Best Tent Camping near Porthill, ID

Not accessible by car, and takes a couple of hours to hike to it, but well worth it for the solitude once you’re there. While all the drive-up sites on lower Priest Lake were full there was no one at Navigation! (Literally NO ONE)

A few rocky beaches with boat access. A vault toilet, a few picnic tables and fire rings, but lots of space among the trees to set up camp.

It took a little over two hours to hike in from Beaver Creek campground. Plowboy campground is about at the halfway point.

No water available.

I hiked in and had the place to myself.

This section of the Colville, there is so much to see and do! This campground is close to many attractions and has great fishing! The parking areas are really long and most have a great view of the lake. Bear boxes fire rings and picnic tables are all provided at most every site. There is also bear proof trash and water spigots near by the sites as well. This is right on the Pend Oreille River, and there is a nice boat launch and fishing pier. The sites are extra large and can take just about any RV size you have. The roads in are nice and paved as well. The bathrooms are maintained regularly and have toilet paper, You can reserve site here or there are FSFS sites as well but it is a small campground and there are only a few sites to be had as it is, I think they run around $21 a night, and no hookups.

***All reviews below this and above this are for Crescent lake in the Olympic National Park (also beautiful), Not this Crescent lake in the Colville National Forest, which the map indicates.

This Campground is in the thick of the Colville National Forest, on the East side of Washington State. There are only three campsites, best for tents or very small campers, no your 40 foot RV will not fit.....They are not reserveable, fcfs. It is a free campground, 1 mile south of the Canadian border. The road in is narrow and has a bit of down hill slope. Each site is equipped with fire rings, bear boxes and picnic tables. There is one Vault toilet. Bring your own water as there is no access. There is also one bear proof trash can. The campground is up hill from the lake in thick of pines. Just up the road from Crescent lake is the Boundary Dam Vista House. It offers beautiful views of the Boundary Dam, The Canada Border and Beyond, The Pend Oreille River, The Selkirk Mountains, and more! Also close to Metaline Falls, where the 1997 Kevin Costner Film, The Postman, was filmed.

The lake was even clearer than the one on the west side, it is stocked with Rainbow trout, and it's super awesome to see where you are fishing. For being a roadside lake I was quite impressed. There are a very few, SMALL, pull offs on the small dirt road on the lake. At the end is a slightly larger area to turn around in, or park (please leave enough room to let others turn around) There is a rope swing, however, the lake is not deep enough at the moment to be able to swing. People do kayak and canoe. There is no room for your trailer. If it fits in or on your car, feel free to use your boat. Most importantly please, respect this area, it's beauty is unparalleled.

Noisy Creek is a large campground on Sullivan Lake's south side. It Is run by the U.S. Forest Service so provides lots of amenities. Some of these include a dock, boatlaunch, Day use facilities, trash pickup/bear bins, water, and vault toilets. The site says it has nineteen campsites, but I swear there were many more than that plus 4-5 group sites on the group side. The pricing is as follows: Single site:$20 Extra vehicle:$10 Day use:$5 The camp host had firewood for sale at$8, which is good because you are 20-30 min from the nearest small town. Be aware you are in bear country here so camp appropriately. Bear Boxes are provided in site as well as fire pits, picnic tables and tent pads. The sites are spacious and fairly separated also. With a quick walk to the lake it is a great summer spot to take the family! If I am not camping in the dispersed sites on the north side of the lake I am here. Overall a great campground you should check out!

This is for Crescent Lake in the NE corner of washington, not the one in the olympics(which is also a wonderful campground). This campground consists of 3 sites decked out with picnic tables, a fire pit, tent pad and bear boxes. There is a vault toilet close to all sites and a bear proof trash bin. There is no host, store, water, or other amenities, the perfect rustic getaway! It is run by the US Forest Service and is TOTALLY free!!! No pass or fee needed. It is just up the hill from the pristine small lake on the road to the Vista House. The vista house is a single room with windows overlooking the Pendorile river as it flows through Boundary Dam and into Canada. The Vista House hase mens and womens flush restrooms if you are camping here and need a bit of civilisation! It is 1 mile from a canadian border crossing yet gets very little traffic. The best feature of this campground is the gorgeous turquoise water in Crescent Lake. It is stocked seasonally with brown and rainbow trout. I have seen MANY turtles and frogs on the shores, as well as elk, deer, bald eagles and even a bear! The Boundary Dam is about 20 minutes away and offers free tours plus there are the Gardner Caves close to that, so there are always activities to do. This is a must see treasure of washington and I HIGHLY recommend at least visiting.

This campground seems to be designed for and attract mostly RV campers with boats since there is a boat launch at this facility. There are only 6 small tent camping spots right next to the dam's bright lights. The tent sites are VERY close together so there is a lack of privacy and only 1 tent spot per site. Campsites have a fire ring and picnic table. We noticed that the campground sprinklers come on in the morning and spray the tent sites so beware of where you place your tent. There is a potable water spigot next to where the tent site parking is but the bathrooms are a little bit of a walk. We didn't see any staffing while we were there but the bathrooms, which had flushable toilets and handwashing sinks, were well maintained. There is a picnic shelter area and rocky shore area you can hang out on. Pee Wee Falls is a short paddle (1/4 mile?) around the right side bend from the boat launch area. We went Labor Day weekend and we were the only tent campers the first night (Friday) and then a single tent camper showed up the next day. The RV sites were packed full when we arrived very late Friday night. We had a great stay since we were one of the only tent campers and it's a free campground with all the basic amenities we needed to be comfortable.