Searching for a campsite that allows pets near Salmon-Challis National Forest? Find the best sites near Salmon-Challis National Forest where you bring your dog and enjoy a scenic view. Each pet-friendly campsite offers quick access to one or more of Salmon-Challis National Forest's most popular destinations.
Stanley Lake Campground is located on the shoreline above beautiful Stanley Lake at the foot of the Sawtooth Mountains.
Stanley Lake offers excellent boating, water skiing, canoeing, kayaking and fishing for rainbow, cutthroat, brook and bull trout. A boat ramp is located just outside the campground. The Idaho Centennial Trail passes nearby and can be accessed from the Stanley Lake Trailhead across the lake.
The campground is situated on a hillside above the lake in a thick grove of lodgepole pines, at an elevation of 6,500 feet. Most campsites have partial shade and views of the lake and/or the rugged 9860-foot McGowan Peak. Temperatures are cool, with an average summer high of 78 degrees and a low of 40 degrees.
Stanley Lake lies within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, which offers a myriad of excellent hiking and biking opportunities. An estimated 750 miles of trails crisscross the valley and surrounding mountains. Numerous sparkling lakes and streams, including the Salmon River, dot the area, making for great rainbow and native Westslope cutthroat trout fishing. Redfish Lake is nearby, offering additional water recreation opportunities. Popular area events include an Arts and Crafts Fair in July, and Wagon Days, Salmon Festival, Quilt Fair and Fireman's Ball in September.
$24 / night
The Challis Hot Springs is a 5th generation family-owned destination in the Round Valley, home of Challis, Idaho. The property is on the bank of the Salmon River, 70 miles from the headwaters of the “River of No Return.” Our primary amenity is natural odorless hot springs which constantly replenish with continuous freshwater supplied by nature through the river rock bottoms. Most guests enjoy the springs while camping in the RV and tent campground, which features mature trees, and irrigated grass sites, all within a stone’s throw of the Salmon River, which fronts the entire property. Our campground is the perfect location to launch your kayaking or rafting trip, fish for trout and steelhead, or just watch the wildlife. In particular, the herd of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep frequents the cliffside above the property.
$29 - $43 / night
Casino Creek Campground is composed of 19 sites including 2 double-sites along the Salmon River. Sites 18 & 19 are for tent camping only and sites 12, 13 and 14 accommodate livestock tethered to hitching rails. Casino Creek trailhead is located within the campground leading to trails along Big Casino Creek and Little Casino Creek which lead to the Casino Lakes in the White Cloud Mountains to the east and the Sawtooth Mountains to the west. This area is terrific for fishing and hiking along the beautiful Salmon river and surrounding creeks. All sites are first-come, first-serve.
$18 - $36 / night
A beautiful high mountain lake is the setting for this out-of-the-way campground. Plenty of fishing in lakes and streams. Good hiking and ATV trail access. Campsite facilities include picnic tables and fire rings with cooking grills. Within the campground, there are vault toilets and a day-use picnic area. On Bayhorse Lake campers will find a boat launch and two boat docks for use by non-motorized watercraft.
This dirt road is narrow and steep and while trailers are allowed, caution is advised; best fit for trailers and motorhomes less than 32 feet long. No drinking water is on-site, and please pack out your trash.
Sunny Gulch Campground sits along the shores of Salmon River in the forests of central Idaho.
Excellent fishing is right out your back door on the Salmon River, with rainbow trout, Westslope cutthroat trout and occasional hybrid cutbows and bull trout available. Sunny Gulch lies in the heart of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. A myriad of excellent hiking and biking opportunities are available, and an estimated 750 miles of trails crisscross the valley and surrounding mountains.
The campground offers spectacular views of the Sawtooth Mountains. Summer wildflowers are plentiful and lodgepole pines provide partial shade. Temperatures are cool with an average summer high of 78 degrees and a low of 40 degrees.
The Alpine Way Trail begins less than a mile from the campground, and the Idaho Centennial Trail passes nearby. Redfish and Stanley Lakes are nearby with great boating, water skiing, canoeing, kayaking and fishing. Numerous additional sparkling lakes and streams dot the area. Popular area events include an Arts and Crafts Fair in July, and Wagon Days, Salmon Festival, Quilt Fair and Fireman's Ball in September.
$24 - $125 / night
This campground is the first of several campsites along the canyon formed by the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River. Fishing for rainbow trout in the river, and interpretive and historical tours available nearby. Each site has picnic tables, fire rings with cooking grills. There is a Vault toilet. The sites accomodate trailers and motorhomes up to 32 feet.
$5 / night
At Round Valley RV in Challis, we cater to those who want to experience everything the world has to offer by traveling the open road and enjoying the natural beauty. The great thing about camping is there are so many ways to do it. Whether you wish for a more rustic experience in a tent, or to observe the views in the height of RV luxury, we have something to offer you. However you choose to experience the world around you, let us bring you our best in views, amenities, and access to a variety of activities. Enjoy the scenic landscape, outdoor activities, and convenient amenities, located in beautiful Challis, Idaho. If you are looking for a beautiful and unique experience, Challis is a goldmine for those seeking a balance between adventure and peaceful serenity.
This recreation site has 11 campsites and a day use picnic area along the shore of Mosquito Flat Reservoir near Challis. Nearby, the Yankee Fork Trail (#147) provides access to the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. Each campsite is equipped with picnic tables and fire rings. The campground accomodates motorhomes and trailers up to 32-foot long. There are vault toilets on site, but no drinking water or garbage services within the site. Fish Your National Forests: This site can be accessed by Passenger Car; Fish available include: Trout; Types of fishing available include: Wade, Shore, Non-motorized boat, Float tube, Fly, Spin, Bait;
This small, but popular campground is near Challis and along the Custer Motorway. Nearby access for rainbow trout fishing in Mill Creek. The motorized trail to the east of the campground heads south to Bayhorse Lake campground and trail system. Eight camping units contain picnic tables and fire rings, with an additional larger site that fits group camping. The campground amentities include a vault toilet and hand pump for drinking water. No garbage collection service is available. ATV use on Forest Roads only - no riding within campground.
Legend
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.
Ranger
Simple campground along Salmon River--beautiful setting, with maybe 5 spaces, not all of which are marked well but do have picnic tables to indicate. Also a vault toilet at loop campground. Buggy, even with river flowing and slight wind. Free, which is nice. Can hear US93 traffic, but not bad considering neighbor ran generator which drowned out some noise.
Guide
I enjoyed my 2 night stay here. I pitched a tent however it was quite windy due to it being an open area so just stake your tent down well. I had a spot right beside the salmon river and was able to access this campsite via my Honda Accord vehicle.
GuideThis was a great stay. I found a place to pitch a tent right beside the river. There seemed to be plenty of spots some vacant at times. It was close to Highway 75 but did get some traffic noise but the river drowned most of it out. Would stay here again!
Guide
Stayed here for two nights. The first night I have the whole area to myself. The second night there was two other campers. Doesn't seem to be super popular or high in demand. So finding a spot shouldn't be a problem. There was about six or more parking/camping areas. No Wi-Fi or Verizon signal. There is a toilet available. Access to the river as well.
Guide
Clean bathrooms and showers, good space. Didn't see a store of any kind. Tiny view of mountains. They charge an extra amount for choosing your spot, but it makes no difference really as the place is quite small.
Ranger
Spend 6 nights here while exploring Stanley, the sawtooths, and Boise National Forest. Big sites, beautiful lake, and very private. Really enjoyed our stay here.
TravelerClean bathrooms and showers, good space. Didn't see a store of any kind. Tiny view of mountains. They charge an extra amount for choosing your spot, but it makes no difference really as the place is quite small.
Ranger
Stoped for an overnight on our way to glacier. Clean and nice park.
RangerThis place was great. Great view. Friendly staff. Had hot showers. Bathroom and laundry. The night sky was beautiful.
Traveler
Got to Stanley area around 6pm on a Friday. Drove to Stanley Lake and Iron Creek but everything was full. Decided to drive down Rd 653 then to Rd 633 to see if there was anything open and found a good spot about 2 miles in from hwy 21. I passed quite a few people but spots are pretty far apart and the only people I could see from my campsite were all the way across the valley. Only animals I saw were some antelope, ground squirrels, and cows. Pretty wildflowers all around too. It was a good place to stop for the night!
Traveler
Beautiful grass in most of the spots. Fire rings, bathrooms near by. We have a 26 ft TT and this was perfect right off highway. Only stayed one day due to it being a little warm and we were heading up north. Did have shade and it cooled off at night . Lots of room for our dogs to run by site without bothering others.
ScoutIf you get one of the site overlooking the sawtooths count yourself lucky
TravelerPulled over mid day to spend the afternoon and night. We took the second to last spot on the river side. Arrived at noon on a Tuesday, departed at 8am next day and were the only campers. Very easy river access from site, but water is moving quickly. We walked to the other side of the bridge and let our dogs jump in where the water was calmer. Overall really clean and well maintained space. The only thing that will prevent us from coming back is the cottonwood tree droppings. They’re everywhere and very sticky, so if you have long haired dogs, it’s a nightmare to get them out.
Guide
Nice view of the lake. Quiet time of year to visit.
ScoutWe love camping in this campground. The reason for only three stars is because of the extremely rude behavior of the"camp host". We will not be going back as long as she is still there. This is our third time camping there and we have never seen treated so poorly by a camp host.
TravelerNo camping signs everywhere- day use only
Ranger
After riding ID75, it was time to find camp. Sure there are a bazillion to choose from along the highway, but I wanted to soak in the highly reviewed waters. I was NOT disappointed!!! Beautiful lawn, one of the freshest hot springs I’ve visited, and great campers. Side not: this place was recently purchased/handed over to the Idaho State Parks system.
Ranger
Nice clean campground. Only issue you did have some road noise since it’s right on the road. Picked up starlink service but no Verizon signal. Campground was pretty quiet not busy at all.
TravelerTook advice from the other review and entered through the east from hwy21. Found my spot about 2.5- 3 miles in. This was the only one I saw at about 7pm on a Wednesday. Had entertainment from cows in the distance!
Legend
Toxaway Lake was the first stop on our backpacking trip (Alice-Toxaway Loop). We started at Tin Cup Trailhead and did the loop counterclockwise. This campsite was about 7.5 miles from the trailhead.
We had 3 tents and each tent was able to have plenty of space from the other. We also had a great spot for cooking and hanging the bear bag.
This particular site we could walk down a path right to the lake where there was a small beach with breathtaking views!
I highly recommend this primitive campsite.
Legend
We stayed at the campsites at Mountain Village Resort after backpacking the Alice-Toxaway Loop. The staff was amazing but the campsites are not individual/numbered you just find a spot on the grass. There were multiple weddings happening and it was very loud (yelling, music) until about 1:30 am. The hot spring tub was a highlight and the views were amazing! The resort bar had delicious food and the bakery in town was amazing. I would have rated this site higher if it wasn’t so loud. It also would have been nice to have fire pits.
ScoutBeautiful and quiet area along a creek and against the forest.
Guide
This place is absolutely gorgeous. The road can be a bit sketchy in spots but all in all not completely difficult. I did it with my Tacoma pulling a tiny camper but when I arrived at the lake, there were much larger vehicles than mine already there.
The vault bathrooms were clean, and I met one of the rangers while I was there who was super friendly.
This area is open range, and there are cattle roaming the grassland next to the lake. Watch your step on the paths around the site. Haha.
Guide
We were the only ones there, each spot is super private, there aren’t many spots. Ours was right on the river and we could easily go down and swim from our site. Fully dispersed no services, no cell signal (verizon). Only con is that it is close enough to hwy 93 that you can see and hear cars going by, but it’s not a super busy road.
Legend
This area along lower Iron Creek Road had some rough free dispersed spots that had cell signal from Stanley. As of June 2023 there are info boards and signage that notes dispersed camping only in designated spots marked on the ground with new signs. I saw an A group and a B group and may be more farther up but the road was so rough washboard potholed I did not check. These sites are small and not suitable for RVs and large TTs in my opinion. No toilets, no dumpsters and no water. However, this is very close to Stanley town.
Legend
Shaded CG next to wilderness. 21sitea, three vault toilets, dumpsters, one hand water pump. No host. $10/$5 senior, 14d limit. Too shady for good solar or Starlink use by me! Sites are small and not suited for large TT or Rvs. CG road is narrow. No cell service TMobile.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dog-friendly campsite near Salmon-Challis National Forest?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near Salmon-Challis National Forest is Stanley Lake Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 16 reviews.
What is the best site to find dog-friendly camping near Salmon-Challis National Forest?
TheDyrt.com has all 59 dog-friendly camping locations near Salmon-Challis National Forest, with real photos and reviews from campers.
