Best Dispersed Camping near Payette National Forest

There are some seriously beautiful spots to camp here. Another review says that it’s $10 to camp, but that is in the actual campground. Instead of turning right to get into the campground, keep driving straight and you will find the dispersed camping. Perfectly secluded and beautiful views of the water.

The fir trees stand tall and still. I can’t figure out if they are waiting for something to happen or if they simply don’t care.

If you’re looking for sone sort of gorgeous panorama, this might not be the place for you. It’s really just a small meadow in the mountains that the BLM put a vault toilet and a couple of fire rings in. That being said, this place is beautiful.

You can’t see rapid creek from the campground but you can hear it. And that’s really just as good. The white noise from the creek matched with the occasional bird or other nature sound is one of the most relaxing things on the planet.

It’s high enough in elevation that this place gets nippy at night. I stayed in early August and the temps dropped into the upper 30s at night.

The campground is well maintained and the vault toilet was reasonably clean when I arrived. It became Kevin clean shortly after I set up camp.

There are trails from both sites near the vault toilet that lead down to Rapid Creek.

I never saw any bear scat but signs on the property warn of them so be smart with your food.

All in all, Rapid Creek dispersed camping is excellent if you just want a quiet place where no one is around. It’s amazing but not for the reasons people usually like in my opinion. ◦

One of the few dispersed areas I’ve visited with multiple bathrooms.

Stunning views on the calm water. Bring your SUP or kayak, you’ll want to be on the water! Lots of local fishing, hiking, and MTB trails.

A really beautiful area amazing views.

Not super crazy view, but free. Not too many spots available in July. LOTS of bugs

Dirt road turn-off from Lick Creek Road.  4-5 pullouts for cars/RVs.  A few hundred years from the lake, but there is not really lake access.  Mosquitoes were pretty prevalent in early august.  No fires were allowed due to wildfire restrictions.

All said, it was a painless & free site only a few minutes from downtown McCall, ID.  Good alternative to when the state park fills up

These sites are on the old highway to Yellow Pine. There are 7 of them with two pit toilets. Sites are right on the water overlooking the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River. The road is narrow, so I would not suggest a big camper or rv in this area. The sites only consist of a fire ring a d a small parking area, but they are free.

Once you turn off Hywy 95 on to Lost Valley Reservoir Road (about 16 miles North of Council), you will reach a Y in the well kept gravel road. If you turn left, you will come to Cold Spring Campground. There are RV/trailer and tent sites available for a small daily fee. There are campfire sites, hiking trails, toilets and water from a hand pump. You will need to pack out your own garbage as there are no dumpsters. Not a bad place but you are still about 1/2 mile away from the Lost Valley Reservoir.

If you return to the Lost Valley Reservoir road, you can continue on to the Reservoir. After about 1/2 mile, you will see the lake off to your right. There are camp sites all along this stretch of the lake with direct access to the lake. A few sites have a common outhouse with no running water. Along this side of the lake there is also a boat launch area, but I believe this is a 'No Wake Lake'. Check local burn bans, and pack your garbage out.

The road continues along the lake edge and over a small dam. There are several small, dirt access roads that lead to the lakes edge with camping sites at the end of each. Several roads are VERY rough and have deep ruts in them, and I personally wouldn't risk driving them without a vehicle that has plenty of clearance.

The lake is small and as the summer progresses and water is drained from the reservoir, it shrinks. I prefer camping here until about the 1st or 2nd week of August. After this, the water levels drop drastically and green algae begins to accumulate around the lakes edge. There are small perch for fishing, but I did not catch any big enough to keep. We camped here in mid-July this year and had a campfire each night.

Beautiful views, great hiking, refreshing water, and several families had ATV's. Huckleberries are usually ripe 1st/2nd weeks of August. Very relaxing. Enjoy.

Two other RVs already here so we backed into the shaded nook just as you pull off Lick Creek Rd. Views of the lake but log jams and swampy shore mean no access.

No bugs during the day but Dawn/dusk mosquitoes.

Challenging hike in with packs but very doable. Once you reach the lake it is stunning. We did this hike in July in the evening time. There was plenty of shade and a cool breeze that made it enjoyable. Be aware of the temperature before tackling this hike. There are a number of campable areas surrounding the lake. Hammocking is ideal due to the close clumping of trees all around the lake.

We arrived on a Thursday afternoon in October. There were many spots available along the road leading up to this site. But they were close to the road and we wanted to be off the road. We ended up at the last spot on the road right before the interpretive trail at the end. This spot was tucked into the trees. And once we got our camper backed in, we didn’t even know the road was there. And the VIEW! Wow!! Looking across the lake with the most beautiful sunsets. We stayed for 3 nights. We set up Starlink so we could work on Friday and had no issues with the connection.

9 great sites along the river, fire rings, CTX toilets and down the road from Yellowpine where you can get a beer and use WiFi.

Great fishing, great sights. Plenty of off-road trails.

There is a lot of space in each camp. Not much land in between each camp so be courteous. Good drinking water. A fairly dirty pit bathroom. I’m pretty sure it’s pet friendly. You can walk to the reservoir. The beach is very rocky.

Liked it enough to come back. Had a huge group and multiple dogs in the group site. Very clean camp area. Extremely reasonable prices. Bathrooms are really dirty. Water for drinking is available just a short walk or really short drive. Nice fire pits. Close to water for playing in. There are some towns nearby. Would recommend just use the woods whenever possible.

Just came back from my second week long trip in 3 weeks there. Camped right on the water! I usually go up on Monday stay till Saturday, one of the benefits of being retired! Definitely going to go one more time, maybe two this summer. Very very scenic.

Great spot tucked into the trees. Some sites are a bit cramped, but enjoyable. Cool trails and nearby water to keep the kids occupied. The road is tight but you can get a fifth wheeler in. Every spot looks very easy backing in. No sharp corners, no sacrifices were made in order to back in.

until the late 1980s my family and I camped here with our RVs all the time but a chipmunk they have been trying to save since( they are everywhere...) has resulted in the campgrounds being closed for vehicle use. great place to take a tent and a six pack! little store 3 miles down the road.

This is a little pullout off route 95. Has about 10-15 feet of separation from main road, which gives privacy and protection from cars. The surface is a gravel and can fit a fairly decent amount of vehicles. The sign says you can camp up to 10 days consecutive, we only stayed for the night and continued on. This is also right on little salmon river.