Best Tent Camping near Imnaha, OR

We were able to find an available spot on Labor Day weekend 2021. Most campsites between the town of Lostine and Irondyke campground were taken by 7pm on Friday. The access road was narrow and in pretty rough shape, lots of horse trailers hauling livestock up and down the road. The road remained busy until late at night and during the weekend with other campers and day hikers… we stayed in a tent camp site that allowed horses, so it was ample with a clearing that provided sunny areas. Picnic table and rock fire pit were available at the site. A toilet is Located on the opposite side of road and shares with other 4 or 5 sites. If you want a quiet, peaceful camping spot, this is not for you!

Good views of the mountains. Beautiful lake. Impressive marina for those who are trailing boats. Emphasis on RV camping rather than secluded tent camping and I prefer tent camping. Bathrooms clean.

Like the title says quite and nice. Bathroom were really clean too my wife really like that lol. I can’t wait to go back. The tent sites are nice and there is A lot of privacy between tent site

We have come here to fish on several occasions but never camped! We tent camp and we enjoy semi-level ground, which we had! The bathrooms are pit but are kept very clean!

Stayed a few nights while exploring area. Camp hosts do a great job keeping the camp facilities very clean.  Our site a bit noisy in the evening (tent camping) due to periodic logging trucks rolling by, but not bad. Overall great facility

this campground was always my favorite growing up and it still is today! they have very spacious camp sites, lots of variety (ie tent sites and full hook up sites) that would fit anyone’s needs! There are very helpful hosts onsite campfire you can buy and a jr ranger program my kids love! They also have a playground for the kids in the heart of the park! Wallowa is well worth the trip!

This little gem of a campground is worth the effort to find. We drove past the sites along the road to find this one. It was right off the road. You will see the sign and the pit toilet. The sites are accross the road and behind the building. There are only two tent sites that are available. You can probably find more spaces for more than two tents.

Parking is available close to the sites but you will have to carry gear to the site. Worth it!

This is a nice little RV park that is close to most things in the Joseph area.  There are several RV sites as well as tent sites.  There are also several sites that look like full time RVer's that live in the park.  The sites were a little close together, but they were able to move us after the first night so we had a little more privacy.  The bathrooms and showers were clean.  The campground was very quiet with great views of the mountains.  There is a little store onsite that also has games and books to barrow.

We spent Memorial Day weekend at this park. It was fun, the kids rode bikes, we rented a row boat (they have kayaks, SUP's, etc). The town of Joseph is about 10 minutes with a cute main street area. We stayed in A25 and I think it is the smallest tent site in the whole park (the reason it got 3 of 5 stars). We had a small creek that backed the spot that limited tent placement to one slightly sloped spot squeezed between the road and the picnic table. It was nicely treed by the picnic table which was nice. If we go back, the spot to the right of us (A26) was a really good one (would've been a five star for sure) - spacious, multi tents, etc. This end of the campground was the closest to the lake access, store and docks.

On Oregon Highway 86 in Hell's Canyon at Oxbow, across from an Idaho Power Station (and managed by Idaho Power), this was a handy place to stay to be close to a boat launch for a rafting trip we had booked. 

There are tiny campsites (maybe the smallest I've seen) and lovely large campsites here. We lucked out and had reserved a big one on the lawn instead of a little one against the rock wall. We were near the power station but we didn't notice it much due to the trees and stream.

There is shade! This was nice considering it gets hot in Hell's Canyon. Even being next to the river and in a rare shady spot in the canyon, the after-dark temperature was in the upper 80's when we stayed here in early August 2020. They water the lawn at night to keep it green, so heed those "sprinkler - do not camp past this point" signs. The bathrooms look nice online (inc. showers), but we camped here during 2020, so we had a row of sunbaked port-o-potties to contend with.

The location was super practical for our needs, our spot was spacious,  and the canyon is beautiful, but due to the heat I probably would pick a place higher up on the canyon rim or closer to Halfway, OR to camp if camping were the main goal (especially in August).

Fair amount of bugs, but that's not specific to this campground. 

Some stats, according to the Idaho Power website: Day use in the park is free. 59 RV sites with water and electric hookups(30-amp); 10 tent sites with shared water; Picnic area with tables Fire rings; Additional vehicle and boat trailer parking available; Public pay phone (phone card required for non-local calls); Boat launch and docks located approximately one-half mile downstream of the park, on Homestead Road

Copperfield was a mining town known as “the rowdiest town in Oregon” in the early 1900s. Fire destroyed the town in August 1915. The park was built in 1965 on the old town site of Copperfield, Oregon. (https://www.idahopower.com/community-recreation/recreation/parks-and-campgrounds/copperfield-park/)

Ollocot CG sits along the Imnaha River not far from the Hells Canyon Overlook. We camped under tall Ponderosas and fell asleep to the sounds of the river just a few feet away. Just a few other campers there in mid-September. Great spot!

More and more I'm staying at USFS campgrounds and enjoying the experiences. Yes, they're dry, but they're cheap, dark, quiet and in exceptionally beautiful places. Ollokot is in the Hell's Canyon Recreation area and is seriously the best campground I've encounter on my latest 4 week fall trip. Located right on the Imnaha River, the scenery is breathtaking, the sites are big with lots of room. It's a short drive up to the Hell's Canyon Overlook which is spectacular. Only downside is the road out of Joseph to get there.....it's not for the faint of heart if you have a larger RV. Narrow, potholes and absolutely no wiggle room. It's six inches between you and the side of the canyon. So take it SLOW!!!

I recommend this section of Wallowa-Whitman NF Rd 46 (4600) between Thomason Meadow Guard Station and Buckhorn Lookout because it is grazed less than surrounding areas, and thus has more plant diversity--i.e. great WILDFLOWER BLOOM in the spring. At 5000 feet, June to early July is a peak bloom time.

This is the top of the Imnaha River breaks, and you can see fully down into the BEAUTIFUL canyonlands of the Imnaha and Snake. Birdwatching was good for us out here too, especially raptors. One of the trailheads to the historic Nez Perce Nee -Me-Poo Trail is near this "Camp-1" dispersed spot.*

*One of our maps calls the marked spot "FSR 46 Camp-1," but the dispersed camp sites are all along NF Rd 46 from here north to Buckhorn.

The drive up to this area is well-maintained gravel, and an SUV with decent tires can do it. (We did it with a truck hauling a toy-hauler trailer). Bring all the water and supplies and tools you need--this area is REMOTE.

Take Crow Creek Rd off of Hwy 82 (btwn Enterprise and Joseph). All is paved until your intersection with Zumwalt Road, where you veer R to stay on Zumwalt (aka Zumwalt-Buckhorn Rd). It's gravel after that intersection.

Follow signs to Zumwalt Prairie or Buckhorn Lookout.

Crossing over Zumwalt Prairie is a GORGEOUS drive. The Nature Conservancy has their Zumwalt Prairie Preserve here, and it's a great side trip from the camp spot.

This section of NF-46 road is extremely quiet. Only the occasional ranch vehicle travels through. In fall this is a popular camp area for hunters.

I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because of zero water, zero data, the ecosystem/soil that has been abused in the past (not wilderness), the 50-minute drive to WiFi/ restaurant/ water refill/ black water dump. But if I was comparing primitive camping to primitive camping, this would be a 5 of 5.

I would go back here (in late spring or early fall) in a heartbeat.

I went to book this for a weekend for a family trip in the summer.. They do not have any tent spots. She was OK with our motorhome and one tent but the minute I said we had two kids and two small tents. She immediately informed me that she would not be renting to us. 

Beautiful setting. Nice campsite options, tent, RV, and yurt. Nice place to ride bikes, fish, hike, and relax.

Clean campsite right on the river which has access for boat put in/wade access. Perfect for fishing the St. Joe. Large campsites as well (able to fit multiple tents)

Found this campsite on a lark while exploring the Hells Canyon area for a place to stay for a few days. There are a few dedicated sites that appear to be tent-only, as well as some areas for dispersed camping. Great views down the Snake River and of the canyon walls, two vault toilets, and a nice breeze made this an excellent two-day stay!