Best Dispersed Camping near Bennington Lake

This is a great mostly unknown little campground. Fun fact: This is the least used campsite maintained by the Lower Granite Natural Resources Management team. 

Let’s get to the bad/good, depending on how you look at it. 

1. There is NO running water available, unless you want to get some from the river(NOT suggested)

2. Absolutely no electricity here, not even for park lights. This makes for AMAZING star gazing. 

3. ZERO cell service at the campsite. You can get service if you absolutely need it at the top of Hammer Grade road, it’s steep. 

4. Limited sites have shade all day. Get there early to get one of these prime spots. 

5.Summer time is HOT here but, you have the river right there to cool off. 

6. There is a boat launch here though it is not maintained, use at your own discretion. 

7. There are fire/BBQ pits at each site as well as a picnic table. Wood fires are NOT allowed from June 10th through October 10th. It gets very dry out here. 

8. Bring bug spray! Day time the bugs aren’t bad but, when the sun starts going down, the mosquitoes are coming out. Also, spring into early summer, there are ticks. Summer through the rest of the year you should be tick free. 

9. This campsite is open year round and it’s FREE!

10. There are no trash cans or dumpsters. So keep that in mind and take out EVERYTHING you bring in. 

11. No dumpsites nearby. Closest I found is right off highway 395 at the rest area. 

12. You can cross the dam Monday-Thursday excluding holidays and only during daytime hours. 

13. Your trailer, tow vehicle and anything in the bed is going to get dusty getting here and leaving. It’s a decent trek down a gravel road. Speed limit is 45MPH. Good luck to you if you try to go that fast. 

14. Come prepared for the whole trip. Washtucna is the closest town and they have limited supplies. No alcohol is available at the “Store” there. 

15. If hunting season is coming up, get there as early as possible. 

We stayed here in the most shaded part of the campground with our Travel Trailer with a 50 gallon fresh water tank. It lasted the 4 of us the 5 day weekend. It was a hot weekend and we did end up having to run the generator for a few hours during the day to keep the newborn cool. 

I followed my GPS which took me off of Highway 26 and onto Old Highway 26. DON’T do this. Take Hay rd. Old HWY 26 will take you onto Hammer Grade Rd. This is NOT a fun road with a trailer. It has some very steep grades and you’ll be HAMMERING the brakes or exhaust brake. 

All in all, this was a GREAT trip at a great, hidden and secluded area.  We will definitely be revisiting this site.

Quiet primitive campsites on the lower Snake River - at least, in late November, when there was only one other campsite in use. I suspect it's a bit busier in the warmer weather.

Clean, frequently checked toilet. No water or power. Tables and fire rings at each site.

The Little Goose Dam entry point is open in the daytime from 7:30 to 4:30. Signs state that crossing is only open once an hour on the half hour, but the security guard opened up right when we got there both entering and leaving. There are also campsites along the river before the Riparia campground entry. Easy gravel road into the campground.

Open all year. No wood fires allowed from June 10 through October 10.

https://www.nww.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Lower-Monumental-Dam-Lake-West/Riparia/

Sites are far apart but some lack privacy. I saw Lots of elk and turkeys(?) and a rattlesnake. Outside of the lack of privacy there are some people who it appears that they live there(I a have no issues with that) my issue is the drive up and down the road multiple multiple time a day at high rates of speed leaving dust flying. When I was out walking I walked past one of their campsites on accident I didn’t get close and they started firing a gun in the air. I slept in my car that night and left the next morning. Also trash is an issue as well as people using the bathroom right on the ground and leaving used baby wipes everywhere. So watch out for human waste if you use a tent.