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2025

Spots in Idaho

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  • 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

  • Pine Flats
  • Boise National Forest, Lowman ID
  • 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!

  • 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!

  • Lava Hot Springs
  • private business Lava Hot Springs ID
  • Six pools. The big rectangular one, around to the right in the grotto, is the very hottest - 112°. They get progressively cooler moving left. Next is the biggest and ranges from 110° to 103° according to the sign. Beautiful setting at the opening of a little canyon with the busy highway and railroad tracks right above..

  • Hells Canyon State Park
  • Idaho State Parks, Lewiston ID
  • shady, the camp is quiet, but there is an extremely busy highway right across the Snake River. Kind of deluxe and kind of expensive, as state parks tend to be.

  • 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

  • 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.

  • Zim's
  • private business New Meadows, ID
  • locals pool, basketball hoops in the water, stuff like that. -- -- -- -- Camping here this time. Offseacon it's $15=$5+$10

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Cove Creek Hot Springs
  • Sawtooth National Forest, Stanley, ID
  • Nice pullover off Highway 75 east of Stanley. Park and walk down to a little 2 person pool by the Salmon River. No shade, so you'll need a sun-blocking plan in the middle of the day.

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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.

  • Challis Hot Springs
  • private business Challis ID
  • An awesome find! Beautiful campsite right on a bend of the Salmon River.

  • 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.

  • Banbury Hot Springs
  • private business Buhl ID
  • Oh, this place is soooo nice! It is now the same management as Miracle Hot Springs, so for your $10 ($8 for senior) you can go to both. Camping over here is both cheaper and way nicer. The Miracle soaking setup is way better (see their Spot entry), so driving to Miracle for your soak and staying here the rest of the time is the best bet. Banbury is a very large concrete pool, with very hot water coming out one place and cold water as many other places as needed. It is next to the river. No wifi.

  • Wagon Wheel Campground
  • Bruneau Sands State Park, Bruneau ID
  • Quite busy on Friday night. Lots of large, happy groups. Part of the crowd is for the observatory and the Friday night astronomy show!

  • 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!