Sawtooth National Forest
Dispersed camping is generally allowed
On national forest and grassland, camping outside developed campgrounds is generally permitted unless an area is posted closed or a local order says otherwise. Stay on existing surfaces, camp away from water and trailheads, and check the forest's current orders before you go — fire restrictions change through the season.
Rules change with fire season and local order. Checked 2026-08-05. Confirm on the managing office’s official page
- Area
- 3,422 sq mi
- Managed by
- Forest Service
- Campgrounds
- 77
- Longest rig
- 99 ft
Where the land is, and what fits
The official Forest Service boundary with every campground we hold inside it. Tell it how long your rig is and the map keeps only what takes it — public land rarely matches the shape people picture, and neither does what you can actually get into.
Official unit boundary · USDA Forest Service · 77 campgrounds shown
- Abbott CampgroundMay 15 – October 31 · Reservations accepted
- Alturas Inlet CampgroundJune – September · Reservations accepted
- Alturas Tent Camping AreaJune – September · First-come, first-served
- Baumgartner Campgroundto 76 ft · 31 sites · Pull-through5/18 · Reservations accepted
- Bear Creek Transfer CampMay · Reservations accepted
- Bear Gulch CampgroundMay
- Bennett Springs CampgroundJune
- Big HoleReservations accepted
- Bird Creek CampgroundMay · Reservations accepted
- Bostetter CampgroundSeason not published
- Boundary Campground and Picnic AreaFriday before Memorial Day – Sept. 30 · Not accepted.
- Bowns CampgroundReservations accepted
- BuckhornSeason not published
- Canyon Transfer CampReservations accepted
- Caribou Campground4 sitesMay – September · First-come, first-served
- Casino Creek Campground4 sitesMay – September · First-come, first-served
- Chaparral CampgroundReservations accepted
- Chemeketan Campground - Salmon River HeadwatersJune – September · Reservations accepted
- Chinook Bay Campground4 sitesMay – September · First-come, first-served
- Clear Creek CampgroundSeason not published
- Copper Creek/Garfield CampgroundMay · Not accepted.
- Cougar Dispersed Camping AreaJune
- Deer Creek TrailheadSeason not published
- Diamondfield Jack CampgroundSeason not published
- Easley Campground (Wood River Valley Area)May – September · Reservations accepted
- East Fork Baker Creek CampgroundJune · Not accepted.
- Elk Creek Campground - Hwy 21May – September · First-come, first-served
- Father and Sons CampgroundJune
- Federal Gulch Campground and TrailheadNot accepted.
- Five Points CampgroundReservations accepted
- Glacier View Campgroundto 67 ft · 78 sitesMay – September · Reservations accepted
- Grandjean Campground4 sitesm – September · First-come, first-served
- Harrington Fork Picnic AreaApril
- Holman Creek Campground4 sitesJune – September · First-come, first-served
- Hunter Creek Transfer Camp30 May · Reservations accepted
- Independence Lakes CampgroundSeason not published
- Iron Creek CampgroundJune – September · First-come, first-served
- Lake Cleveland Campground - West SideJuly · First-come, first-served
- Lake View CampgroundMay – September · First-come, first-served
- Lower O'Brien Campground4 sitesJune – September · First-come, first-served
- Lower Penstemon Campgroundto 30 ft · 7 sitesMay 15-20 · Reservations accepted
- Mill Flat CampgroundJune
- Mormon Bend Campground4 sitesApril – September · First-come, first-served
- Mountain View CampgroundMay – September · First-come, first-served
- Mt. Heyburn CampgroundMay – September · First-come, first-served
- Murdock Campground4 sitesMay – September · First-come, first-served
- North Fork CampgroundMay – September · Reservations accepted
- North Shore (Alturas) CampgroundJune – September · First-come, first-served
- Outlet Campgroundto 99 ft · 22 sitesMay – September · Reservations accepted
- Pettit CampgroundJune
- Pettit Lake Campground4 sitesJune – September · First-come, first-served
- Pioneer CampgroundPlease contact the Fairfield Ranger District at 208-764-3202 for more info.
- Point Campgroundto 28 ft · 16 sitesMay – September · Reservations accepted
- Porcupine Springs Campgroundto 30 ft · 9 sitesMay
- Redfish CorralsSeason not published
- Redfish Inlet CampgroundMay – September · First-come, first-served
- Redfish Lake Recreation ComplexReservations accepted
- Riverside CampgroundJune – September · First-come, first-served
- Salmon River Campground4 sitesMay – September · First-come, first-served
- Sawmill CampgroundMay 1 annually, weather and road conditions permitting. · Not accepted.
- Schipper Campground4 sitesMay 1st
- Smokey Bear (Alturas) CampgroundJune – September · First-come, first-served
- Sockeye Campground4 sitesMay – September · First-come, first-served
- Stanley Lake Campgroundto 52 ft · 40 sitesMay – September · Reservations accepted
- Stovepipe SpringsSeason not published
- Sublett CampgroundJune
- Sunny Gulch Campgroundto 35 ft · 46 sitesMay – September · First-come, first-served
- Third Fork CampgroundMay
- Thompson Flat Campgroundto 60 ft · 13 sitesJuly
- Trap Creek Campground - Hwy 21May – September · Reservations accepted
- Twin Lakes Campground (Albion Division)Season not published
- Upper O'Brien Campground4 sitesMay – September · First-come, first-served
- Upper Penstemon Campground4 sitesJune
- Whiskey Flats CampgroundJune – September · First-come, first-served
- Willow Creek Campground20 May · Reservations accepted
- Willow Creek Transfer Camp20 May · Reservations accepted
- Wood River CampgroundMay – September · First-come, first-served
Sawtooth National Forest
Sawtooth National Forest is a national forest that covers 2,110,408 acres in the U.S. states of Idaho and Utah. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it was originally named the Sawtooth Forest Reserve in a proclamation issued by President Theodore Roosevelt on May 29, 1905. On August 22, 1972, a portion of the forest was designated as the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA), which includes the Sawtooth, Cecil D. Andrus–White Clouds, and Hemingway–Boulders wilderness areas. The forest is managed as four units: the SNRA and the Fairfield, Ketchum, and Minidoka Ranger Districts.
Extract from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA. Agency description not published.
No vehicles past these lines
Designated wilderness is closed to every wheeled vehicle, including bicycles. You can walk in and camp; you cannot drive or park a rig inside one.
- Sawtooth Wilderness217,511 acres
- Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds Wilderness90,679 acres
- Hemingway-Boulders Wilderness67,912 acres
Byways through this country
Places worth pulling over
Drive to Sawtooth the long way
Byway plans the road in, not just the destination — real places along the way, weighted to what you like, with nothing invented.