North Fork is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in, as well as sights to see and explore. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your Idaho camping adventure.
"There are no numbered sites, just designated fire rings to indicate the different sites I suppose. One large accesible pit toilet is available. Most sites back up to the river which is pretty nice."
"We piddled around in a raft around the lake and did some fishing. Saw quite a bit of wildlife. We had a great camping spot right by the water. Touring the mining towns near by was so much fun!"
"Spaced apart about 3 sites alongside the river access. Trees for hammocking and shade. Relatively even for van parking. Not buggy at all."
"Amazing drive-in BLM campsite right on the Salmon River. Primitive site; no water/bathroom. Great stargazing."
"Right next to the creek, with another small branch cutting through the middle of the campground, the only thing I could hear was the water and later a fire spotter plane overhead."
"Stay here for quick access to Lamar Valley. Be aware of your surroundings, we had a coyote visit us unexpectedly!"
"Yellows and oranges surround the banks, the river. I have the whole campground to myself—all two sites. But, of course, I only occupy one."
"Super nice being next to a river, road wasn’t a problem with loud traffic. Good hammock trees"
GuideThis is a nice smaller forest service campground adjacent to grasshopper creek. A great spot to stay if exploring the Pioneer Mountains.
There are 7-8 spaces, most suitable for a trailer or van. We were tent camping as were others. There are vault toilets and the ubiquitous forest service green potable water pumps/drinking fountains.
There are no dumpsters so have to pack trash out. There are campground hosts but they don’t have firewood for sale, so either need to bring or be prepared to do quite a bit of hunting for wood. The area around the campground is picked pretty clean of good firewood.
This is bear country and there are food storage boxes located throughout the campground for shared use. I expect the presence of bears is also why they don’t have any dumpsters on site.
The campground sits at approximately 7000 feet and by late summer gets near freezing temps overnight. Bring your fall/winter sleeping bag if tent camping here in late August or late Spring!
Just a few minutes up the road from the campground is Elkhorn Hot Springs where you can pay a few bucks to use the rustic pool and hot springs.
GuideIt is a very off the beaten path, tucked away in the woods, true getaway from the busy city life. Travel south on 278 from Wisdom, MT and take the chance on an 18 mile gravel road to find a place only you see in pictures and read about in magazines. Drive through open cattle ranges and find a beautiful campground nestled up to 2 small lakes connected by a shallow channel. Clear water to see the bottom where it's shallow enough. No motorized boats allowed, so bring your own kayak or canoe and a fishing pole or two to enjoy the refreshing waters at the bottom of the mountains. Even in July, you can see snow atop the mountains on the Montana-Idaho border.
LegendShoup Bridge Campground is a small Campground surrounding cottonwood trees along the banks of the Salmon River. It is also right along the Highway. We found this a pleasant campground to stay in, plenty of flat ground for our tents and only $5 a night. A few sites are quite small, but still room for a tent. This was our Scouts jumping off point for a backpacking trip the next day. While next to the highway we expected a lot of noise during the night, but that was not our experience, the only real road noise we had was in the early morning with worked out as it helped wake us up. Each site has a picnic table and metal fire ring. Water is available and the area has a vault toilet and trash cans. Campground has a boat launch.
LegendFourth of July Campground is a nice campground set in a lodge pole pine and fir forest. This small six campsite campground is fully paved including the parking pads and has paved walking trails through the campground as well. Their is also day use only sites for those wanting to picnic with out having to occupy a campsite. This is a great campground and only$8 per night. All the campsites and day use sites have picnic tables and metal fire rings. Water is available from a handpump and the vault toilet is handicapped accessible. Be warned that there is no trash service so be prepared to pack out your trash. All the site in the campground are nicely spread apart. The campground is open in the off season, if you are able still able to access the campground. I visited in late November with no problem as the area had not yet received any snow. No fees or water in the off season, but the vault toilet was fully stocked.
LegendOnly 3 miles off the main drag, I’m not sure why more people weren’t camping here. While there are only about 8 sites only 2(including mine) were taken. Maybe it was the smoke from distant first fires. Anyway, great little campground! Right next to the creek, with another small branch cutting through the middle of the campground, the only thing I could hear was the water and later a fire spotter plane overhead. The vault toilet was super clean and serviced recently. Sites were of different sizes(the parking pad curbs had lengths listed on them), and of differing amounts of levelness. I had site 2 and had to go to a fairly low spot to find a level place to pitch my tent, not a problem during a drought, but it would have been wet if it had rained. Saw a doe and fawn on the way out in the morning.
LegendPettengill Campground is a nice pleasant three site campground. This is the first campground as you travel up the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway. The campground road and parking pads are all paved. A large paved parking area is also available and is used for snowmobile parking in the winter. One vault toilet and water is available in the summer. All three sites are quiet nice, with good spacing between them. Each site has a metal fire ring and picnic table. At $6 per night you can't beat the price. With only three sites crowds will not be a problem. The campground is right next to the byway, but noise is not a problem as the road only received recreational traffic. Plenty of near by hiking trails in the area. Further up the byway be sure to visit Coolidge Ghost Town and dig for crystal at Crystal park.
GuideAwesome campground, the camp host is friendly and making rounds to ensure the bathrooms are stocked and that everyone is enjoying their time. We camped at number 5 last time, and we just got done camping at number 15 for the weekend. Crystal park is not thst far and the Wise river is right after it. Also vheck out Elkhorn hotsprings th a ts the next turn for a natural spring nad suana. Can't wait to camp here again. The picture below will show you our camp set up sadly Teo fridns had to take off earlier before photos. We easily fit 4 tents and had 2 dogs with us. The site provides shared food storages, also vualt toilets, and drinkable water at the faucets through out the camp ground. It was 25 a night for 3 vehicles so we spent 50 in total. Another perk if you need or forgot something go to Ma's store it has a bit of everything. It's just on the other side of the lodge in Grasshopper.
GuideThe campground is very nice, it was clean and had 2 water taps available. You can hear the creek at night, which is a huge plus for me. They have mutiple food storages available that are shared. There wasn't any firewood that was easy to find. I recommend bringing your own or running to Ma's County Market. For kiln dried wood, it doesn't last long, but you can cook with it.. The cost was 15.00 USD a night with 5 dollars more per vehicle. Site 5 could park 4 vehicles easy. The rest can only fit 2. Bigger parites can go to the group campground in the front. Number five could park about six cars easy. Also you could pitch about 7 to 9 tents on it.
Ranger7 day max stay despite what the website says. Additional $5 a day fee for water and electric despite what the website says. At $25 though thats not terrible. 1/2 price with applicable passes.
10 sites. How much shade, sitting area, rocks, level ground, level parking varies.
What’s Good? -4 toilets and 2 Dumpsters -The road and each site is paved -Parking can hold 2 trucks with 2 towable RVs at most sites -Running creek nearby with little trails, great for little ones -Sites are spread out for the most part and feel private
The not so good -While the toilets are in far better condition than most campgrounds they were not cleaned or restocked at all during my 7 days. Just a quick visual look was all that was done. -Hosts are generally oblivious. They don’t check sites and ignore complaints of “occupied” sites than nobody has been at for over three days. -There was one site, clearly friendly with the hosts, that has been there well beyond the time limit with no intentions of departing -It takes me about 10 minutes to casually walk through the campground. Same for the host that did the same twice in a week with a blower pretending to blow pine needles of the road. Meaning, no actual change was made as attempts at grounds keeping is below the minimum -Plenty of weeds, unkept sites covered in debris that should be moved, due to lack of host care. You will likely need to rake through or clear your site
North Fork, Idaho, offers a variety of tent camping options that immerse you in the stunning natural beauty of the region. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an adventurous getaway, there's something for everyone.
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