Sam Owen Camnpground

Stayed at site 80 in Scented Leafs section. Decent campground with mix of full sun/semi shaded sites. Campground was prob 50% full but many reserves signs starting Friday. Lake was excellent, warmer than expected. If you’re a cyclist, the ride up Trestle Creek then down Lightning Creek is excellent, top 1/3 of the climb still had lots of wildflowers and high alpine feel/views.

Love it here. There are beautiful lakeside campsites with access to the lake. Unfortunately, those were all reserved when we stayed there. This place can get busy in the summertime, so you reserve early. So we stayed at a nice pull through campsite. All the sites are nice and private with lovely trees and open grassy space between them.

There's a nice swimming area a short walk from our campsite, and Pend Oreille lake is beautiful clear, cool water for swimming.

Bathrooms are not typical pit toilets, but had running water and flush toilets.

The area is beautiful and well worth the trip to camp here.

Arranged for my girls to join us on the lake. Boat launch, beautiful forested, campsite, clean bathrooms . Some want showers. Has a handy dump and water refill. Great weekend!

This is a typical state park that was designed many years ago and is now obsolete for modern RV's. Be very careful in choosing your site, the majority are not level and some are very steep, both up and down. Some spots are such that they don't align with the one-way street. That's fine if you have a Class B or C, but not a trailer. Hosts seem to be a little selective in who they enforce the dog leash rules on. A camper close to us never had their dog on a leash, and they were two sites away from the host. There's no hookups at all, although there are water spigots around the loops. Many dead and dying trees contributed to the huge amount of stink bugs.

Many spots to choose from. Some right on the water, many more back in the woods. Very clean and plentiful restrooms

Beautiful 😍

Very nice well kept campground on the east shore of lake Pend Oreille. We visited in 2021 September. A lot of trees have been cut down and cleared out from a giant wind storm last year. The storm crushed cars and campers. All cleared up and nice now. Most spots are still shaded and very close to the lake. The access roads are narrow and trailers over 30 ft can get in but very carefully in the skipping stone loop. If you want a pull through for easier entry/departure, try the dancing shadows loop. There's a dog beach with plenty of shoreline access. It was very smoky due to all the forest fires at the time.

Why this says the max rate is over $90... I don't know. The max you can pay in this campground is $23 a night. Yes, you can rent the group picnic area for $75.00 but you can't camp there. I think the OP confused this with a private campground further out on the the peninsula where they do charge such high rates. We have camped there with our 35 foot travel trailer in a nice pull through. Four different loops. Many smaller sites that we can't use, but I recommend it.

Sam Owen did not disappoint! We had a huge, level spot (#56) at the end of the campground (not all sites are so level). A little tight to get into with a 40’ 5th wheel, but doable. The lake is just a very short walk away (great paddle boarding!) and though there is no cell service within the CG, there is on the far side of the swimming beach, next to the Beyond Hope resort (very crowded looking camping there!).

They had just recently done overgrowth clearing for fire prevention and had only finished the large object cleanup. The ground in the campsite consisted mostly of burnt slash pile ash and branches that had yet to be cleared. Incredible views and right on the water

Really big campsite, but pretty quiet at the same time. There are multiple loops as you go down the road, so be sure to go down further to the other loops to find what you like. Very close to the lake and nicely wooded. It was very busy on the weekend during summer, so be sure to plan ahead. $23 per night at the time.

Sam Owen is a nice place to camp for a few days, or spend some time on the water. It is surprisingly quiet for a campsite, considering it's location! Pend Oreille is a beautiful lake and is a great place for boats, kayaks, and paddle boards! The campsites at Sam Owen have picnic tables and some have fire pits. There are dumpsters and water available as well. I have camped here mid-May and came for day visits during busier summer months and never felt that there were too many people or I needed a reservation. Sandpoint is a charming town and area. Joel's in Sandpoint has some of the best burritos in the Northwest. There is an excess of hiking and mountain biking in the area! Some good trails include Mickinnick and Sam Owen trail.

Overall a nice place to spend a weekend.

such a nice spot to camp. the lake is beautiful and trees are juuuust great. the sites are well maintained and clean. the men's bathroom has no door for the toilet.... going #2 out in the open is fantastic 😉. also, maybe more dog owners could bring their yappy loud dogs and train them to all bark late at night.... oh wait nevermind, that already happened.
regardless, beautiful place to camp.