Idaho’s Salmon River is an ideal camping spot for those who love to experience true American wilderness adventures. Most of the camping sites along this river are miles away from civilization, making it a superb destination for campers who are looking to escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.
One of the most popular camping areas is the Salmon National Forest as it’s quite private, undeveloped and free. However, if you’d prefer not to be quite and so isolated, you will find several other campgrounds along the river that provide picnic tables and running water. However, if you are camping out along the wooded areas of the river be aware that the mosquitoes can be pretty thick.
One of the most popular campgrounds on Salmon River is Wallace Lake. The sites are located between the forests and you will be able to get a great view of the three-acre lake that sits along the shore. The campground features water spigots, vault toilets, grills, and picnic tables. There are spots for three RVs, but they can be hard getting into the ground due to the rocky road leading into it. There aren’t any power boats allowed on the lake, which makes it a pretty peaceful location.
One of the easier campgrounds to reach from the highway is Twin Creek, which can be reached from Route 93. There are two lops in the ground and some of the sites are located pretty close to a scenic creek. However, you’ll need to take a short hike to the creek as you can’t get a good view of it from the campground.
One of the grounds is suitable for RVs and the sites are nestled among some beautiful Douglas fir trees. There are about 40 campsites in total and there’s a maximum stay of 14 days. There’s room for four RVs and the ground has several water spigots, but doesn’t have any flush toilets on site. The ground is usually open from May until the end of September and is located near North Fork, Idaho.
There’s another campground known as Spring Bar, which sits near the small and charming town of Riggins. The Spring Bar ground is quite popular with boaters as they can launch their vessels here when exploring the Salmon River. This is a quiet section of the river and some of the sites overlook the waterway.
You’ll find some Ponderosa pines and apple trees in the site which has a total of 16 campsites. These come with grills, picnic tables, water spigots, and vault toilets. There aren’t any hook-ups for RVs, but there is still a camping spot for one of the vehicles. The maximum stay at the Spring Bar Campground is 16 days.
There are many isolated and beautiful locations for camping along the Salmon River. It’s an ideal location for fishing (especially salmon of course) and boating as well as a little white water rafting for the more adventurous types.
There’s also a wide variety of wildlife along the river and the shore with some excellent wooded areas for hiking and camping. Some of the animals you can find here include deer, moose, mountain goats, bobcats, weasels, black bears, elk cougars, badgers, beavers, and gray wolf.
The river itself is about 425 miles in length and is also nicknamed the River of no Return. It’s the Snake River’s largest tributary and some of the wonderful towns you can visit along the way include Clayton, Stanley, Challis, White Bird, and Salmon. The area has been home to many native tribes ever since it was first settled about 8,000 years ago.
