Camping near Salmon-Challis National Forest

Sunny Gulch is a NFS campground right between Stanley, Idaho and Redfish Lake. The views are incredible and the location can’t be beat. The campground has two loops with the lower loop being closer to Highway 75 (not noisy at all at night) and more appropriate for smaller rigs while the upper loop has some larger sites with some above the Salmon River. All sites have picnic table, prep table, fire ring and tent pad and are quite large and lots of space between sites. Sites are FCFS except for 10 reservable sites; camp host is fantastic and super friendly. Firewood is available at the host site and vault toilets are located throughout the campground and water pumps are also positioned within a short walk of most sites. The Ranger Station is 1/2 mile away and has four dump stations ($12 as of this review) and free fresh water if the pumps at the campground don’t suit your needs.

Redfish Lake and all that encompasses is 1/2 mile to the south; the town of Stanley is beyond the Ranger Station about 2 miles to the north. We’ll definitely stay here again if we’re in the area!

Exceptionally clean and well kept BLM campground. Tables, fire pits, and grills at each well spaced site. Close to the highway, but noise at night is minimal. No cell reception of any kind. Starlink works. Next to the Salmon River (raft trips) and a lot of nearby sites and experiences to take in: Malm Canyon Petrified Sequoias, Bayhorse Ghost Town and lakes, Custer Motorway with more lakes, ghost towns, and mining history; Yankee Fork State Park and Challis Hot Springs, many other primitive hot springs, miles of dedicated ATV/OHV and motorcycle trails not to mention hiking, fishing, hunting in season and a wild horse herd. Supplies of all kinds available in Challis 10 miles away.

Camped in site #15 on Sept 27, 2024. Paid $10 with senior pass. Nothing remarkable about the campground itself, but the trails leading out of the campground are really good. There is access to the Salmon River at the end of the campground road for bank/fly fishing; caught a nice rainbow trout. Sites along the river appear larger than those backing up to the hill. The river side sites are open sky, good for solar recharging and Starlink. The sites across the road have partial shade. There were a few pull-thrus; otherwise, back-ins. Campground is popular for OHV enthusiasts and hikers. Most sites are close to the dusty campground road. Vault toilet was not quite clean, although it was at the end of the summer season. There is a hand water pump. Site 15 is a small, almost level site with a pea gravel surface; it appeared to have a tent pad at the rear. This site has a table and metal fire ring. There is road noise from highway 75 across the river. It was very busy here during our stay, probably because forest service campgrounds west of Stanley were closed due to wildfires. There were a lot of drive-bys on the campground road. Nearby travel trailers with large noisy families kind of ruined the ambiance of this small campground; did not respect quiet hours. Campground probably okay for an overnight stay, fly fishing on the Salmon River or for accessing the trailheads. Overall, I did not enjoy camping here. I did, however, enjoyed hiking and fishing here. I am not likely to camp here again.