Best Glamping near Idaho Panhandle National Forests

We were not able to stay at Gilmore because it was closed for the season so we stayed across the street at the Peterson campground. The sites were nice but basic. Sites had running water, fire pit, and picnic table. The sites were also very close together. The showers were closed for the season and the bathrooms were not well maintained. They had no toilet paper, lots of bugs, and the lights were out. We got there late and had to pay in the morning. Had we known the cost, we would not have stayed. With the site fee and a required day pass recreation free to the park, it cost $74 for one night. That is insanely overpriced. If amenities are going to be closed and not well maintained during the slow season, they need to lower the price. Would not stay again.

We spent 3 weeks at Liberty Lake Regional Park while visiting our son and grandkids in Spokane. The road in is a little narrow, but once in, it’s a great little campground. Most of the sites are fairly level. We stayed at 2 different sites over 3 weeks, and both were level. They are close together! They provide a fire pit if you want one. Picnic table, water and electric. The dump station is quite a drive, back out, up the hill. There is a clean shower/bathroom building and a beach within walking distance of the campground. While we were there the campground hosts did a fantastic job of keeping everything clean and tidy. Several hiking trails, including an equestrian trail, waterfall, fishing and lots of wildlife. There were deer in the campground every day, we saw moose, owls, pilated woodpecker, and hawks. We were there over July 4th weekend and they had a fireworks display on the beach.

The Gilmore Loop Campground is one of a handful of campgrounds in Farragut State Park. It is a large campground boasting 91 rv/tent sites. There are several ADA sites as well as the most amenities I have ever seen in a campground. Even tho you could spend days exploring and playing in Farragut State Park, there are quite a few things to do outside of the park also.

Some amenities for this campground include:

RV/Tent Camping - (Some are ADA)

Onsite Tables/Fire Pits/Water/Electricity on all and Sewer on some

Nice and Clean Flush Restrooms and Showers

Firewood for sale onsite by the hosts and a well stocked General Store/Visitor Center in park

Payphones and extra Parking

Dump stations for RVs

Extensive Day Use Facilities - (Including 3 professional disc golf courses and a large Lake for a $5 fee)

Boat launch/Swimming/Fishing

Museum and Historical Sites

Loads of Hiking/Biking/Horse Trails

Some amenities close to this campground include:

Bayview - (A small lake town about 5 min to the East)

Silverwood Theme Park - (About a 10 min drive to the West)

Coeur'd Alene and Sandpoint - (Both 33 min drives to the South and North respectively)

The negatives for Gilmore are all subjective. I personally prefer a much more secluded campground, I can see this place being packed during the on-season. The sites are closer than I like, tho I have seen much closer sites elsewhere. The tent pads are gravel filled squares, I Like the feel of the ground under me while camping and these will necessitate a mat/airbed. Overall I love this place as a day use, and see myself camping here soon.

We used to camp here in the 80s and it was always peaceful and beautiful. And we liked it because its got free showers and the bathrooms are very clean for camping. However,! There used to only about 34ish spots and now there are 51 spots. Its very crowded and people feel like they are right on top of each other. Your fire pit area is right next to your neighbors picnic table and/or their fire pit. They also clear cut all the bushes between spots and threw wood chips down so there is no privacy at all. I know they are worried about fires but good grief. Hence the reason it feels like you are right on top of your neighbors. The day use area is still pretty much the same as it's always been and the lake is just as beautiful but not the camping part. Thanks a lot Idaho fish and game! :( UGH!!!

For a regional park, my expectations were very much exceeded. My group was 2 people/3 dogs with a Class A Winnebago & an Outback. We spent several weeks between May-July. The camp hosts were amazingly nice and kept everything peaceful and clean. Staff are also readily available throughout the park. Not huge, but more spacious than many other sites, we had plenty of space to set a good area outside the rig without feeling like we were intruding on anyone else nearby. There's a nice bathroom/free shower and camp sink. Heading north from the campground, you can explore the canyon and hike up to a cedar grove. South of the campground is the day use area (sprawling and lovely lawn) with more bathrooms and a playground and tons of picnic tables with BBQ. The swim area is daily small, but enough. The dock at the swim area was great in the early part of the season - even caught a nice bass. As more people came in the summer, we used the dock to launch a raft to get around the lake for fishing.

The only downsides:

1. the spaces are not level at all! We had the front wheels about 7in off the ground and we still weren't level. Our fridge wouldn't work bc of this which was a bummer but not killer.
2. No site sewage. There's a communal dump station, but it's up a hill and not in the same loop as the campground. Plan to dump as you arrive and then leave. Try not to need to use it during your stay.

I would have given it 4 stars about 5 years ago when we first stayed as it seemed a lot friendlier staff willing to please their customers but I'm not sure if it was sold since then but I had to give it only 2 stars this time because the negatives outweighed the positives. Pros: Friendly staff that helps you park if you need it. Location is fairly close to the town of Bonners Ferry and Sandpoint so you are never too far from civilization. Although I've never used it, they do have wine in the evenings for their guests...not sure if they charge or not. They also sell wood and when we were there 5 years ago, they delivered it to our site. Also, the site we stayed in that time was not full hook ups and the staff still helped us dump without having to move our rig. Cons: Everything everyone says about the pot holes, dirt road, train noise and turn off from the 95 is spot on. The one thing I didn't hear anyone mention is the noise from the 95 of cars that can be as loud as the constant train passing in the middle of the night. So, quiet and serene is not a good description. The"lake" although which can be fun for small kids fishing and maybe paddle boating, is more of a large pond that is dark and gloomy like and so when you first see it, you might be disappointed at it being called a lake. Although friendly, I didn't find it as hospitable as it used to be when we were first there five years ago and you get the distinct feeling that they are barely surviving as they will not do anything extra to refund or make things whole if you experience is not up to par. Here is why: We were charged half of the amount to reserve the spot we wanted and in order to keep a particular spot you pick, you have to pay a little extra to reserve it or you can still risk having them move you to a different spot if they want to. That's a first. It's true they can't control the weather and I don't really blame them for that, but good vacation industries will go out of their way to keep their customers happy when things are not up to par. We paid for six days and with the stifling heat, along with the fires that were in the area, we were smoked out and weren't told that campfires were restricted per an ordinance they were given before we made the trip there. The entire camping experience was ruined because the only choice we had to not to feel choked out was to stay indoors in the RV. We only stayed one night since this was miserable and decided to leave the next day. When we got home we received an email requesting our input of our stay and we told them a partial refund would have been nice since accommodations were not up to standards. Instead, we were told that in order for them to stay in business and because they have few drop ins, they have to take 50% deposits up front. This seems fair but we paid for the entire week, so it seems to me that in good faith and good customer service, 50% or even some refund at all would have kept us coming back despite the cons. They also claimed that charging 50% is better than some places that want all the money upfront when you book. We have been RVing for years in this area and there are much better places to go that do not do this I'm not really sure why they asked us for our input in the first place. Anyway, as a result we won't be back.