Best Tent Camping near Sawtooth National Forest, ID

No need for a hotel in Ketchum Idaho. Park and camp here! Several dispersed sites after the Sawtooth National Forest boundary, with creek running by and a hot spring down the road.

The recent burn made the site a little dusty, our dogs needed a towel off.

Well cared for, easy access, fishing, green grass for day use and tent camping, private dock, wonderful folks!

It has been a long time since I have been there. Not a lot of amminites then. Best scenery and lots of tent sites away from crowds. Will go back again.

I love this campground. It’s back in the woods, on a creek. Perfect for tent camping. Campers and smaller RVs could also find spots. There is good privacy from the abundance of trees in the campground. This is one of my favorite spots off of Highway 21.

It’s located right on highway 21, a few miles south of Stanley. Very small. Description says 5 camping sites but I only saw 3. There is a running creek a few feet away from the tent sites. Very quiet.

This is a first come first serve for tent camping, and we grabbed the last spot on this trip. However, it was within walking distance of the water for swimming and fishing.

Also VERY clean toilets!

Other than it was hot mid-day, it was beautiful, plus an amazing hiking trail is close too.

This is not my ideal place to camp.  No where to tent camp but there is camper and RV camping in what I would describe as "parking lot style".  That said, if your goal is accessing the water, the boat ramp is right across the dam and this is a glorious place for boating.

Sunny Gulch is close to the Sawtooths for great hiking, next to the river if you want to cool off or fish and there were plenty of options. The tent sites are groomed pretty well, and they had the cleanest pit toilet I think I’ve ever seen.

This is one of the smaller campgrounds on the reservoir.  This campground does not have a restroom, most of the others near by do.  Great access to the water but not really great for hiking.  This campground is best for campers or small RV's, you could tent camp her but it would not be my first choice in places to go.

This campground is bigger than many on the reservoir.  There is enough room for groups if you get there early.  Like most of the campgrounds on this road, you have a hill on one side and the reservoir on the other.  This campground is good for campers and some RV's but not so good for tent camping.  Camping here means you are looking for water access,  which is great, at this site.

This is a fee based campground with a host that offers a first come first serve camping experience. We got in late in the day and were happy to find a spot. The ground was a bit limited for tent camping but we ended with a great location near moving water. The sound of water created a very serene environment for rest. The real treat came when we saw the beauty of the night sky unencumbered by city lights; the Milky Way was on full display.

Edna Creek campground is  off of Highway 21 and is a little farther off the main road that some of other near by campgrounds.   It is a little more private and quiet.  I like this campground because it is more geared toward tent camping.  There is limited space for larger RVs.  There are no RV type amenities.  Just vault toilets, picnic tables and campfire rings.  I believe there is also a water pump.  Lots of access to hiking around here which is a plus for me!

 Another campground close to Hwy 75. This campground has paved drive throughout the campground with paved parking pads at the sites. There is also a groomed area at each site for tents, which were nice and flat and clean. There is a host on site at this campground. 

Hand pump water, toilets, and dumpsters for trash though no recycling. The host had firewood for sale ($10) but fire restrictions are in effect so no fires at this time. Sites were level and some with shade but over all lots of sun. This place had a very open layout. 

Quite a few campers were there compared to the others we’ve stopped at along highway 75 through Sawtooth National Forest along the Salmon River. Each site had the standard picnic table, and fire pit but as mentioned above there also had tent pads. Area was clean and appeared well maintained. This campground is nice and spread out but being right on the highway with minimal trees to block some noise the road noise was constant, at least during midday/midweek. 

$18/night 

Zero cell reception ATT, Verizon or TMobile

This campground is the only no reservation campground accessible by car on Redfish Lake. It’s great if you are looking to score a campsite without a reservation. It’s a great location on the lake, beautiful view of the sawtooth range and a short walk to the beach. The campsites have flat tent sites, concrete pads for the picnic tables and fire rings and most have trees for some shade. The only down side is the boat and jet ski noise during the day. If you are looking to get away from everything you may want to look at some of the nearby river campgrounds. The bathrooms and campsites were very very clean and the camp hosts were very friendly. If you are looking for a good hike take the ferry from the lodge to the far side of the lake!

This is a fantastic campsite. The host is super friendly and helpful without being intrusive. It’s on a bluff over a creek and there are hot springs a mere 1/4 mi away. Epic! There were several campsites that over looked the creek (which was easy to hike down to). We had an epic sunrise hot spring experience. We were on site 22 on the RV side which was great because there was more space between sites. There a vault toilet on the tent site and a water pump. We wished we could have stayed longer. Recreation.gov listed a bunch of their sites as first come, first serve which the host informed me they are not. Either way he found us an open spot but with such a nice location I don’t know if that happens often. 10/10 would stay again

If you've ever gone up to Stanley and don't believe in having to reserve a campsite on line (it's against my religion) this is your spot. About 20 minutes away from the "hussle and bustle" of tiny mountain town, Stanley, Blind Creek is situated in the Yankee fork of the Salmon River. If you're looking for amenities, don't come here--there's a out toilet, but that's it, no water or trash service. But with the river running right by camp you can easily filter your own water and there's a large dumpster at the Sunbeam pullout right before turning off the highway. Blind Creek only has 5 spots but I've never not been able to camp there, and at $5 a night you can afford to drive a little further to get into the Sawtooths or make the drive over to Challis. Beat for tent camping, though they do have two good sights you could back a trailer into, just do us all a favor, if you're going to run your generator, camp somewhere else. Keep this place quiet!

This forest service land is a quick drive down Lake Creek Rd from Hwy 75 just past the town of Ketchum in the Sawtooth National Forest. You'll drive through a residential area so mind your speed as there are kids around and lots of cars parked that were crowding into the road a bit as there were construction workers building one of the massive houses along this road. 

The paved road comes to an end with a large parking or turn around area then turns to a very washboarded dirt/gravel road that runs behind people’s houses so maybe drive a bit slower to keep the dust down until you pass that point. 

There are multiple areas that are large and mostly flat that pull off the side of this main dirt road. The views are amazing and it seemed quiet. We did not stay here as it was too hot at the time, but we would have because you have nice hiking or biking opportunities here. The pullout spaces are large enough for a good sized rig, we had plenty of space for our 26’ class C. A couple of the sites had stone fire pits but fire restrictions are in effect so no fires at this time.  There are plenty of sites here and they were almost all free when we visited in September.

There are no amenities here. No garbage or water. You are fully in the sun with no shade. 

The camping limit is 3 days only. There is one garbage can at near the large turn around/parking area before the road turns to dirt but it was small so just take your trash with you. 

Good ATT and Verizon cell reception.

This campground is just outside sun valley, Idaho. When we stayed it was very quiet and many different choices of campsites, you can here the road from your site but it was not disruptive. The bathroom is far from most sites and no cell service but consequently was not the issue, the views were breathtaking. The creek was accessible. Firewood is easily available if you’re willing to collect it. The roads are a little rough but animals were no concern. We camped in our tent and had a wonderful time, and it was free!