Best Cabin Camping near Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests

So, I’m not sure why “resort” is in the title, this certainly not a resort in the traditional sense. But, this is a great place to stop if headed up the Lochsa River and has something for everyone.

The “resort” has riverfront cabins, double occupancy motel rooms, A frame cabins, RV spots with hookups and a large tent camping area for motorcyclists, bicyclists and hikers. The mix of campers makes thing interesting. Add to this that the river raft guides take out at this location and this is a busy and fun place to spend a night. It has been very busy every time I have stopped, often full of RV’s with families spending a long weekend.

There is a small market, restaurant and bar, and an outdoor pool and hot tub. The market is well stocked with most of what you might have forgot to pack. They sell firewood as well. The bar offers typical burgers and bar fare and was lively enough even in peak Covid. This is Idaho after all, Covid seems like an afterthought in most of central and North Idaho.

The resort is located along a sweeping bend of the Lochsa river, which the highway follows on the opposite side. With the proximity of the highway, the RV’s in the campground, the cabins, etc, this is not a tranquil wilderness campground. It is however a great spot to spend the night while passing through.

I was on a motorcycle and there were probably 8-10 other riders tent camping. Several fires were going and folks were friendly and outgoing. There was no cell service for AT&T, but the market and bar had WiFi that you could access by sitting outside the front door.

I’ve stayed here 3 times and it will always be on my list when passing through this part of Idaho.

We stayed in a cabin for two nights in late June 2021 and had an awesome time! Lots of great tent and RV campsites in a nicely maintained park! They have ONE handicapped cabin and 3 regular! Bathrooms are pit style but kept very clean!

Freeman Creek at Dworshak State park has great opportunity for all levels of camping. Tent sites, RV/Trailer sites, or a few small primitive cabins (no bathrooms or kitchens in the cabins). There is also access to the reservoir for boating, fishing or to mini-camp sites all along the reservoir. Kokanee fishing is great from March to about late July. The spawn begins in August, so the fish move up the reservoir as the season progresses. Smallmouth bass fishing is great! The Idaho state Smallmouth record was caught in this lake. Day use parking is available for a small fee. For Idaho residents with the State Parks pass reduces the fee. A lot of wildlife viewing too! If you are lucky you may see a black bear feeding on blackberries, deer are numerous, elk frequent the lake, and one of my favorites is to watch Osprey dive in the lake for fish.

I have been at this park in every month of the calendar, but only camped from April thru October.

Our group stayed in the cabin, but hoping to come back for tent camping in warmer months

I loved the views from this small cabin and the historic value is priceless. Road to this place is not recomended for low clearance vehicles it is a very rugged road and allows for a great experience in the wild most years you won't get there very early in the year because of snow

The water is clear. the woods are beautiful, very tall trees. First time I ever saw a moose was walking in the forest in Idaho!

Stayed here many times and will go back again it is a great place to go and it's not far to travel to from orofino idaho for an inexpensive camp trip

At night the stars are seen through the trees when the moon is not so full,  I had never seen stars so close to the ground. 

1. 15 Great campsites. 
2. Clean bathrooms.
3. fresh drinking water, until sometime the end of Sept when they turn it off.
4. Great fishing on the North Fork and Kelly Creek, a lot of water to explore.

Beautiful location has lots of recreational activities nearby and great fishing

The past negative reviews sound more like an angry family to me. I pulled in (camping alone my first time) and had a warm welcoming. Once I got my tent set up I decided I wanted to set up sleeping in my car and my current spot didn’t allow vehicles. I waited around to see if it was filling up for the night and then asked if how much it would be to pull into an RV spot to sleep in the car. She let me switch free of charge! She was amazing.

Took about an hour to get to our campsite, but was so worth it. Was a creek at the top of a mountain in the middle, I guess hence the name. Local had wondered how we found his special fishing spot. Was a place to swim, but we did not get in. Such a beautiful view and lots of nature to see.

No one is here on a beautiful October long weekend Saturday. I can see why. The reservoir level is way down! Just getting to the water is a challenge. Maybe this was nice years ago but it’s a good ways out from Orfino. Not worth the drive.

It is not the easiest to get to, and the road is a test for your engine and brakes, but once you arrive it is a quiet peaceful park with great water access. We originally had a reservation for a view site with no hook ups, but upon arrival they had a hookup site(#104) available, and the temps were nearly 100 degrees, so we took it! The park is large and thus the areas seem nicely spaced apart, never felt crowded, even though there are over 100 sites. There is lots of shoreline and plenty of water for everyone. We launched the kayaks and enjoyed the water ourselves- paddled to the opposite shore and found a remote unoccupied camp.

Set up camp with close-by access to a developed recreation area. Lots of options for accommodation and easily accessible

I came here to hang out during a logging sports event and I really enjoyed the doc area where I sat with my feet in the water. We did not swim (except my dog), but we enjoyed the landscape and the lush green grass they were growing.

I do want to camp in this park but we were camping at another location with the logger sports team.

To start, what a gorgeous area! Quiet, calm, nice. 

At first when we rolled into our spot I thought I was going to be in huge trouble- drive through spot with a wicked drop off on the right side (camper door side) with the fire pit and picnic table at the bottom. I pictured kids falling, food mishaps, general non fun trudging up and down. Well, it actually turned out ok: we moved our 5th wheel as far from the edge as possible which allowed for a decent platform and we ended up having a birds eye view of what all the kids were doing. If that's still a problem, be mindful of what site you are signing up for, meadow ones are available. 

• Bathrooms and showers were ok, though the standard, push the button every 30 seconds to have water flow in your shower is a little annoying (maybe i'm just a princess). 
• Sweet little nature trails were pretty and easy for smaller children to walk through. 
• Easy lake access is only in the park/play area. The rest of the lake access is a pretty blunt drop off from forest to water (read: no wadding in the sand). But the play area was pleasant. I heard that this year (2021) is was a bit more run down than usual so maybe next year it'll improve??? We still enjoyed the water and had a ton of fun finding tadpoles. 
• You can rent SUPs and canoes and have a little explore around the lake. Very enjoyable.
• NO CELL SERVICE. You just have to be present with one another. 
• Important for our family- when we went in June, there were next to no mosquitos! My poor teenager usually gets eaten alive anywhere we go and he left unscathed! 
• THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP::::: Even though we loved the location, we won't be returning simply because of the road to get there. Google maps wrecked us- I selected "quickest route" and had NO warnings that we would be driving up the narrowest gravel road with a 11% incline!!!! We have a diesel F350 but towing a big 5th wheel made it horrifying. Please be smarter than me and do your research. Once we started the decline it was mercifully paved but signage posted stated "2 road lane can be used as single lane" as it becomes the Lombard St for recreational vehicles! I saw some class A's that had boats towed behind them and I'm not entirely sure they didn't use witchcraft to make it work.

Great pay camp that has everything you could need