Pine Flats Campground

I really liked this campground. It's a nice forest setting with very large campsites. Most forest service campgrounds I have seen are have small closely spaced sites so this was a pleasant surprise. And even though the campground is fairly close to the highway, it's a couple hundred feet below the road so it's pretty quiet. I arrived on a Monday afternoon (8/6) and the campground was about 50 percent full but on Tuesday it was only about 25 percent full. Several sites were reserved but I don't think you really need reservations.

The hike to the hot springs is nice but the (two pools) are small and shallow, but the water temperature was about right.

As others stated, the area surrounding the campground has been burned but it's still a beautiful area and campground.

If you’re looking for some shade and a dip in a lovely cool river, this is a good spot on the way to or from Stanley. The trees are huge and impressive, our sit was level and large. Easy access to the river...there is a nice little sandy beach on the way to the hot springs where it’s easy to cool off. Not deep enough to swim, but ok for a dip. Fairly quiet, as the campground is below the road and there’s not much traffic.

This campground is sandwiched between the Banks-Lowman Road and the South Fork Payette River, in a dense stand of ponderosa pines.

The 188,000-acre Pioneer Fire burned the hillsides surrounding this campground in September 2016, but left the campground itself largely unscathed thanks to obvious efforts by wildland firefighters. There are no hookups available here, and some of the sites (like ours) are disappointingly close to neighbors. During our midweek visit in July 2017, however, there were only a few other campers to contend with. I was surprised by the low 3,700-foot elevation, which meant that it was unpleasantly warm here despite the shade provided by towering ponderosa pines throughout the campground.

The key amenity to this campground is the Pine Flats Hot Springs, located down a short and easy quarter-mile trail from the campground. The springs sit high on a rock face lining the South Fork Payette River, and spill down the cliff into about a half dozen soaking pools created by stacking rocks. I'd guess that the water temp was somewhere around +/- 100ºF, and varied slightly from pool to pool. The springs are spectacular (see photos I've uploaded).

We had no cell service on Verizon, and the trees prevent any hope of satellite television. That, however, may not be a bad thing. Sites are far enough from the road that noise is minimal, unlike the Hot Springs Campground some distance west towards Garden Valley. Sites are not necessarily level. Group sites ring a parking area and are therefore less attractive. I enjoyed our one night, but I don't think that I'd stay here for two.