Joe T. Fallini Campground

We drove down to the Lost River Campground and then came back to this one. The road is paved the sites are level. The park is well maintained. Some of the sites have power and water. The sites were way to close together for our liking.There was no shade from the mid day heat. It reminded us the private RV park layout. Our motto "we are in the wrong place if we have to run our AC to keep us and our three dogs happy". We went back to Lost River and camped in the shade next to the river. Right choice for us.

This is a first come first serve BLM campground that is located on the north shore of MacKay Reservoir. We arrived at around 7 pm on Friday, August 27, 2021 and found a few sites still available. We chose site C18, pull through, partial hook ups. The site was clean, paved/gravel with a firepit, table, shade and medium size trees. The view of the mountains was great! The site was very off level but with some blocks we were able to level easily enough. The dump station is between the two campgrounds and has potable water if you need it. It is, however, a little tight for larger rigs but doable if it's not too busy. Our truck and 31' 5th wheel fit fine. Dump fee w/campsite $5, w/o $10. Some highway noise but otherwise very pleasant.

Reservoir at 6% capacity according to information in Mackay. Two locals told me it was this low a few years ago but this isn’t always the case. Same amount of water coming in and going out but evaporation lowering it. Unable to launch boats. Kayaks and inflatables including paddle boards ok.
Talked to people fishing and not much luck.
Sites large and spacious.
We got half price with our pass but had to pay $4/day for electricity. A deal.
We had been planning on boon docking but due to high temps and chances of rain decided on the CG. You can boon dock right below the CG but most spots not level. Also below the dam and along the reservoir north of the CG.
Nice walk to the dam especially if you want to walk your dog.

Hiking don’t miss lower Cedar Creek Falls. 3 miles RT and fairly level. Runs all year and the hike is along a stream. The water comes out a hole in the mountain. A hydroelectric plant used to be where the parking area is and you can see photos in the Free museum ( in town), opened Friday and Saturday.

Don’t miss the mine tour, you can pick up the tour brochure anywhere in town, bars, stores, or grocery markets.
The market, Ives was well stocked with fresh food and reasonable prices and sales.
Local laundromat was clean and reasonable $1.50 for 3 washers and $2.75 for the other 4 front loaders. No change machine.
Small park past museum had free parking for 16 hours and a dump station with good water for a donation. CG dump was $5 if you stayed $10 otherwise.
We did another hike but you need a 4 wheel drive, called Bear Lake. A hard hike.
We did a bike ride on 93 north of the CG, good bike lane and minimal traffic.
CH close to the road but no noise at night, even minimal during the day.

Saw eagles and Osprey. Others saw a white horse across the lake on a ridge.
A moose walked through the CG one morning early. Nice owl hooting at night

No water turned on yet, no garbage yet, and dump station still closed. Ice on the reservoir but spring is in the air and the electric hookups are available. This is early season and all rates are cut in half until they turn on the water. That’s a paltry $4.50 with the Senior Pass. We had the entire campground to ourselves. Fabulous BLM facility. Outhouses immaculate. Jaw-dropping scenery. Plenty of places to walk a big, goofy chocolate Lab. We’ll be back.

We are on the loop closest to Mackey. Spacious campsites, hookups, potable water, Fire rings, some sites have shelters over the picnic tables, clean vault toilets. Lots of dogs (that must stay on leash).
Lots of kids! School started today so no more quads running through the campground and no more kids on bikes!
It is next to the highway and there is a boat launch here onto the reservoir. Lots of fishing boats in and out. But it’s still a nice campground and quiet at night. We’d stay here again.
I have US Cellular and service has been very good, however it may disappear occasionally.
Lots of bald eagles fishing in the reservoir. Other small waterfowl I haven’t id’ed yet. In the area we’ve seen the pronghorn. A magpie just came and sat on our fire ring.

We were looking for a place to spend the night and decided to spend 2. This is a beautiful campground. There are 2 loops for RVs and tent sites on both loops. The loop with the boat ramp has 4 double sites. We were here in April and the reservoir was still frozen over. There is a real nice interpretive trail and if you like to hike, the Mackey is just over a mile away. (It’s worth the hike.) We had 2 bars of Verizon LTE so we were satisfied. The scenery is just awesome. We only paid half price because the water was still off and the dump station closed. The electricity was on, so we were happy.

This is truly a special camping experience.... if you can get a site at this very popular non-reservable BLM campground. We thought we had a site only to find out it was a partially occupied double site! Oh my. What disappointment until the neighbouring campers offered half of their double to us. What saints. Thank you to the Joe Reeds. The BLM should look into breaking up the double sites so more people could have a shot at this fabulous venue. Easy access off the 93, there is some dispersed campsites on either side of the campground near the reservoir. The facilities are very clean including the vault toilets. Fabulous views of Borah Peak.