Cottonwood Campground

Get here early, it's ALL first come first serve. The locals in the area like to come here to enjoy the river and the wildlife! I was here in fall - the trees are spectacular! From my spot, I saw tons of wildlife - 4 mule deer, a whole family of otters playing in the river, a bighorn and osprey & eagles hunting in the river. It's incredibly quiet - and was grateful that people weren't running their generators for hours on end to interrupt the silence and the sound of the river. There's decent cell service - not enough for internet, tho. There's water available around the park, but no hookups. Make sure and visit the outhouses at the gate - they're painted with incredible murals.

Enjoyed our stay here. Beautiful little oasis along the Salmon River. Most mornings, one or two eagles would fly down along the river. Lots of geese flying by also. It was very restful.

Lot of folks came in on a Monday or Tuesday, put their camper in the site, paid and left until the weekend without occupying the site. There is no rule against that. So just know it fills up quickly. Sunday afternoon or Monday morning are your best bets. There is a huge parking lot where you could pull in early in the morning and wait to see if anyone leaves.

Stanley Idaho (70 miles) and Salmon Idaho (45 miles) are an easy drive and worth exploring.

The drive to Stanley has geothermal water going into the river. People have used rocks to make little pools for soaking in. It is somewhat easy to miss, so investigate a little and you should find which MM it is by.

Beautiful BLM park right on the Salmon River. Couldn’t believe we discovered this wonderful park by accident. No hook ups but dump available on way out. Park is very clean, pit toilets that are lighted at night, fire pits and large picnic tables. Thanks to previous campers at our site we had lots of wood for a big fire under the stars. Pull through and back in sites. Room for very large rigs. This is a must stay if you like to dry camp. Water is available throughout the park.

What an amazing spot right along the Salmon river just north of Challis off hwy 93. It’s only 12 spots and very popular with locals. I met some amazing people from the area and all over the country. Six of the sites sit right on the river, but they fill up and quick and people tend to stay one extra night once they get one. I had site #9, which had shade most of the afternoon, was close to the bathrooms and had little to no road noise in the evenings and overnight. There is a swim beach at the boat launch, which is small but uncrowned. Dwayne the camp host was so friendly, offered us a river shuttle and local info. Unfortunately this is his last year, get there soon if you want to say hi! There is a dump station with fresh water for $5, even if you are camping. All in all it was the best $20 I spent on 2 nights of camping the entire trip.

Hard to get your head around that this is BLM rec site! We were on a mission to stay here. 9 years ago we traveled this lovely road and made a reservation at McKay Resevoir (pre-Campendium). Stopped because it looked so beautiful. We had lunch at the picnic area and drove through the campground. The host was mowing the lawns and couples were playing horseshoes! We swore we would come back one day. And so here we are. It was worth waiting 9 years. And the same host is still here, infact he has been the host for over 20 years!!! Water spigots available to fill your tanks near some of the campsites. Dump station with more portable water and the big bonus was swimming in the Salmon River! Our site was my favorite. Don’t come in on a Friday too late in day.