Salmon-Challis National Forest, ID is a great camping destination for adventurers of all types. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in, as well as sights to see and explore. Ready to plan your adventure? Check out our campgrounds near Salmon-Challis National Forest and user-submitted reviews.
"Near a lake with fishing and hiking opportunities. Campsites are clean with good spacing between them. Super hidden and worth the drive up."
"The roads in to this area, NF-563/Stanley Creek Rd and NF-633/Nip and Tuck Road are in pretty decent shape for all vehicles coming in from the West off of Hwy 21, but be warned, do not come in from the"
"Got to Stanley area around 6pm on a Friday. Drove to Stanley Lake and Iron Creek but everything was full."
TravelerLovely little campground with many amenities close to Redfish Lake Lodge. Each campsite has a dedicated level pad for tents, a picnic table, a bear box, and fire ring. The sites are a bit open, so privacy can be a bit lacking if that's a concern. This campsite is also walk-in, so you will need to use provided wagons to bring your stuff to your site and park your car in the provided parking lot. There are also bathrooms which had flushing toilets and running water and are well maintained. We loved that Point Campground is within walking distance to Redfish Lake Lodge, which has a bunch of different activities: horseback riding, kayaking, a dog beach, mountain biking, fishing, etc. This campground is great when camping with children, especially with the bathrooms & lack of car traffic on the tent-only side. We will be returning!
LegendIf you show up to Redfish Lake on a busy weekend and all of the campgrounds are reserved/full, no worries. There is a bunch of free dispersed camping all along highway 75. A quick stop at the Forest Service Office down the road and I had a pretty good map of the forest roads in the area, but more importantly, a tip about free camping a stone’s throw away from Redfish Lake and Sunny Gulch campground. The road in is a bit rough with ruts and rocks, but there are several established sites with fire rings. There was a loop to the right with about 8 such sites and a loop to the right with about 5 sites as well as one that was hidden behind the site I chose that you had to walk in to(it was actually a nicer site than the one I chose, but I was tired and set up before I saw it on my explorations. There was one vault toilet that was not especially clean, but free is free, and if you really wanted to, you could walk less than a quarter mile across to the developed Sunny Gulch campground. There are no picnic tables or grills or tent pads, but definitely stone fire rings at each site so no worries as long as you brought your own camp chair. If you need a shower, head into Redfish Lake to use the public pay showers there.
GuideBlacktop drive and parking pads with a few pull through sites. You can fish from your camp site. No hookups but water is available. Plenty of space between sites. Fire rings and picnic tables were provided. Firewood was for sale. Bring your bug spray for late afternoon and evening. We needed it in early July.
RangerSunny 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!
LegendShoup Bridge Campground is a small Campground surrounding cottonwood trees along the banks of the Salmon River. It is also right along the Highway. We found this a pleasant campground to stay in, plenty of flat ground for our tents and only $5 a night. A few sites are quite small, but still room for a tent. This was our Scouts jumping off point for a backpacking trip the next day. While next to the highway we expected a lot of noise during the night, but that was not our experience, the only real road noise we had was in the early morning with worked out as it helped wake us up. Each site has a picnic table and metal fire ring. Water is available and the area has a vault toilet and trash cans. Campground has a boat launch.
GuideFish and game property, but managed under YMCA. $15 with no discount for anyone. Picnic table and fire ring. Pit toilet that is in desperate need of a simple fly strip! I had to wipe live flies off the toilet seat to sit down. Haul your garbage out. No electricity. Bear sites in campground but no notifications! No potable water. Seemed a bit pricey ! Perfect for canoes. Boat launch area.
Hawks, ducks, gorgeous waterfront!
LegendUp near the top of the pass is Bench Creek campground. There are only 6 sites on this lollipop loop, all on the non-highway side. But you can hear the highway from everywhere in the campground. Sites 2, 3, and 4 back up nicely to the creek. Vault toilet but no water or trash, so pack in pack out. Across the highway are some OHV trails, so you will also get some of that noise in the day. Every site has the standard picnic table and fire pit, but fire season is real, so maybe skip the fire.
TravelerTrap Creek Campground was great for our group. There are 3 separate fire rings, each with a picnic table, a clean vault toilet, and an amazing view of the adjacent meadow with the Sawtooths. There was plenty of room for large family tents and plenty of shade to let the kids run around and play. It is RIGHT off the highway, so if noise from traffic isn't your favorite, you'll want to choose another campground. There were also quite a few cars that stopped off the highway to use the toilet. Other than that, it was great for our group of families with dogs and kids.
RangerFirst come, first served and self-serve pay sites. No shower, just one pit toilet. Even in the summer, nights drop into the 30s so we opted to car camp vs pitching our tent - especially since there was a fire ban during our stay. The night sky was breathtaking. The hike up to Goat Lake is still one of our most favorite hikes, simply gorgeous but strenuous at times, so be prepared. This was a great location to stay if you are planning to hike out of the Iron Creek Trailhead.
Tent camping near Salmon-Challis National Forest in Idaho offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in nature, surrounded by stunning landscapes and a variety of outdoor activities.
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