Nip & Tuck Road Dispersed Camping
Sawtooth National Forest
Write a Review Nip & Tuck Road Stanley, ID 83278 208-727-5000 208-737-3200 Official WebsiteGPS: 44.2491, -114.9713
Overview of Nip & Tuck Road Dispersed Camping
Accessibility is not guaranteed, always scout ahead before driving down dirt roads. Learn more: Boondocking 101
Last Price Paid: $0
Reported by camper-895616 on 6/9/2024
Longest RV Reported: 36 feet (Class A)
Reported by Ray & Terri on 8/6/2021
Open Seasonally Yes
Elevation 6,430 ft / 1,959 m
Max Stay 16
Tent Camping Yes
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Q&A - Ask the Community about Nip & Tuck Road Dispersed Camping
To ask questions of the owner or manager please contact the campground directly. 208-727-5000
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Reviews of Nip & Tuck Road Dispersed Camping 12 people have reviewed this location.
Cell Phone Coverage
Confirmed by 3 Users
Last reported 6/9/2024
Confirmed by 3 Users
Last reported 6/21/2023
Confirmed by 3 Users
Last reported 6/25/2022
“Beautiful views!”
Reviewed 6/9/2024
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
Overall Rating
Stayed here few nights when traveling to Jackson Hole. Beautiful views and very quiet. Saw lots of wild life. Road in was fine with just few bumps but very doable. We didn’t stay at top due to that area being more populated. Only complaint is that people drive so fast on this road and I was concerned of my dogs getting hit. Othe... more
Stayed here few nights when traveling to Jackson Hole. Beautiful views and very quiet. Saw lots of wild life. Road in was fine with just few bumps but very doable. We didn’t stay at top due to that area being more populated. Only complaint is that people drive so fast on this road and I was concerned of my dogs getting hit. Otherwise lovely place and would stay again!
Verizon 5G
camper-895616 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Awesome dispersed camping ”
Reviewed 9/23/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 3 |
| RV Length: | 22' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
Nice road. Plenty of spots
kalyn29956 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Beautiful Spot!”
Reviewed 6/21/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
Overall Rating
The dirt road was narrow and a little bumpy but pretty decent shape. This place is absolutely beautiful. All of the really spots with amazing views were taken already but we went over the mountain and found a great spot. Have phone service in some spots. Quiet beautiful and secluded
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AT&T 4G
Amber would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Nice Open Area And Not Too Crowded”
Reviewed 9/3/2022
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
Even on Labor Day weekend we were able to find a nice spot after 6 PM. I’d stay here again!
JohnWhatley would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“A Treasure in the Gem State!”
Reviewed 6/25/2022
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 10 |
| Site Number: | 0 |
| RV Length: | 32' (Toy Hauler Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
10 Day Max Excellent choice for dispersed camping above Stanley, ID and within Sawtooth NF. Depending on the season, Expect some ATV, MTB, Dirt Bike, Electric Bike traffic. Large RVs and Coaches are limited to the lower sections off of Highway 21 just beyond the bridge. Nip and Tuck Rd becomes quite narrow and less improved,... more
10 Day Max
Excellent choice for dispersed camping above Stanley, ID and within Sawtooth NF.
Depending on the season, Expect some ATV, MTB, Dirt Bike, Electric Bike traffic.
Large RVs and Coaches are limited to the lower sections off of Highway 21 just beyond the bridge.
Nip and Tuck Rd becomes quite narrow and less improved, as you ascend; with off camber sections and some rutting. Vans, and taller suspension trailers can get up on the ridge - this is where you will get the most rewarding views as well as cell service. There are pullouts and vague access points to parking spots. Once on top, the road will continue S/SE until you descend back to Highway 75 into Lower Stanley. THE ROAD GETS VERY NARROW, TIGHT AND NOWHERE TO TURN AROUND>so be aware of your surroundings.
Otherwise, one of my favorite locations, yet.
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T-Mobile 5G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Nice, widely dispersed sites just a few miles NW of Stanley”
Reviewed 8/6/2021
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 5 |
| RV Length: | 36' (Class A) |
Overall Rating
We are full-timers and have a 36 ft Class A with a Cherokee Trailhawk tow and had scouted the area before arriving with the RV. The roads in to this area, NF-563/Stanley Creek Rd and NF-633/Nip and Tuck Road are in pretty decent shape for all vehicles coming in from the West off of Hwy 21, but be warned, do not come in from the East o... more
We are full-timers and have a 36 ft Class A with a Cherokee Trailhawk tow and had scouted the area before arriving with the RV. The roads in to this area, NF-563/Stanley Creek Rd and NF-633/Nip and Tuck Road are in pretty decent shape for all vehicles coming in from the West off of Hwy 21, but be warned, do not come in from the East on NF-633/Nip and Tuck Road off of Hwy 75 as just a short distance in, there is deep and narrow wash across the road that will likely ruin the underside of your RV unless you have a very high clearance vehicle. There are many dispersed sites around along the road, but most were taken when we arrived, and only a few facing Stanley have cell service. We found a decent site (44.2382, -114.9692), a little off of the main road, with a great view of the Sawtooth Range and the valley. The site sloped a bit from side to side, but we were able to get mostly level. There were a few flies around during the daytime, but not the biting kind, just annoying. Mosquitos were an issue only in the evenings. There are a number of hiking trails in the surrounding area. AT&T service was fair with 2-3 bars of LTE and speeds up to about 1.5 MB/s. T-Mobile service was good with 3 bars of 4G/LTE and speeds up to about 1.3 MB/s We were able to get DISH coverage on all three western satellites at our site. Also, there were no OTA channels to be had with our fixed omni antenna.
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AT&T 4G
T-Mobile 4G
Ray & Terri would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Free, Close to Stanley, No Neighbors”
Reviewed 7/17/2021
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
Nice camping spot for me and the van. Decent view of the Sawtooths. Lots of road traffic, atv, motorcycles, some mountain bikes, and others looking for a spot, saw ospreys flying by, cooled down to low 40’s overnight (7/16). No Verizon where I camped. Would definitely stay again.
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Verizon
Vanpe Diem would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Great access to the Sawtooths!”
Reviewed 10/27/2020
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
Perfect spot along HWY 21 with enough space to get away from the crowds. On the west side of the road is the way to Stanley Lake so it’s really close to lots of good views and hiking trails.
Mccracken_pnw would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Great views plenty of spots. ”
Reviewed 8/1/2020
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
| RV Length: | 18' (Teardrop Trailer) |
Overall Rating
This road has a lot of areas to park and camp. Most do not have cell service. I found a spot that I could get service with a booster and I had expansive view of sawtooths. My dog loved running around the fields chasing the gofers. Decent amount of traffic in July. A lot of mt. Bikers and off-roaders.
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AT&T 4G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Somewhat Long Road With Plenty of Boondocking”
Reviewed 8/28/2017
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 12 |
Overall Rating
I stayed here for a couple of weeks leading up to the 2017 Eclipse (this spot was in the path of totality). That actual weekend, I left, but I got a pretty good feel for some variation of what this long road has to offer. There was pretty consistently some other campers spread out around the road, but I easily found a spot when I ar... more
I stayed here for a couple of weeks leading up to the 2017 Eclipse (this spot was in the path of totality). That actual weekend, I left, but I got a pretty good feel for some variation of what this long road has to offer.
There was pretty consistently some other campers spread out around the road, but I easily found a spot when I arrived. Even just before the weekend of the eclipse, going up and down the road, I spotted a good handful of open spots remaining, but the traffic was pretty predictably increasing at a steady amount.
This spot is awesome if you have a small rig (like me). Even maybe some on the lower end of medium should have a pretty easy time. With larger rigs, it's going to get harder and harder. Most of the established campsites that we should all stick to are certainly for the smaller variety, with a spread out handful for larger rigs. With the smaller rigs, it should be easy enough to find a spot with an awesome view of the Sawtooths, as well as cell service (or not, if you prefer otherwise). With a larger rig, it's going to be hit or miss on both accounts.
The spot that I snagged was awesome: I had more than enough room in addition to easily parking for ideal sunlight on the solar panels. The view of the Sawtooths was amazing, and I had great TMobile 4G--it would sometimes switch between HSPA+ and LTE, but both were effective at streaming TV/movies the entire time I was there. I only got Extended Network on Verizon, but it was a rather fast version of that for the most part (I mostly stuck to my TMobile hotspot, so I can't say exactly how fast, but social media and some light browsing worked great). The campsite itself was almost entirely level, with only the fire ring placement someone else did being kind of awful--it was right in the middle, basically cutting the whole site in half.
Other spots aren't going to be quite as good in all, if any of those ways. Cell service is remarkably spotty, and the size and quality of the sites seems to vary quite a bit. While my spot was quite clean, a couple others seemed to be less so as I passed by. I really think the whole road is beautiful, but not all have that Sawtooths view. I enjoyed walking up and down the road, exploring some of the spur roads and trails that break off of it. Spots will vary in the amount of shade vs sunlight throughout the day just as much as they vary in anything else as well. There's also some spots that tent campers could walk out to, if you can find a reasonable parking spot, for some of the best views.
How much noise varied drastically. When I first arrived, it was amazingly quiet. Closer to the eclipse, there was a lot of traffic going up and down the road, making more noise. Most of the Idaho plates were wonderfully friendly and I can't say any noise they made actually bothered me ever (I can't say the same of everyone with out of state plates, unfortunately).
When I drove up and down the road, I had some varying feelings about it. The road is generally pretty skinny and long, with some stretches that don't really offer a great spot to pull over if you run into someone going the opposite way or even just someone on a bicycle. The East side of the road had some pretty deep holes in it which took going slower and more cautious over/around. The West side of the road seemed pretty consistently busier, though it had less holes and more turnouts.
Overall, it's on my list of places that I'll certainly consider staying at again. It makes an awesome spot to kick off from on exploring the Sawtooth Wilderness, and is just a lovely spot to camp that fit my needs, getting the right spot to begin with. It is somewhat of a gamble, but I would have stayed the full 16 days, through the eclipse, if I didn't want to go backpacking instead. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is due to the gamble it can be during a busy season, if you have particular needs.
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T-Mobile 4G
SubaruVagabond would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
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30 reviews
noted 6/25/2022
As of 2022 season through Labor Day - NFS dispersed camping within Sawtooth NF are enforced at 10 days max. Salmon - Challis and Boise NF are 14 days.
Also, there is a transfer station / trash drop off on Hwy 21 about 5.5 miles north of Stanley. Watch for a blue non-municipal transfer station sign ~ 3/4 of a mile past Stanley Creek rd / Nip and Tuck turn off.
Cost is $4 for anything less than 60 lbs. Only open on Saturdays 10 - 4.
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Amenities
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