Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Lake Pend Oreille

Farragut State Park, Idaho Lake Pend Oreille

I crossed the Montana / Idaho state line this morning and was pleasantly surprised at the AMAZING scenery . I’m from way over in Kentucky so maybe this is a best kept secret or it’s just not well advertised but NORTHERN IDAHO IS BEAUTIFUL!! I mean, someone says Idaho, I think potatoes/ farmland. So well played Idahoans! I stopped for an overnight at Farragut State Park. The staff was AMAZING! Friendly , informative and took the time to see if there were any cancellations or early departures in the crowded campgrounds. The campgrounds are well laid out in that there are many sites but they are situated in a way that still gives each site space for “stuff”.

Several areas to pick from. Group areas and campgrounds, shade and locality. Sites were very well maintained. Full hook up, Pit toilets and a few shower houses.

The general park map is lacking on the hiking trail venue. If you want to hike and in my opinion you do, see about getting a trail map or take a picture at one of the information stands. Even that map was not great, but useable. We took a stroll down through the woods and when we got to Lake Pend Oreille guess what?!! .... IT WAS AMAZING!! If you want a hike along the lake with easy to moderate difficulty 70 along Idlewilde Bay is excellent, it loops around by the parking lots and the shore. Plenty of spots for the dogs to get in and to swim. Once again there are trails coming and going and the trail markings are sometimes confusing but if you have a good sense of direction you’ll be fine.

There is a model airplane field, bird watching area, and areas to park and unload horses and llamas.

Bayview, ID is nearby with a laundromat , grocery , etc. On site there is a small museum with the history of the area , a Tree to Tree Adventure Park and of course water activities galore.

Gilmore Campground Farragut State Park, Idaho Lake Pend Oreille

Who Knew?!!

I crossed the Montana / Idaho state line this morning and was pleasantly surprised at the AMAZING scenery . I’m from way over in Kentucky so maybe this is a best kept secret or it’s just not well advertised but NORTHERN IDAHO IS BEAUTIFUL!! I mean, someone says Idaho, I think potatoes/ farmland. So well played Idahoans! I stopped for an overnight at Farragut State Park. The staff was AMAZING! Friendly , informative and took the time to see if there were any cancellations or early departures in the crowded campgrounds. The campgrounds are well laid out in that there are many sites but they are situated in a way that still gives each site space for “stuff”. My site didn’t have a lot of shade but the breeze was enough that it was comfortable all day, temps in the 80’s. We may have hit the end of the mowing cycle or maybe they leave the grass rough cut due to it being dry. Our site was otherwise very well maintained. When I drove in the camp hosts were actually across the lane SWEEPING one of the cement pads clear of gravel. Full hook up, Pit toilets and a few shower houses. The shower house is on the other side of Gilmore CG. The sites over there have older trees and more shade. The general park map is lacking on the hiking trail venue. If you want to hike and in my opinion you do, see about getting a trail map or take a picture at one of the information stands. Even that map was not great, but useable. We took a stroll down through the woods and when we got to Lake Pend Oreille guess what?!! .... IT WAS AMAZING!! If you want a hike along the lake with easy to moderate difficulty 70 along Idlewilde Bay is excellent, it loops around by the parking lots and the shore. Plenty of spots for the dogs to get in and to swim. Once again there are trails coming and going and the trail markings are sometimes confusing but if you have a good sense of direction you’ll be fine.

Bayview, ID is nearby with a laundromat , grocery , etc. On site there is a small museum with the history of the area , a model plane field , a Tree to Tree Adventure Park and of course water activities galore.

Very nice well kept campground on the east shore of lake Pend Oreille. We visited in 2021 September. A lot of trees have been cut down and cleared out from a giant wind storm last year. The storm crushed cars and campers. All cleared up and nice now. Most spots are still shaded and very close to the lake. The access roads are narrow and trailers over 30 ft can get in but very carefully in the skipping stone loop. If you want a pull through for easier entry/departure, try the dancing shadows loop. There's a dog beach with plenty of shoreline access. It was very smoky due to all the forest fires at the time.

There are quite a few beautiful spots along this bay of Lake Pend Oreille that can be reached only by boat. This is a great place to feel secluded and away from the hustle and bustle of the lake, without having to drive the boat too far. We put the boat in at the Farragut State park and drove a mere ten minutes across the lake to this beautiful (free) safe haven. Because of where the bank is situated, the camps receive beautiful early morning light and then are shaded enough throughout the rest of the day. We had enough space at our camp to set up two tents, a kitchen, a fireplace, and our own bathroom. Other campers were along the bay, but we still had ample privacy. We all had a great time, and were even able to set up our hammock in the trees to overlook the lake. I loved this bay and hope to return many times in the future.

This is a nice place to go with the whole fam! It is known for it’s huge friendly deer population!! You will see them everywhere!! Which is fun for out-of-towners! People from the city who don’t get much wildlife action. Also, very amazing views of Lake pend Oreille and the mountains, which surround you. It is down a beautiful peninsula in Hope, Idaho. It has a nice restaurant with a nice outside deck to eat and watch the sunset! People are nice and friendly! Good place to swim! They have burn barrels at the beach by the water that anyone can use to sit and have a nice beachside bonfire! Oh!! And they have firewood you can go and get for free that the staff piles up under a little gazebo thing. .. You can also get a burn barrel and they’ll bring one up to your campsite via golf cart, for free!!! Once a month every few weeks a truck comes around to empty anyone who may wants sewage and water buildup for a fee of $50.00.. They have an excellent shower room, but only two showers for each gender.. So all in all it’s pretty nice!!

All the state (not Federal) parks at both Priest and Lake Pend Oreille (Farragut) have become prohibitively expensive for out of staters. Per the Boise newspaper a state legislator from Hayden. ID was angered that he was unable to camp the state parks in his area at the drop of a hat 'due to the large number of out of state campers'(who had the foresight to make reservations months in advance). He was able to push a punitive bill through the State legislature which effectively more than doubled out of state camp fees in these two parks. Not only is the camp site at least twice as expensive but there is now a daily vehicle fee added. A basic campsite (no utilities) can now cost upwards of $70 per night.