Best Dispersed Camping near Mountain Home, ID

We camped at Irish Point at Arrowhead's designated dispersed camping area. The road around the reservoir is pretty tight, though that doesn't discourage long trailers and toy haulers. We're pretty self-contained so didn't miss any usual camp ground amenities. Our neighbors were sparse and quiet and we enjoyed the peace of this area.

This is a nice area for dispersed camping.  No water in the reservoir at this time (early September).  Very few other people around, even on labor day weekend, and the area was so quiet and serene.

We stayed along the western side of the reservoir, and there's are little loops you can take in off of 160 to find a spot.  The path was relatively narrow and our class c made it fine, but you could hear the sides brushing along the sage.

Watch for wasps, especially around the bathroom.  We didn't see any wildlife, but heard coyotes in the night.

It was hard to find a level spot, so we just ended up moving next to the bathroom since we were only there for the night.

Good cell service with all 3 carriers.

A variety of free and dispersed sites, most of them with rock campfire rings, near a nice shallow creek. A fair amount of RV and ATV traffic but still feels pretty secluded. No bathrooms or anything like that but it's only a 3 minute drive from Idaho City.

I stayed here for about a week. My spot was a short distance from the water in an attempt to avoid the mosquitoes (didn't really work), but still really serene. It's about a 30 minute drive to stores in Mountain Home. I also appreciated that you're only on non paved roads for about 1/2 mile. Would definitely come back here.

This is a clearly dispersed location. There is a single pit toilet. Camped right next to the lake. Lots of bugs being close to water but seemingly few mosquitoes

Nice open and secluded area with decent camping options. Pulled in around midnight and saw about 3 other cars but room enough for twice that. The lower area is not too far down a little dirt/gravel drive that ends next to the river. There’s a second more brushy road off to the left that ends in a secluded spot but no toilet. Decent vault toilet by the river, but didn’t see a water spigot for drinking water. Only thing is no at&t service, and the train tracks are across the river but it never blew its horn and was just a rare low rumble. With ear plugs I didn’t hear it at all. Would stay here again!

So hot and no shade. If it were not close to the water you may not have a way to beat the heat. It was beyond crowded and hard to find a secluded spot to camp away from others. Only pro is its close to town and you can swim, fish, and boat.

I thought it was beautiful here. There are places to barbecue and have a fire and there is a river right below the camp sites. Very quiet.

This is a very simple campsite with access to the reservoir. There isn't much shade. If the lake holds water for a couple of years, the fishing can be great.

Fairly easy access off US 20. There is open grazing so we did have cattle close to our campsite by morning. Tons of bugs but not many mosquitoes. Quiet and not many others. T-Mobile worked well. There was some in/out movement around 5:30 am but as an early riser I wasn't disturbed.

Pretty, small area with a boat launch. No services were open in April, but parking was available and free. There is enough Verizon cell signal to text, but not to stream.

We camped here in June 2020. There are clean vault toilets but not much else. The reservoir was practically empty. There were not picnic tables and the roads off the main road were not maintained. It was hard to tell if there were campsites there at all, but there were fire rings so we pulled in next to one and set up. One other camper came in later and set up down by the lake, but otherwise it was really quiet. Nice place to get away from everyone during a pandemic.

This is an old fashion site where everything is really old but still usable. This has been used by many campers over the years. You can tell from the wear on the site. The picnic table has a lot of names carved in. The bright side to this site is that it is free.

Me and boyfriend enjoy going here in the fall and spring to get away from the city for a day or two. There is hiking right across the street. Mt Heinen which is a very strenous hike. Its over 9 miles(up and back) and over a 3,000 ft gain so be prepared if you try to tackle this summit. Anyways, the campground has some fire pits but no picnic tables. There are a few trees for shade. One part of this campground that confuses me is that there use to be a small outhouse in summer of 2018 but when I came in 2019 in march and April there was not one? When we come in the fall and spring theres no one other than us there. In the summer it does get quite a few people there. Also it gets super hot in the summertime so be sure to bring plenty of water. Good thing is you can take a dip in the cold reservoir to cool off. There's no trash services so pack it in and pack it out. A lot of people come here to party and leave trash around so i make it a point to pick it up. Please don't be those people to ruin a beautiful free spot. 💚

There are vault toilets in two locations. No other facilities. Very few people. Where we stayed overnight, we didn't see anyone else. Lots of gnat-type flying bugs. Almost no mosquitos. Great views of the mountains around the lake and very quiet. Difficult to access the water as it is deep mud near the shoreline. Lots of grazing cattle nearby.

Was worried about the weather when I pulled up at dusk during a storm but it passed south of me and I got to watch the lightening. It is remote without any services for miles in either direction off 20, so do check the weather and come prepared.

We had it to ourselves in mid September. Toilets had lots of TP and were clean. Saw some big scat (moose?).

Nice level sites overlooking lake. Easy to get to. Lots of cows wandering around. Toilets were clean. We had the place to ourselves.

Beautiful scenery, easy drive in for most vehicles and surprisingly good phone service. Had the place all to myself and got some really nice long exposure shots of the night sky.

Simple camp ground not much to it at all really which is kind of nice. It’s on the edge of the lake so could potentially have good fishing. Not many trees at all so bring your own wood or stove. RV spots and tent spots.

A great little spot off the road next to the reservoir. Has a bathroom and a few camping rings. Nothing special but a peaceful place.

Down a dirt road. This used to be a boat ramp, but it doesn't exist anymore. A few fire pits scattered around the hill and by the water. Vault toilet available. Great views of the mountains. No privacy other than some sage brush. No room for big rigs, 4wd not required.