Best Campgrounds near Stanley, ID

Visited in August 2024

Driving past mega mansions will eventually lead you to a dirt road stretching into an open valley. Went during late summer, so it was fairly dusty, and the passing cars would stir it up a lot. Not a lot of protection from the road, but traffic quieted down pretty quickly after sunset. Was full by about 6pm on a Friday evening. Great views with cell service as well!

Large open sites. Big rigs go left and park on top. Large areas, can accommodate dozens of RVs and tents.

Avoid during holidays, people leave tents and rvs for days to keep the spot despite rules and the ranger station will do nothing about it. At those times expect loud parties and even fights or gunfire which the rangers will also do nothing about.

Other than that its great. Take a right on the highway and head to the sourdough lodge for the best pancakes for hundreds of miles.

There are many other dispersed and paid spots along the highway.

Details: Free camping 14 Day limit No tables at campsites Minimal wood to scavenge Town of Lowman is close by No trash, water, or toilets

Views are wonderful and the fishing is good. No, this is not near Lowman as Dyrt claims. The drive is a long dirt road, vibrates a lot but not exactly bumpy. Any car can do it. Coming in from the SE side at the exit just past the rest stop after leaving boise is a far better drive.

You could bring in a 30-35 footer but be sure to have clearance. For some spots you will need to turn around the lower parking area which may be a problem on weekends. Show up on a Wednesday if you for sure want to stay a few days.

I have visited numerous times in spring and fall. After snow starts melting it gets high fast and is un-fishable. If you are a fisherman check usgs. A river monitoring station is just up the road maybe 3 miles.

My last visit the trash and treatment was so bad the rangers said there were discussions of either closing it or turning it to a paid CG.

Wood is scare but easy to find if you drive the roads. Plenty of hiking. During hunting season it will fill up.

Details: Toilet might be maintained or might not Campers have been trashing the grounds since early 2024 Hunters and fisherman are nice and friendly, others not so much Long drive to town; the first 22 miles are on that road and will take 30-45 min depending on vehicle, another 20 at least to reach anywhere for supplies Inspection point at the exit sometimes for fishing and hunting Free stay, 14 day max

Free designated dispersed campsite along Sawtooth Nation Forest Road 137. Camped here at the end of September 2024. Very large designated dispersed site set downhill from the forest road; no issues with dust from this road. The area is level. May be able to park 3 rigs. Tent camping is possible back from the parking area toward the metal firering. This area can accommodate 3 or 4 tents, or one big hot tent. Corral Creek is just down a short path from the campsite. The sound of the creek can be heard at the site. Very quiet area. Mountains on either side of the site. The parking area is dirt and gravel. The "tent" area is grass and dirt. Don't see opportunities for hammock camping. No cell service. No shade; solar recharging and Starlink possible. 3 day limit. Hiking trailheads and vault toilet at the end of the forest road.

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.

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.

This 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!

The campground is clean $20 a night with some highway noise. There is a bear in the area at this time.

It’s a quiet place. It is dusty. The camp host was awesome. He was quick to tell us what sites were still available on a holiday weekend. He even alerted the campers that a bear was spotted a few miles down. There is no power and no cell service.

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!

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.

If you get one of the site overlooking the sawtooths count yourself lucky