If you're looking for a place to pitch your tent in Idaho, look no further. You can find tent campsites at RV parks and campgrounds, and even places to boondock for free. You're sure to find the perfect campsite for your Idaho tent camping excursion.
CLOSED FOR 2024
Green Bay Campground features 11 designated sites with picnic tables and fire rings, vault toilets, and a swimming beach.
Redfish Inlet Trailhead
$28 - $43 / night
Dry Camping - no hookups - first come first served
$15 / night
Guide
Paved roads in, plenty of trails that lead to even greater views. Clean bathrooms and showers. If you don't have an RV, they have cabins that look very nice also.
Scout
Nice dispersed camping for the prepared person :)
Guide
No fire ring
LegendStayed here a few days on our way to Oregon. Quiet campground off the interstate. Not much nearby though. Showers/ restrooms clean and great hot water. Good place to ride bikes. A lot of history in the area. We also visited Lava Hot Springs which was about 1 hour away. Great spot
Scout
About 10 dispersed spots right next to the water/right off the road but holy shit it’s VERY ACTIVE TRAIN TRACKS about 50 yards from these spots. A train every 1-2 hours that blows its horn the whole night so not very peaceful
Guide
Arrived a bit late and didn't have a chance to explore but lovely landscapes. Enjoyed the protected shelters, but it was very windy. The showers and flush toilets were closed for the season, which kinda sucked but the pit toilets were clean. Would visit again!
Scout
Has come a long ways in the last 10 years. Could still be part of the solution that part of the problem.
Legend
Camped in site #15 on Sept 27, 2024. Paid $10 with senior pass. Nothing remarkable about the campground itself, but the trails leading out of the campground are really good. There is access to the Salmon River at the end of the campground road for bank/fly fishing; caught a nice rainbow trout. Sites along the river appear larger than those backing up to the hill. The river side sites are open sky, good for solar recharging and Starlink. The sites across the road have partial shade. There were a few pull-thrus; otherwise, back-ins. Campground is popular for OHV enthusiasts and hikers. Most sites are close to the dusty campground road. Vault toilet was not quite clean, although it was at the end of the summer season. There is a hand water pump. Site 15 is a small, almost level site with a pea gravel surface; it appeared to have a tent pad at the rear. This site has a table and metal fire ring. There is road noise from highway 75 across the river. It was very busy here during our stay, probably because forest service campgrounds west of Stanley were closed due to wildfires. There were a lot of drive-bys on the campground road. Nearby travel trailers with large noisy families kind of ruined the ambiance of this small campground; did not respect quiet hours. Campground probably okay for an overnight stay, fly fishing on the Salmon River or for accessing the trailheads. Overall, I did not enjoy camping here. I did, however, enjoyed hiking and fishing here. I am not likely to camp here again.
Legend
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.
Legend
$10 (paid $5 with senior pass). First come, first served. Camped at site #10 in late September 2024. This primitive national forest campground was not busy during my visit. Copper Basin Loop Road accessing this campground, which has a gravel surface, was in good condition; there was some washboarding in a few places. The campground has a lower loop and an upper loop. The campground has a mix of pull-through and back-in sites; some leveling may be reuired in some sites. Site #10 is a short gravel pull-thru in the upper loop, good fit for my campervan, although very close to the campground road. There is a short path from the site driveway down to a picnic table and metal fire ring. The ground is a little chewed up from voles and cow hooves. Tent and hammock camping are possible. This site has partial shade; others in the loop are open. Little privacy between sites. Depending on the site, you can get a view of Copper Basin from the upper loop. The upper loop has two clean vault toilet facilities; I didn't use the vault toilet in the lower loop, but assume that it is clean. There is a hand water pump in both loops but shut down for the season during our visit. Trout fishing in nearby Star Hope Creek was pretty good; it's about a 1/4 mile walk from my campsite. No T-Mobile or AT&T cell service. Overall, a pretty campground; mostly wooded. I would camp here again. Boondocking is also possible along the Copper Basin Loop Rd.
Legend
$10 ($5 with interagency pass). First-come, first-served. Camped one night in site #13 on Sept 24, 2024. Gravel road to this out-of-the-way campground was in good condition. Pretty part of the Challis National Forest. Nothing remarkable about the campground itself. Looks like some of the sites have not been maintained in a while; overgrown with weeds, grass and sagebrush. Sites have tables and fire rings; some had shade-awnings over the tables. The vault toilets were clean. The hand water pump did not pump water; water was probably turned off for the season. No payment envelopes were provided - maybe because it was the end of the season. No hiking trails. Most sites are in the open with no shade; a few were shaded near the creek. Gravel campground road and site driveways. Site sizes varied. No privacy between sites. Tent camping possible. Solar recharging possible at my site. Great views of the mountains around the campground. Very quiet, peaceful evening; only one other site was occupied during my visit. No T-Mobile and AT&T cell service. There were several boondocking sites on the way to the campground.
Legend
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.
Traveler
Great tent camping. Also, it's a great starting point to some really good dirt bike trails. Be prepared for no cell service. 0 amenities. it's just a place to pitch a tent and have a fire. And it cost nothing.
Legend
Free. Coordinates: 44.09981,-111.17306. Camped here on Sept 21, 2024. Set back and above busy Forest Road 582 which heads toward Cave Falls; no issues with dust from forest road. Site is also referred to as Lower Creek Road Campground. Large site, should easily accommodate 3 rigs. A few spots are level. Up on a small hill above Rock Creek. Can't see the creek, but you can hear it. Dirt surface. Tent camping possible. Surrounded by tall trees, but open sky above. Site has a bear box and a rock fire ring. There is also an old lean-to near the fire ring. The access track is pot-holed; may be muddy. No hiking trails. No T-Mobile nor AT&T cell service. It's a nice site; nothing special. Good for a quiet overnight stay if visiting Cave Falls.
Traveler
Showed up late October around 6. It’s quiet, just out of town and there are toilets places I guess (didn’t use) and a fire pit by my site. Didn’t use either. Cold (34* last night) rainy, super windy, but felt safe and free is great 😊
Traveler
We stayed here 1 night in mid-October, 2024. Bulletin board directed us to our reserved site. never saw any of the staff and received our welcome email at 9 a.m. the next day as we were departing. Poor trees are half dead. Stay was OK except for the racket from a neighboring property with massive loudspeakers blasting reveille in the a.m. and an annoying, caterwauling rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner at sunset. Nutty Arco.
Legend
Luby Bay Campground offers a beautiful lakeside experience, with many sites featuring direct lakefront access. The campground is surrounded by trees and foliage, providing a sense of privacy, and the sites are nicely spaced apart.
In the back corner of the lower loop, there is designated parking for boat trailers and extra vehicles. I launched my boat at the Priest Lake Marina just a mile down the road for a small fee, but I appreciated the free trailer parking at the campground.
The flushing toilets were impressively clean—better than many I've encountered at other campgrounds.
The road through the campground is paved but narrow, roughly 1.5 vehicles wide, so backing in a trailer requires some finesse.
Each site comes with a bear-proof locker, which is essential for safety. The only downside was that our locker had trash bags left by the previous occupants, which hadn't been cleaned out before our arrival. This seems to be a minor oversight by the host.
Overall, I had a great stay and would recommend Luby Bay Campground.
Ranger
If you can get one of the lakefront campsites, the views are phenomenal! But if you can't, the rest of the campsites are still pretty nice. The campsites are spaced apart enough so you're not too close to your neighbor. Bathrooms are adequate pit toilets. The lake is clear and cold, decent for swimming if you don't mind cold water.
Ranger
This is primitive off grid camping. No services, no water, no tables, just a bathroom in a field with a few campsites around it near the creek. Great location to stay if you're doing the Hiawatha trail and want to camp in the area. The busses picking up hiawatha trail users go right by the campground multiple times a day in the summer.
Guide
Stayed three nights in mid-October. Got real cold at night, but having electric made it bearable. Not to far from Twin Falls and all it has to offer. Much less expensive than parks closer to town.
Traveler
We were excited to find this CG on Dyrt and that it wasn’t difficult to find (in spite of a reviewer’s commenting); but when we arrived, the gate was pad-locked. (Sign indicated open hours; but not that it would be closed for the season.)
Fortunately, we went .5 mile further and found a small dry camping site— maybe 4-6 vehicles could be accommodated. Sign there indicated that there was a 5-day limit for camping. A couple of other vehicles came in; but none chose to join us for the night. Camping area is right by the gravel road and there was traffic coming & going late into the evening & early in the morning; but regardless it was a great site w/ privacy from the road.
Traveler
We were glad we read the reviews for directions & info about spots — like others mentioned, the best spot is a big grassy area amongst the trees (continue past the first circular parking area). However, the entire area has sportsman access, so we listened to gun shots most of the day… not exactly the peaceful nature vibe we were hoping for. Would likely come back, but pray it’s a day of no hunters
Ranger
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.
Ranger
FS type campground in N ID just off I-15. Campsites at the top of the campground are best. Loop A (we were in A05) faces a road with lots of dry camp and UTV traffic. Also only 1 vault toilet in that loop, while upper has a 2 stall vault toilet. Nice level sites, mainly shady sites. Bear cans. Walking up road we had access to a number of trails some of which are for UTVs but were not busy while we were there. LOTS of RV groups up the road.
Traveler
Friendly, lots of shade very clean restrooms with showers. They have a laundry facility pool and park right on the river. Also, laundry facilities. Located next to the philip s66 off the I84 so a bit of traffic noise
Ranger
I wouldn’t recommend this campground, especially if you’re hoping for a lakeside experience. The campground is actually a decent distance away, and it’s not easy to access. The road getting in is rough and bumpy, which made for an unpleasant drive. Once we arrived, the campsites were disappointingly small and cramped, making it difficult to set up comfortably. The lake itself wasn’t much better. It’s small, and the water is ice cold, so swimming wasn’t really an option. To top it off, there were no fish to be found, so fishing was a bust. Overall, between the rough road, tiny campsites, and lackluster lake, this campground just wasn’t worth the effort. There are much better options out there.
Scout
Just off the asphalt on a gravel road. Very dusty and noisy on the weekends. Can be busy because a lot people park in there to float the river.
Idaho offers a stunning backdrop for tent camping, with diverse landscapes ranging from serene lakes to rugged mountains. Whether you're seeking solitude or adventure, there's a perfect spot waiting for you.
