man made wildfires each year!
Have fun and leave no trace!
RangerCraters of the moon is a truly unique experience, that can only be found in Idaho. Highly recommended!
Traveler
Nice sites . Some more suitable for tents, other for vans.
15$ per night, first come first serve. We were there Memorial weekend (Sunday) and there were still spots.
LegendThis is a super cool campground. Made up on entirely lava rock, you need to have some serious stakes or your tent will end up in the middle of the lava field next door like we saw with MULTIPLE tents.
Lava rocks are lightweight so you can’t use them to weigh it down, you can have it tied off and to the table and grill if possible.
All sites are exposed to sun for most of the day. There are coveted tucked away sites to protect from wind and some sun but then you don’t get the view of the incredible night sky.
Sites are first come first serve and the sites turn over at 2 pm so arrive during that time and you will be golden for your pick of views. The farthest loop is not advised for large RV’s, you won’t be able to make the turn. This means it is the perfect loop for tent spots.
The bathrooms are clean, reservations are on an automated machine, and the campground is surprisingly quiet for being super compacted in one area of the field to protect the rock.
We were here for Labor day weekend and easily got a site. Plenty of hikes nearby and a great long and hot bike ride around the park from the campground.
GuideLarge rigs park close to the Credit Card Kiosk (only Credit cards accepted) park entry fee is also required some spots are only tent and some are huge. Water was not on and only had vault toilets so fees were less.
GuideThe Rv spots were pretty roomy. There’re gravel and pretty level. WiFi is hit and miss, pretty typical for a Koa. Rest rooms are dated but clean but also heavily used when I was here from big tent groups. It’s pretty dusty but that’s a function of the location. Very convenient to Craters of the Moon.
Traveler
Incredible views after driving through most of Idaho this spot is a relief! Water /fishing access ,private spots , even one really nice paved spot close to entrance , don’t miss the turn it’s near a cattle gate on the gravel road
RangerThis campground is located at the base of sheep mountain, with a gorgeous view of the steep walls and a beautiful lake. We went when the campground was not officially open yet - still tons of snow - but I slept in my truck tent and the dogs had a fantastic time!
GuideAn absolutely beautiful place to camp. Black lava rock everywhere. No cell service. No hookups but if you have a generator it’s all good to run it during normal non quiet hours. Vault toilets open in winter. Lots of fun hikes within the park. Sites have grills and can be used for RVs or tents. 15 or 7.50 if you are NPS pass holder or senior
TravelerWe stayed here on our way to Yellowstone. Has most of the usual KOA amenities: clean bathrooms, pool, cabins, full hookup RV spots, and a few tent spots. Even has a couple of teepees. Very friendly staff and a well stocked store/deli. Near Craters of the Moon National Monument. The town of Arco was charming and has an interesting history as the first nuclear-powered city in the US. If our travels take us this way in the future we'll camp here again!
Traveler
This is a great location. The owner of the property, Scar, is very generous in offering his property for free to stay at to complete strangers. This is dry camping, no water or sewer. There’s a dump station with water close by off the main highway. He does have a few outlets we saw but didn’t use them. Owner is friendly and generous. We enjoyed the nightly campfire. Read his website before arriving, all he really asks for and be respectful. Craters of the Moon is not too far. We hope to stop by again one day. Idaho is beautiful.
GuideI loved this campground we showed up in the early afternoon on a Thursday and they had plenty of spots still available. You are completely immersed into the lava landscape at this campground I really enjoyed it. The sites were nice size bathrooms were very clean lots of families and friendly people. A must if you are in Idaho. Note: if you plan to walk through any of the caves you need to visit the visitor center to get a permit.
LegendCame here in mid-July. It's a national park, so there's a great interpretative center and a junior ranger program with an awesome badge (space-themed), but I just couldn't get over the camp sites. It's all lava flow (duh) so there's very little vegetation, lots of rocks, and very little space in between the few sites. While there's a couple that have a tiny bit of privacy due to the walls of rocks, most are right in the open, and some of the spots are so tiny they barely fit a tent. Not sure if I'd go back.
LegendI was happy to find this low use campground in the middle of the summer, when almost everything seems like it’s packed to the gills. There are ample trails that are available kicking off straight from the campground into the wilderness, for hiking, walking, snowmobiling, mountain biking, etc. Sites are big and able to accommodate even larger RVs (although the guy across from me struggled to fit his 30’ rig in his spot, he did it!). Some of the best that Idaho has to offer and definitely a hidden gem.
Tent camping near Howe, Idaho offers a serene escape into nature, with a variety of campgrounds that cater to outdoor enthusiasts seeking adventure and tranquility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Howe, ID?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Howe, ID is Iron Bog Campground with a 4-star rating from 2 reviews.
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