Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Payette National Forest

Cascade Lake is beautiful and an excellent stop over. Water sports and beaches and sand to get into everything.

Sage is a roadside campground with moderate size sites, NO SHADE and level cement pads. My site overlooked the beach , however we had to walk the trail to gain access to the beach. The beach was never crowded, though on occasion it had some annoying and loud boaters who seem to think they were the only ones that were there to enjoy the area. Their dog even tried to attack my leashed dogs. I just did my best to stay at the area of the beach with no one else present.

There was a constant haze in the sky from the wildfires in the area. Kudos to the fire men and women .

Town was very nearby and everything you could need was there, including a huge laundromat and snow mobile dealership. Worth the visit.

Camping is free, limit of 10 days. Not really any designated sites and surrounded by private land with aggressive signage. Not all roads around the reservoir are public, so be prepared to turn around and back up at dead ends. We came to an orange gate that said "private property", and stopped. While trying to turn around, we noticed a white truck sitting behind us. When we turned around and passed him, he motioned to roll down the window, and then berated us and called us idiots, even though we had not even entered the private land, nor did we want to. We felt threatened. In the end we chose a site on the upper road of the reservoir. The view was nice but not close to the pit toilet. No fire ring. No table. A no frills place. Like many lakes in Idaho, the reservoir is mostly dry. Not a huge deal but not the prettiest to look at. There is only one single pit toilet for the whole reservoir and someone was set up right next to it like it was their own. People ride off-road vehicles here. In an area with slim pickings for free camping, I guess you have to take what you can get.

We love camping at Northwest passage campground. It’s beautiful and woodsy. Depending on what campsite you stay in the river is close. The bathrooms are clean and well-kept. There is no running water at the bathrooms. There are three total in the campground. There are only 22 sites so not a huge amount of campers and most of the sites are pretty private with woods separating them. There is a water pump at the entrance of the camp site that you get your water from. There are no hook ups or running water at sites. There are established fire rings and a picnic table. Some of the spots are big enough for trailers. Some are small and cozy for tent campers. The river is walking distance from all sites. It is perfect for paddle boarding kayaking and floating. There is a beach area for the campers that is perfect for kids to play and to relax and watch for floaters. The wild life there is abundant. We saw bald eagles, moose, deer and chipmunks. There is also a climbing crag that has a variety of climbs for different skill levels that is a five minute drive. This campsite is non-reservable. It’s first come first serve and usually very busy. The best time to get a spot is Sunday afternoon or Monday and Tuesday. Towards the weekends most spots are full. One downfall here is the amount of mosquitoes. They are large and thirsty. We came prepared this year with lots of mosquito spray and some thermoscell mosquito deterrent. It helped immensely. I would recommend this campground to anyone who likes a true camping experience. For the most part it was quiet and secluded. McCall is a 15 minute drive. pets are welcome.

I first found out about poverty flats when I was checking out a near by hot spring, Mile 16. I decided to camp here so I could be close by to the spring. The camp ground had about 4 spots being used when I first came. The next day it was us and another couple. There’s a water spigot, and a outhouse. The outhouse hasn’t been maintained much, and was out of toilet paper. The spot is right off the main forest road, so I could hear the occasional car driving by. Other than those two things I really enjoyed our stay. It’s a short walk, or shorter drive, to one of my favorite hot springs in the state. I definitely would recommend poverty flats. It’s a great campsite in the middle of nowhere idaho.

This campsite is located east of Cascade Lake and Donnelly, Idaho. It's a scenic road to get there. The camsite we were in was dry camping with no hook-ups. The camping pad for our 27' Travel Trailer was nice and level. Each campsite had a picnic table and a firepit. There are some nice hiking trails in the vicinity. Mountain biking and horse riding is acceptable there as well. Since we had kayaks, we had a short drive to the boat ramp. There is excellent trout fishing. There is a small swim beach near the Warm Lake Lodge and Restaurant, near where the cabins are. All in all, a great stay, away from the city :-) It's a nice peaceful setting.

On Oregon Highway 86 in Hell's Canyon at Oxbow, across from an Idaho Power Station (and managed by Idaho Power), this was a handy place to stay to be close to a boat launch for a rafting trip we had booked. 

There are tiny campsites (maybe the smallest I've seen) and lovely large campsites here. We lucked out and had reserved a big one on the lawn instead of a little one against the rock wall. We were near the power station but we didn't notice it much due to the trees and stream.

There is shade! This was nice considering it gets hot in Hell's Canyon. Even being next to the river and in a rare shady spot in the canyon, the after-dark temperature was in the upper 80's when we stayed here in early August 2020. They water the lawn at night to keep it green, so heed those "sprinkler - do not camp past this point" signs. The bathrooms look nice online (inc. showers), but we camped here during 2020, so we had a row of sunbaked port-o-potties to contend with.

The location was super practical for our needs, our spot was spacious,  and the canyon is beautiful, but due to the heat I probably would pick a place higher up on the canyon rim or closer to Halfway, OR to camp if camping were the main goal (especially in August).

Fair amount of bugs, but that's not specific to this campground. 

Some stats, according to the Idaho Power website: Day use in the park is free. 59 RV sites with water and electric hookups(30-amp); 10 tent sites with shared water; Picnic area with tables Fire rings; Additional vehicle and boat trailer parking available; Public pay phone (phone card required for non-local calls); Boat launch and docks located approximately one-half mile downstream of the park, on Homestead Road

Copperfield was a mining town known as “the rowdiest town in Oregon” in the early 1900s. Fire destroyed the town in August 1915. The park was built in 1965 on the old town site of Copperfield, Oregon. (https://www.idahopower.com/community-recreation/recreation/parks-and-campgrounds/copperfield-park/)