Best Tent Camping near Ririe, ID

Camping on the banks on the banks of the Warm River, which actually is quite cold, can’t get much better than this! There are several options here- tent camping in a tent only walk in area along the river banks and under some pretty good hammocking trees (best sites are #12, 13, 16, and 8 because they have some space from neighbors and are right on the river); RV sites with what looks like at least electric hook ups (best sites for river views and/or privacy are #2, 4, 6, 19); from what neighbors say is pretty good fishing; and an awesome alternative to camping at Mesa Falls if that campground is full. Walk down the road and cross the river to check out a protected area of the river where the fish are HUGE and you can stand with your toes in the river while you feed them bits of bread. The sites all have the usual picnic tables and firepits, with nice level tent pads, clean vault toilets, and firewood for sale from the campground host. The only two downsides are no showers and the campground is wedged between the road and the river, so there is quite a bit of road noise in the day which fortunately dies down once dark sets in. At that point the river covers the road noise (also helpful in the morning). The campground is close to a lot of hiking trails, but there are no trailheads in the campground (so I guess that makes three bummers). All in all, a cool place to camp.

Unfortunately it was raining the whole night we showed up. However there was a covered pavilion, with a fridge, and 2 walls. We were able to stay dry under the pavilion and cook our food on the stove we bought. We were tent camping which offers plenty of picnic tables and nice green grass. There are plenty of areas from for RV camping along with hookups. There's also a boat ramp.

Now the bad, as we were getting ready to go to bed, the sprinklers came on. Thankfully we had springbar tents that were able to take the rain as well as the sprinklers. We tried waking the camp host to turn them off. Didn't work. We just waited it out and we were fine.

The campsite firepits, and pavillions with fridges, basketball courts, a boat doc, and bathrooms (clean, with no nasty smell, and hand blower dryers).

McCoy Campground, spot 10, has the most stunning view! Bathrooms close by and an old fashioned “pump it yourself” well (that didnt work despite pumping my butt off)... but the dammed area of the snake river has plenty of fresh water regardless. Fire rings, swing out grill, bear boxes and a nice steel picnic table make this spot typical and complete. Not made for large RVs and bring padding if you are taking the tents. The view of the mountains and water is breath taking. I could have stayed much longer! You can hear voices and music from across the river as clear as day. There were a few water skiers and a couple fishermen. I tried my hand at fishing and got nothing for my 4 days of effort. Plenty of drift wood and fallen branches for firewood. One of the small berry bushes had branches that smelled like cherries when it burned. Rather pleasant surprise. This place was just amazing!

I have not personally spent the night camping here, but I do work for the Forest Service and wanted to give more information about the Darby Canyon dispersed camping sites. I also had a friend stay here for three nights last September and they had a good time. There are about 10~ sites (I will check and edit when I can) all along the canyon road, some are just right off road and others require a short drive down beaten paths to find the sites. All of these sites (except 2 or so very close to the road) are past the cattle guard. Depending on the time of year, many of these sites may not be accessible. Snow typically stays in the canyon until mid-June and starts collecting in October. The area may also be buggy at the height of the summer (July 2024 had been atrocious). There is limited cell service down most of the road and it completely disappears the closer to the Wind Cave trailhead you get. This area has a 14 day stay limit, meaning that once 14 days (13 nights) have been reached you must move at least 5 miles away to continue camping on forest service land and cannot return to this canyon to camp for 30 days. This is in a bear food storage enforced area and any bear attractants (food, pet food, soaps, sunscreen, etc.) are required to be stored properly in a locked hard sided vehicle or other bear resistant containers. Fires are allowed but must be put out dead (cold to the touch) before leaving a campsite. This canyon is regularly patrolled by Forest Service staff and ranger law enforcement officers, especially on the weekends, to keep up with the food storage and fires out dead orders. Hope this helps weary travelers that are deterred by low-rated reviews.