W
H
U
F
U
2025

Spots in Idaho

map viewlist view

  • Colston Fishing Access Site
  • Idaho Fish and Game, Salmon ID
  • Nothing here except a really pretty bend in the (Salmon) river, pretty well shielded from US 93, even though it's 30 yards away. Really pleasant overnight.

  • Pipeline Campground
  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM), American Falls ID
  • Five sites at a boat ramp into the Snake River. A few miles upriver from the very expensive Massacre Rocks SP. Really cool little spot!

  • Bear Lake NWR
  • US Fish and Wildlife Service, Montpelier ID
  • closed for the stupid government shutdown

  • Miracle Hot Springs
  • private business Buhl ID
  • Co-owned with Banbury Hot Springs. Banbury has better camping, Miracle better pools, so here's how it all shakes out: Banbury: tent sites: $10 | campground: park on the grass next to your picnic table in a pretty spot | soaking: big concrete rectangle pool (see their Spot entry) Miracle: must pay for hookups: $20 | campground: dusty and shabby | soaking: wonderful set of modern, interesting pools - a really hot one under the sun deck I call the Grotto :), a bigger cooler pool, then a long, skinny, segmented parallel pool that is a hot zone, a cold zone, and a slighter hotter zone. Really nice layout!

  • Heise Hot Springs
  • private business Ririe ID
  • The hot springs is a completely separate business from the campground. $7 for seniors off season, $1 to re-enter - cheapskates. After the fine example of Lava Hot Springs, which was excellent in every way, this place is disappointing. The single soaking pool is quite nice however - slightly sulphur-y water in a row of hot jets on the side.

  • Royal Motor Inn
  • private business Moscow ID
  • Kinda funky, but cheap and right downtown, awash in University kids

  • Big Wood River dispersed
  • Sawtooth National Forest, Ketchum ID
  • 20 miles north of Ketchum Route 75 opens up into a beautiful, wide valley. The road follows the west side, the Big Wood River is on the east side, and along here there is a big, flat open area in between, with good-ish gravel roads over to the edge of the river where many dispersed campsites are set up. Pretty cool! This is the same river that flows through Ketchum and Sun Valley.

  • Pine Flats
  • Boise National Forest, Lowman ID
  • Portneuf Bend Campground
  • private business Lava Hot Springs ID
  • I had an initial bad impression because not only do I not get a shower for $24, I don't even get a flush toilet! There is water for RV hookup, but no indoor plumbing, just a clean, unisex outhouse. The lady makes the very good point that everyone is here for the hot springs, and they have showers. On the other hand I am in a nice, grassy, spot a three minute drive (or a long walk) from the Lava Hot Springs pools. So all in all, pretty good. There are some heavily used, long haul train tracks a few hundred yards away that shake the earth a couple of times in the night.

  • Hoback Campground
  • Bridger-Teton National Forest, Hoback Junction
  • Small roadside campground. 2-3 sites are right on the river and awesome. The rest are just sites. Pretty close to Jackson WY.

  • Priest River Campground
  • Army Corps of Engineers, Priest River ID
  • Placid little place in tall firs. Swimming beach on the Priest River, boat ramp, kayak friendly. Road noise is not too bothersome.

  • Bear Lake Hot Springs
  • private business St Charles ID
  • closed for the season, but looked cool. Indoor pool and a couple of outdoor tubs. And a really pleasant looking campground at the northeast corner of Bear Lake. I'll bet it's hoppin' in the summer.

  • Lava Spa Motel and RV Park
  • private business Lava Hot Springs ID
  • The camping area is just a gravel lot right behind the motel, but it's a beautiful setting right next to the creek, less than 100 yards from the hot springs. Small town, everything there is within ½ mile. He gave me a deal since it's Monday night off season.

  • Amanita Campground
  • Boise National Forest, Cascade ID
  • 10 site campground on the quiet side of Cascade Lake. 6 miles from the main road (55), which is a feature rather than a drawback once you get here! Site 7 is the bomb!

  • Lava Hot Springs Inn
  • private business Lava Hot Springs ID
  • I didn't go here, but it looked really high class. Hotel with a bunch of hot pools outside

  • SwiftWater RV Park
  • private business White Bird ID
  • Owner was a right-wing lunatic, but the campsite situation was superb, right on the river. Nice laundry room with shower (costs extra!) and tv

  • Bear Lake State Park
  • Idaho State Parks, St Charles ID
  • About 25 miles off the road to anywhere, but pretty cool once you're here. I'm here on a cold day in October and it's almost deserted. Bear Lake is beautiful

  • Lava Flow Campground
  • Craters of the Moon National Monument, Arco ID
  • Eerie lava beds moonscape. Really cool to have a campground in such a surreal place

  • South Fork Inn
  • private business Idaho Falls ID
  • Quite nice and deluxe as budget motels go.

  • Kirkham Campground
  • Boise National Forest, Lowman ID
  • Cool spot. Over a little bridge across the Payette River across the highway. A small campground with amazing hot springs a few yards away. Very crowded nowadays.

  • Ranch Inn Motel and Campground
  • private business Lava Hot Springs ID
  • Very, very basic place. Cable is good, wifi is bad, they don't provide cups. Heater works, It's very handy to park right outside the door. Two miles down US 30 from Lava Hot Springs. The Portneuf River runs right behind it. Very scenic back there.