Best Tent Camping near Idaho Falls, ID

This was our first attempt to find a place to land in the Idaho Falls Area. Located about 10 miles south of Idaho Falls, it is a relatively new 12-unit RV Park (although they list prices for tent sites). When we arrived, there were two open spots but no apparent host or staff on-site. Sites are close to each other in typical RV Park fashion. There were some nice shade trees but they really did not provide much privacy/ separation between sites. The office was closed and you needed a code to access the restroom which we could see no way of obtaining. There were only large RVs camped there even though there are supposedly tent sites (without a code to the bathroom and nowhere that I could see to pitch a tent, I don’t see tenters staying there). There was some road noise and a chain link fence surrounded the campground. Nothing scenic about it. We moved on.

In Swan Valley the name of the game is fly fishing. This small campground is also a fly fishing outfitter and shop. While l was just passing through and I am not a fisherwoman, it seemed to offer pretty good services if that is your thing. I pulled in after hours but fortunately the owner’s dog alerted her to my presence and she was willing to open the office to rent me a tent site for the evening. There are 3ish tent sites(one was being worked on), about a half dozen pull thru RV sites, and 3 or 4 cabins for rent. There is a central bathhouse with two full bathrooms in a trailer for everyone to share. The bathhouse rooms are electronically accessed with codes the host gives you on check in. They were really nice and clean, like bathrooms in a typical modern home, except that one had the water heater tank in it and both had space heaters on the floor to plug in(fire hazard??). The tent site I chose was at the back of the campground so I didn’t have much highway noise, and fell asleep to the sound of the nearby horses grazing. Next door on the other side is a municipal building that appears to be the home base for the sheriff. The view of the back of the office/fly shop is not very picturesque, with boats and atv’s and odds and ends laying about. There are nice trees providing shade, but there is no real privacy between sites, tents, or cabins. The grass was quite lush, so I am wondering when the sprinkler system comes on. This place works as a layover or for someone who will take advantage of the fly fishing services, but not much else.