Are you planning a tent camping trip to Payette National Forest? We've got you covered. The Dyrt helps you find campsites with tent camping near Payette National Forest. Each tent campsite offers quick access to one or more of Payette National Forest's most popular destinations.
Located along Brundage Reservoir are several dispersed campsites suitable for tent or small RV camping. Fishing is great at the reservoir so bring your fishing pole. Small motor boats are allowed on the reservoir. No tables available, but there are several fire rings and a restroom. CAmpsites are not reservable - no fees are charged for using these dispersed camp sites. Expect cold nights and warm days.
The Lick Creek area is just east of McCall and is accessed from Lick Creek Road. This is a beautiful area that many think of as the Alps of Idaho. There are many recreation opportunities in this area such as camping, a guard station cabin rental and many trailheads that lead to alpine lakes. A drive to the top of Lick Creek Summit from McCall only takes about 40 minutes. This is a highly recommended area! Camping & Cabin Rental Lake Fork Guard Station Cabin Rental Lake Fork Campground Black Lee Dispersed Camp Site 33 Mile Dispersed Camp Site Scenery Scenic Drive: Lick Creek Road to the South Fork of the Salmon River. Hiking Hum Lake/North Fork Lick Creek Trail #082 Loon Creek Tail #084 Duck/Hum Lake Trail #085 to #082 Fitsum Creek Trail #087 Lake Fork Creek to Paddy Flat Trail #103 East Fork of Lake Fork Creek Trail (Snowslide) #104 Fall Creek Loop Trail #107 Fall Creek Saddle Trail #108 Crestline Trail #109 Box Lake Trail #110 Maki Lake Trail #135 Lake Fork First Bridge Trail #339 Rock Climbing Slick Rock
This is a rustic dispersed campground with 7 sites located next to Granite Lake. Several trails leave from this camping area. Sites have tables and fire rings and there is one restroom. The road to the site is not suitable for large RVs. Four-wheel drive is recommended to access Granite Lake. Most suited for tent camping. Camping sites are not reservable and no fees are charged for use of these dispersed camp sites. Expect warm days and cool nights.
The Paddy Flat and Jughandle Mountain area is located southeast of McCall on the McCall Ranger District. Paddy Flat is accessed from Paddy Flat road a few miles north of Donnelly, Idaho. Jughandle Mountain can be accessed via trail from the Paddy Flat area, the Boulder Lake Area, and from the Lake Fork Creek Trailhead. Recreation sites within the area: Kennelly Creek Campground Paddy Flat Camping Area Rapid Creek Camping Area Paddy Flat Guard Station Cabin Rental East Fork Kennelly Creek Trail #099 North Fork Kennelly Creek Trail #102 Paddy Flat/Lake Fork Trail #103 Boulder Lake Trail #105
This is a small, quiet two-unit dispersed camping area located in the Paddy Flat area. Adjacent to Rapid Creek. Tables, fire rings and toilet available on site.
This dispersed walk-in 3 unit campground is located along the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River. The site is popular with boaters floating the East Fork of the South Fork Salomon River. Adjacent to the road, so can be noisey and dusty.
Picnic Point Campground is located on a bluff overlooking beautiful Warm Lake, at an elevation of 5,300 feet. Visitors enjoy boating, fishing, swimming, hiking and viewing local wildlife.
Warm Lake offers great fishing opportunities for cutthroat, rainbow, lake and bull trout. Boating, canoeing and swimming are popular activities. A boat ramp is located at neighboring Shoreline Campground. Billy Rice Swim Beach is within walking distance, offering a day-use site for picnicking and access to a swimming beach. The surrounding area offers great hiking, mountain biking, horseback and off-road vehicle riding and hunting. The WeWuKiye (Wa Wu Kia) Trail No. 252 was recently built and can be accessed nearby, at the entrance to Shoreline Campground. It is available for hiking and mountain biking. For off-road vehicle enthusiasts, Telephone Ridge Trail No. 112 offers 20 miles of trails for all riding levels, with staging areas at Shoreline Campground and at Warm Lake Campground down the road.
The campground is situated beneath towering ponderosa pines, which provide partial shade. Summer wildflowers are abundant in the area. A variety of wildlife including bears, deer, elk, fox, grouse, eagles, osprey, grosbeaks, whooping cranes and otters, lives around the lake.
Rustic North Shore Lodge is not far from the campground, offering a small restaurant, lounge and store with limited supplies.
$15 / night
Guide
Work outing so a great place for a large group with multiple options for tent camping. Great fishing and hiking.
Scout
Great campground..set for RVS .but you can tent camp as well. Water hookups...no electric. They do have companion sites..a place for two trailers...
TravelerBeautiful campground with hot showers and flush toilets. Hookups for RV's and trailers. Tent camping. Nice lake close by with boat, wave runner, pontoon boat rentals. Reserve in advance!
Guide
Nice grassy sites, water right there, vault toilets, fire rings and picnic tables, tent camping or RVs. Not a lot of shade but cools down nice at night. Lots to do nearby!
Scout
Stayed a few nights while exploring area. Camp hosts do a great job keeping the camp facilities very clean. Our site a bit noisy in the evening (tent camping) due to periodic logging trucks rolling by, but not bad. Overall great facility
Traveler
I have stayed here on a few occasions. The tent sites are great and separate from the RVs. Bathrooms were super clean. It was in the fall, so there weren't a ton of other visitors. Definitely recommend!
Traveler
Nice quiet campground. Multiple RV and tent sites. Dump station is available for guests on your way out. RV sites have water and electricity (20 & 30 amp). Hot showers for overnight guests. Situated right along the snake river below the Oxbow dam.
Scout
I came here during the summer of 2020 with my family. We had a great time. It was relaxing and beautiful to be outside. The sunsets were nice it was clean and quiet during the duration of our stay. The campsites themselves can be a little cramped and we were tent camping. Other than that, it was great with easy access to the water.
GuideRates went up in 2018 :(
Ponderosa has 2 parts to it. Their main area located next to town is good if you have an rv or like a lot of people. It gets very crowded and can be noisy at night. But water access is pretty easy, along with biking & hiking.
Their other area of tent camping is a little more quiet. Fcfs with 0 hook ups but is basic.
Traveler
Great places to hike, kayak, swim, or go boating. After 6pm motorized boats are not allowed on the water. It has cabins as well as tent sites. Not very secluded, to many people for my liking so if you dont want neighbors try another place. It does haave a little store which is nice.
Traveler
This is a family friendly campground that is convenient to Donnelly and Cascade areas. AT&T 3bars LTE service as well as free wifi make communication and planning easy. Full Hookup sites, some tent sites, trash, showers, laundry, toilets all accessible with site rent. Would definitely stay again when in the area. Clean facilities, family owned.
Guide
This little gem of a campground is worth the effort to find. We drove past the sites along the road to find this one. It was right off the road. You will see the sign and the pit toilet. The sites are accross the road and behind the building. There are only two tent sites that are available. You can probably find more spaces for more than two tents.
Parking is available close to the sites but you will have to carry gear to the site. Worth it!
GuidePonderosa in McCall is a massive state park complex. There are hundreds of trailer and tent camping sites. The main campground to the right of the main gate is very busy but is very close to the day use beach. the beach and day use area is great and the views of payette lake are worth it. follow the roads or hiking trails up toward the north end of the lake and there are awesome cliffs to look over the entire area as well as some really good huckleberry picking, if you know where to go.
Traveler
We tent camped here in July 2018. Sugarloaf is off by itself at the end of the lake, so it’s a little more laid back there. Our group simply set our in the morning and camped out on the beach with our gear. we had paddle boards, a canoe, and a floatie and spent the entire day out there. there was some nice sand for the kids to build with. We also went fishing in a different spot and watched the most beautiful sunset. The birds we saw here wwre absolutely amazing. we saw multiple ospreys, pelicans, and mountain bludbirds. I would go back to camp here any time.
RangerI camped here with my parents in 2018, to hike the trails and go to their “secret” soaking spot.
There are closer spots to get some hot spring action than where we went. If you don’t find a private spot there are plenty more if you are adventurous.
We stayed in an RV, but tent camping is also available at this location.
My parents made the reservation in advance to make sure we could spend some quality time.
You will catch some sulfur smells here and there but that’s expected with the type of geological activity in the area.
There’s seemingly endless places to lounge in the river with plenty of shallow areas.
Legend
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/)
Guide
Picnic Point on warm lake in the cascade ranger district is one of the most amazing camp grounds out there. It is on a elevated bluff overlooking the lake and the lodge. There are 8 tent sites in this walk up only campground. When we were there there were still 4 sites available. If you are lucky you can get a site that overlooks the whole lake. The guys next to us had hammocks and an unobstructed view of the lake. During the day the lake was busy with boats and people, but it quiets down a lot at night. Pit toilets are available, and if you forgot something the lodge at the bottom of the hill will gladly charge you for it. This place was amazing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gear review. As a dyrt ranger I also get products to test and review in the field. On this trip I reviewed some of the products I received from Green Goo. They have organic natural based balms and salves for most needs. The first day I got quite a few mosquito bites around may ankles, and man did they itch. I rubbed the green goo first aid balm on them and the itch instantly went away. I noticed that it lasted all day too, which calamine lotions usually do not. That night as we were getting ready for bed, we massaged our 1 year old son with the baby goo. It has a very pleasant smell of lavender. I'll tell you what that baby slept so well we have started using the baby goo at home. he loves it and the shiny tin keeps him distracted as we put it on him. I highly recomend all of green goos products they just work. Check them out at http://www.sierrasageherbs.com/index.html
ScoutVery clean well manicured campground next to the little salmon river 9 miles south of Riggins Idaho in Pollack, ID.
We have stayed here two times on our way to Grangeville and the owners are helpful and the store is well stocked with supplies and local Idaho wines. sites are gravel with nicely maintained grass between. Sites have water and electric with a central dump station near the park exit. Cools at night and the sound of the river next to the park makes for a good nights sleep. Tents are permitted in individual sites. Will stay here again.
Scout
I went to book this for a weekend for a family trip in the summer.. They do not have any tent spots. She was OK with our motorhome and one tent but the minute I said we had two kids and two small tents. She immediately informed me that she would not be renting to us. 
Scout
Qyet, beautiful lake, good fishing. Tents and small RV's only. This is a great canoe lake.
Traveler
This small campground has it all. Sand area for tents, showers and rent boat, canoe and kayaks at the small marina
GuideWe loved this campground! Nice place to bring bikes, very close to beautiful lake, fishing, camp store, swimming etc.
Had concrete pads for tents. Very peaceful place.
Scout
This campground costs $10 a night, for a tent spot. Nice creek running by the campground. Plenty of spots to choose from. Does not get heavily used.
There is great hiking from the campground. Close to McCall!
GuideTent pads were clean and well leveled. Bathrooms were clean and showers were free. Water and power available. Great walking path around and down to the lake as well! Quick 10min ride into town for a nice lake side dinner.
TravelerClean campsite right on the river which has access for boat put in/wade access. Perfect for fishing the St. Joe. Large campsites as well (able to fit multiple tents)
ScoutWe’ve been here twice now. First 2021 and again June 2024. Campground is well kept. Showers and facilities clean. Minutes from Donnelly Idaho for “the things you forgot”. Great views coming back again for sure.
ScoutThis is a great site for families- either in a tent or in a camper. Great bike paths and access to amenities. The beach access is easy and beautiful. Campground is located in McCall- making it easy to go buy groceries or eat out. The breweries there are also great.
Tent camping near Payette National Forest in Idaho offers a serene escape into nature, with a variety of campgrounds that cater to outdoor enthusiasts looking for adventure and tranquility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Payette National Forest?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Payette National Forest is Brundage Reservoir Camping Area with a 4.3-star rating from 3 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Payette National Forest?
TheDyrt.com has all 62 tent camping locations near Payette National Forest, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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