Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Salmon-Challis National Forest? Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Salmon-Challis National Forest, including sites, reviews, and tips. Search nearby tent campsites or find top-rated spots from other campers.
Beautiful high mountain lake with plenty of fishing. Hiking trail connects to Bayhorse Lake. Three primitive campsites are equipped with picnic tables and fire rings. There is a toilet within the campground, but no drinking water or garbage pick-up available on site. Road access is steep and narrow. The last 1/2 mile to the lake is rough, trailers are not recommended here.
Redfish Inlet Trailhead
Eight sites are located along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River away from the busy Boundary Creek launch area. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. The campground amenities include a vault toilet and drinking water. There are no garbage services available. The water falls are magnificent and the fishing terrific.
This trailhead has hitching rails and dispersed campsites. No toilet or drinking water is available. Lower Basin Trail #4349, begins at this point. It connects with several other trails in the Basin Creek area
This trailhead provides access for the Marsh Creek Trail #4237, the Bear Valley-Marsh Creek Trail #4010, and the Middle Fork Trail #001.
Small but nice camping area along the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River. Ideal for families that want a good place to hunt or fish or just relax. There is a vault toilet and the meadow across the road can accomodate larger camp trailers. Notes: There is no drinking water on site and no hookups are available, please pack out your garbage. 16 day stay limit .
Beautiful setting along Beaver Creek, this campground is close to access for the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. Fishing for trout in Beaver Creek, in nearby Cape Horn lakes, and in the many alpine lakes found along the trail in the wilderness. Trail #4021 leaves the campground to go north into the wilderness. Horse corrals with feeding stations are across the road, at the trailhead. Facilities at each of the 8 campsites include tables and fire rings with cooking grills. Within the campground amenities include hand pump for well water and newer vault toilets. While there are no full hook-ups, the campsites accomodate trailers and motorhomes up to 32 feet long.
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.
Traveler
My husband and I came to this spot with our 28ft trailer, luckily we were able to squeeze in. Lots of spots to choose from too. The campsites were clean and very peaceful place to camp for a few nights.
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!
ScoutI recently faced the big challenge of choosing the right signs for my office interior and found Bsign. Their selection of door signs was quite impressive, especially the modern and minimalist designs. For example, in the"Modern" category they offer a combination of stainless steel and acrylic glass with the option to add text in ADA format, which is not only stylish but also functional. Also worth mentioning is the"Wave" series with a combination of steel and wood, which adds coziness to any atmosphere. They have easy to install signs, which saved me a lot of time.
Traveler
Site 5, probably the best. Clean, cheap, safe, right on the river. 5 miles from downtown.Sure,it’s close to the road, but it’s not that bad. I probably wouldn’t make it a 5 day vacation site,but I’m sure people do. I’d 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.
TravelerWe stayed at this campground initially because it was right at the trailhead for the hike to Goat Lake. We got there around 5 and there were still plenty of sites available. It was pretty buggy, but it’s right next to a creek, so that’s what you expect. It was quiet and the sound of the creek made it easy to sleep after a long day.
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.
RangerStoped for an overnight on our way to glacier. Clean and nice park.
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
We drove in on a late Thursday night, June 27th, to find the entire campground packed, and even struggled to find a dispersed camping site nearby. It's a great spot, but for it being a Thursday night, expected to find a bit more available.
ScoutIf you get one of the site overlooking the sawtooths count yourself lucky
Traveler
There are many sites up until the dead-end about 1.5 miles from the pay campground. I camped up on the stream. Great boondocking was here for a week. The road is in great shape. A couple of big rocks here and there. Plenty of places to do a 3-point turnaround with any rig.
No cell coverage. Got ok starlink between trees.
GuideThis area just up the road from the campground offers lots of dispersed camping. There are many established sites, some with fire rings, any car can make it.
Visited August 17-18, 2023 (adding reviews for past camp sites before I knew of the dyrt)
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.
Guide
We loved everything about Grandjean campground. After a 20 minute drive on a narrow dirt road we discovered the best site. Nestled between a mountain stream and the Payette river the sounds of moving water drowned out all else. The Sawtooth lodge is nearby, but the best is the proximity to several hot springs. Move the rocks to control the water flow (and temp) and you will be treated to a true joy of nature.
Ranger
Decent traffic now and then but overall nice quiet area on a peaceful part of the river!
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
Close to the road so you get a little road noise. Nice small quiet campground. Wasn’t to busy when visited. Got starlink but no Verizon service. Clean sites and nicely paved.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Salmon-Challis National Forest?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Salmon-Challis National Forest is Challis National Forest Little Bayhorse Campground with a 5-star rating from 1 review.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Salmon-Challis National Forest?
TheDyrt.com has all 65 tent camping locations near Salmon-Challis National Forest, with real photos and reviews from campers.
