Best Tent Camping near Spencer, ID

Recent Tent Reviews near Spencer, Idaho

339 Reviews of 11 Spencer Campgrounds

• 

  Annie C.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 31, 2019

  Targhee National Forest Warm River Campground

  Warm River (which isn't very warm)

  Camping on the banks on the banks of the Warm River, which actually is quite cold, can’t get much better than this! There are several options here- tent camping in a tent only walk in area along the river banks and under some pretty good hammocking trees (best sites are #12, 13, 16, and 8 because they have some space from neighbors and are right on the river); RV sites with what looks like at least electric hook ups (best sites for river views and/or privacy are #2, 4, 6, 19); from what neighbors say is pretty good fishing; and an awesome alternative to camping at Mesa Falls if that campground is full. Walk down the road and cross the river to check out a protected area of the river where the fish are HUGE and you can stand with your toes in the river while you feed them bits of bread. The sites all have the usual picnic tables and firepits, with nice level tent pads, clean vault toilets, and firewood for sale from the campground host. The only two downsides are no showers and the campground is wedged between the road and the river, so there is quite a bit of road noise in the day which fortunately dies down once dark sets in. At that point the river covers the road noise (also helpful in the morning). The campground is close to a lot of hiking trails, but there are no trailheads in the campground (so I guess that makes three bummers). All in all, a cool place to camp.

• 

  Austin R.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 12, 2024

  Henry Flats Dispersed Spot

  Perfect and Secluded

  Plenty of space here with a beautiful lake view. Mountains on all sides of you. Very little tree coverage. Some rodent holes surrounding the tent site. Tent faired well and wind was not a serious issue by any means. There was fire ring already made at the tent site we chose. Few others camping in RVs but plenty of space/privacy between them. 45 minutes from Old Faithful and Yellowstone

• 

  Corinna B.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 1, 2017

  Big Springs Campground

  Nice Woodsy Campground. Fun to Explore. Nearish to Yellowstone.

  After a random restaurant stop, a local recommended we go check out big springs campground, which is the headwaters of the snake river and not too far outside of Yellowstone. I am so glad we did! After traveling over random dirt roads from Spencer, Idaho, we arrived to find several open spots for just $15 each. Nice and woodsy, pleasant neighbors, and sites are just big enough. There's bear boxes to use. Just a quick walk away is the headwaters of the snake river, where huge trout swim under a bridge and eat marshmallows and American cheese. Only downside is no showers or flush toilets. Close enough to Yellowstone that we slept in the car so we could wake up at 5 am and grab one of the early morning Yellowstone camp sites. Would definitely go back.

• 

  James S.

  Traveler

  

  Feb. 14, 2019

  Henrys Lake State Park Campground

  Quiet gorgeous setting

  State run Site. Save money with the Idaho State Parks Pass.

  RV and tent camping fishing and boating. I have stayed here numerous times. Cell service spotty but can be achieved. Wildlife can be viewed from inside RV. As stated before can get windy at times.

  Very close to other places to visit; Yellowstone NP, Mesa Falls, Harriman State Park, Earthquake Lake, Big Spring, really to many to list.

• 

  Donna S.

  Guide

  

  Jan. 5, 2015

  East Creek Campground

  PRIVATE!! 4 Sites only!

  East Creek Campground is a quaint low-use campground. There are 4 tent sites with 2 vault toilets. There is no water, so bring your own. East Creek is located 40 min south of Dillon, MT near Lima (15 miles north of the Montana/Idaho state line just off I-15). There are 6-7 miles of dirt roads through private properties to get to the campground.

• 

  Lara H.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 16, 2020

  Flatrock Campground

  Small quite park

  Small quite park sites with electric, non electric, tent sites. Good first come first serve but also take reservations. Half an hour from west Yellowstone gate off hwy 20.

• M

  Matthew

  Scout

  

  Aug. 26, 2021

  Targhee National Forest Warm River Campground

  Cramped Campground

  This campground was cramped and all the tent sites are practically on top of each other. We also had a bad run (three days) of loud neighbors that made is unbearable and forced us to leave the campground.

• 

  Ted & Jessie M.

  Traveler

  

  Mar. 10, 2022

  Jefferson County Lake

  Nice and quiet, great amenities

  We've stayed here twice in the same tent site because we loved it. Very fun wood park for the kids, and the lake access is included in the camping reservation. Our site had running water and a nearby creek. Great place!

• 

  Lisa M.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 28, 2021

  Sawtelle Mountain Resort

  I'd stay here again.

  Spent 3 nights on 2 separate occasions here. Booked 2 nights at a tent site on the front end of the trip. Plenty of space in the tent area, nice grassy space and some trees for shade. Had a picnic table which was really nice to have a place to get up off the ground. Couldn't drink the tap water due to E. Coli issues. The bathrooms were decent but the showers could have been better. Kind of pricey and didn't realize it when I booked it. $82 for 2 nights at a camp site for 2 people. There was a grocery store across the way which was nice. On the back end of the trip we had to book an RV site since there were no tent sites. It was nice having access to power close by. The women's bathroom was out of toilet paper while I was there. Kind of a bummer.

• J

  Joshua G.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 5, 2021

  West Fork Cabins & RV

  Great stay

  This campground is about 45 min to an hour away from the Yellowstone West Entrance. The campground is clean and has bathrooms and showers and also a laundry facility. There is a convenience store on-site. As of October 2021, the rate is $30/ night. There are pull through and back in sites as well as tent camping sites and full cabins. It's right on the Madison river and is in a beautiful area. Dogs are allowed here.

• 

  Chris V.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 7, 2020

  Henrys Lake State Park Campground

  Epic View. Great Location.

  There is great boon docking by Lake Henry.  Follow your GPS to 44°36'52"N x 111°25'18"W.  With space for 15-20 campsites suitable for RV's (of any length) or tent camping, you'll be treated to epic views.  Ample fishing, natures walks, sitting on the (rocky) beach, or staging for Yellowstone (it's a short 20-30 min drive to West Yellowstone), the location and views are epic.  Good coverage, with 5-bars (boosted) on Verizon.  We'll be back!

• K

  Kathy H.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 11, 2019

  Box Canyon Campground

  Beautiful and private

  This campground is a small, quiet, no reservation campground with single and double sites. Overlooks the beautiful snake river with hiking path. Bear boxes, level tent sites, picnic tables and water. No electricity. Tall pines.

  We hiked down to the hydroelectric dam where the buffalo river joins the snake river. Picturesque! The only drawback is that strangely, the sound of the hydroelectric plant becomes louder at night.

  Would stay there again.

• D

  David

  Scout

  

  Jul. 15, 2021

  Sawtelle Mountain Resort

  Site had no power, switched to along side road

  Booked the 2 nights in May for July, got to the site and was placed in a tent site with no power. I had reserved 30Amps and Water, site was full and only available spot was along side an access road, no where to sit. Another RV also next to us had the same thing happen. Was told manger would come to see us, no one turned up. Also they said you cannot drink the water! Very poor.

• 

  David C.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 28, 2020

  Stoddard Creek Campground

  A perfect campground

  Me and my wife were looking to get away for a weekend and this place was just what we needed. We Tent Camp and we had people RV camp on either side of us and never heard them the whole time. The area is very woodsy and very pretty. The campsite was very developed and taken care of. The bathrooms were extremely Nice !!! They didn’t even smell bad ! Lol. We took a walk around the camp grounds and we saw many others do the same. We stayed at campsite 005. At all the campsites there was fire pits and big picnic tables. This is a spot we highly recommend.

• 

  Fred S.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 28, 2024

  BLM Skull Canyon Road Dispersed

  Dispersed Camping in a Canyon

  Coordinartes: 44.16547,-112.90392. Beautiful views. Large dirt and gravel site, right along side to Skull Canyon Road, about a mile from ID Hwy 28. Canyon walls on each side. Rough narrow rocky track to the site from the highway; recommend high clearance. High humps on this track. Small rock fire ring. Grass and sagebrush all around site. Some leveling may be required. Tent camping possible. Very peaceful; can hardly hear road noise from highway. The only vehicle that drove by was a national forest truck. No cell service. There are several boondocking sites, some with vault toilets nearby, along Hwy 28 in the Birch Creek Recreation Area.

• N

  Nancy

  Guide

  

  Feb. 14, 2022

  Targhee National Forest Warm River Campground

  Great location

  I stumbled across this campground while driving Mesa Falls scenic by-way. This campground has 27 sites, both tent, RV and a group site right along the Warm River. It also has a day use area. This campground had new vaulted toilets but no showers. Within the campground was the trailhead for The railroad grade trail (great for mountain biking) which I was told use to take train passenger to Yellowstone’s old faithful. Tubing was very popular and the campers next to us insisted that we borrow their tubes so we could try it out for ourselves, very refreshing during our hot August stay.

  I snagged the last tent site #21 across the bridge in the northern half of the campground. This large secluded tent site up on the hill had a very small tent pad, fire pit and picnic table and enough room to put up my hammock. This site is next to two double sites. Unfortunately during the 5 nights I stayed some of the RVers close to us ran their generators beyond the 10pm curfew and one RVer felt the need to pull out his noisy leaf blower and blow leafs and dirt everywhere.

  There is tons of things to see and do in the area, Mesa Falls, Island Park… but the hidden gem is the close proximity (less than 25 miles) to Yellowstone National Park - Bechler Ranger Station. Bechler Ranger Station is in the far SW corner of Yellowstone National Park. This area has more streams, creeks, lakes and waterfalls than any other area in Yellowstone. There is a historic Soldier Station there that is about 100 years old and there are lots of hiking trails to beautiful waterfalls. You can see cave falls right from the parking lots. I would definitely return to this campground next time I am in the area.

• D

  Dani- G.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 26, 2020

  West Fork Cabins & RV

  Nice Cooling Trees

  The Madison River flows mostly through open valleys. This NF campground is situated just behind a private (and expensive) $$ campground and has only 7 spaces. Three are walk in tent sites, and 4 are drive in. $12/ and $6/night for seniors. Well worth it. There is some dispersed camping up into the mountains on the west side of the river, down miles of dirt, and not to bad. However, nothing like this directly along the River (or in this case - a fork of the main Madison River). I dispersed for 5 nights up in the mountains until a spot became available in this small campground. There’s a spigot for water and two pit toilets. Pack trash out, and enjoy the 24/7 river sounds!

• 

  Angela G.

  Ranger

  

  Apr. 6, 2021

  Raynolds Pass Fishing Access Site

  Nice little spot by the river

  Great spot by the river. There are 2 larger sized spaces that fit a 20ft camper very easily and an additional 6 sites that look to be more for tents. There is also a small parking lot. No hook ups, no trash, but there is one vault toilet and Verizon has soild cell phone reception. The road could be a little rough in snow or ice. Highway 87 is a bit of a climb out of Idaho Falls towards Bozeman but it is through Targhee National Forest and it is beautiful. Not a lot of hiking trails but if you like fishing this is a great spot. There is also a small boat launch.

• 

  Shelly S.

  Legend

  

  Nov. 29, 2020

  Riverside Campground

  Good stop off

  Riverside Park Campground, Irwin, Idaho

  In Caribou-Targhee NF/Palisades Wilderness near Bridger- Teton NF. This is a first come , no reservation campground, at the foot of Palisades Dam on Snake River. We arrived around 2 pm and the sites were mostly empty. Several others arrived around 6 pm. This is a good campground for fishermen/women, the lower sites are right on the river. There is a boat ramp right across the road. There is paddle information near the boat ramp also. The only electric sites are on the upper half. The rest are basic sites. All have fire pits, picnic tables and a multi purpose metal platform. Gravel/dirt pads that are level. There are several pit toilets and dumpsters throughout . No trails , but there are several trailheads nearby. Other then fishing there is not much else to do at this campground, however it would be a good starting off point for hiking adventures. You can not leave your camper/tent overnight, unattended.

• 

  Terri F.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 4, 2021

  Box Canyon Campground

  Perfect little campground

  We just needed an overnight stay as we headed up to Yellowstone. We pulled in at 2am, not sure what we were in for. Set up our tent trailer and we’re so pleasantly surprised when we woke up the next morning to such a beautiful camp ground! We have thought about this campground and tend to judge other campgrounds based on this. Clean, perfect spots for tents. Pristine!

• 

  Kristi D.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 23, 2023

  Henrys Lake State Park Campground

  Beautiful park

  Staff friendly, view lovely.

  Definitely peeved that there is a $30 upcharge for non-residents and they only give discounts to Idaho military. Interesting!! North Carolina should consider doing this since we have BEAUTIFUL state parks too. Do what Idaho is doing to everyone else...kind of sad...would have given five stars if wasn't for this....army vet of 22 years.

• 

  Clint G.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 20, 2021

  Stoddard Creek Campground

  In the woods

  This campground has pull through and back in RV sites as well as group sites and tent. It is wooded with some trails to explore. Dumpsters, pit toilets and potable water are available. The camp host was very helpful and friendly. For $13.00 per night, you can't beat it!

• C

  Chris E.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 24, 2021

  Henrys Lake State Park Campground

  Good homemade for Yellowstone

  Great, clean, friendly campground. Mostly RVs, but tents are welcome. It did get quite windy 3 of the 4 nights of out stay- around 4pm and beyond, so be aware if gone.

• 

  Cierra C.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 13, 2024

  Henry Flats Dispersed Spot

  Beautiful Spot

  Easy drive & great views. Plenty of space between sites. Definitely very buggy but none seemed to bite. They did stop flying around after dark and seemed to just hang out on our tent.

• 

  Lauren B.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 9, 2020

  Warm Slough

  Good tent camping, good water access

  Easily accessible. We camped in our tent, the roads were super easy to drive on. Great water access. Lots of wood for campfires. Yes cell phone service and it was free! Although the bathroom was very unclean.

• 

  Cris W.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 25, 2019

  Targhee National Forest Buttermilk Campground

  Well maintained & close to local attractions

  The campground itself is well maintained & close to nearby attractions. The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because the bear boxes for food were located at RV only sites-there weren’t any for tent only sites.

• 

  Olivia S.

  Scout

  

  May. 22, 2019

  Warm Slough

  My Go To

  Can camp in tents, cars, or hammocks. Lots of spots near the rivers throughout the dirt road. Pretty popular for fire pits in the spring and summer. Can float the river as well. Sometimes see the occasional moose or dear.