Powell Campground

We were heading from central Idaho to Washington via the twisty-windy, incredibly beautiful route 12, the Lewis & Clark Highway with a one-night stay at this pristine National Park Campground. When we entered there was no entrance gate, no guard post, no ranger. Just trees and a friendly note advising unreserved visitors to deposit their fee in the box. We were fortunate to have a "luxury" site with electric and water hookup. No pumpout or waste drains here. Just a clean restroom nearby. The campsites are quite private, hidden in wooded back-in park spots. Some offer access to the nearby Lochsa River which is definitely not something you're going to wade across. This route is full of adventure and scenic treats. Powell Campground is a great way to relax and enjoy them. As you would expect, there is no cell or wifi coverage here. This is the woods, folks,

There are many great camping options along Highway 12 but this is the only one that offers electrical hookups. Camp is two loops - 1-11 are nonelectric and 12-34 with electric. Sites are a mix of reservable and first come first serve in both loops. There is also a large day-use picnic area in the 1-11 loop along with the camp host site. Site 11 is FCFS and is easily overlooked and remained empty on a holiday weekend as it sits on the edge of the picnic day-use area. If you're passing through late in the day and just need a quick stop for the night be sure to check out EVERY SITE.
By some miracle, I managed to get one of the FCFS electric sites for the July 4th weekend. And a good thing too - with 95* heat every day having the AC on in the camper was a must.
There are several large pull-thru sites in the 12-34 loop but most were back-in sites. I had #13 and it was one of the smaller sites in this loop but I still had plenty of room - could have fit two of my rigs in there. Most of the sites had a fair amount of shade throughout the day as well. Everything is paved and mostly level - I didn't notice many of the other campers using leveling blocks. Each site has a standard table and fire ring. Water taps available throughout the camp but I didn't check the water quality. There are pit toilets along the outer edges of the loops and flush toilets located between the picnic area and the electric loop. Trash dumpsters located near the toilets in both loops -and they pick up the trash at 7am on Mondays so don't plan on sleeping in that morning. There is a camp host on site but they seem to be absent most of the week and only showed up on the weekend.
Several of the sites backed up to the Lochsa River but access wasn't the best - narrow paths down a steep embankment to the river and then a walk over the boulder river bed to the water.
Lots of road noise during the day but it tapers off at night. The Lochsa Lodge located beside the camp has a restaurant and gas pump if you need it. The Powell FS Ranger Station is also located here. Camp is about 50 miles from Lolo, MT and 70 miles from Kooskia, ID so plan accordingly and gas up ahead of time - there's nothing but highway, river and wilderness in that 120 mile stretch between towns! Beautiful area and well worth the drive.

We got the last spot! And it was gorgeous. Plenty of trees, level, and large. We could hear road noise occasionally, big rigs braking, but mostly heard the river. The non-electric sites were more secluded and would stay there next time if available. We used senior pass to get the $10 rate, regular rate is $20 for electric, $16 non. Water available at two locations on the elec. loop, vault and flush toilets available. River access from elec. loop is very steep but access from the non-elec loop was perfect.

Very nice campground with electric only hookups or dry camping in separate loops. We paid the $20 for electricity however the dry sites for $16 were nice as well. The water gets shut off at some point but it wasn’t clear as to when they do that.

There is river access. Sites are well positioned for privacy. Far enough from the highway so there is no road noise. If you’re a hiker there is a trail leaving right from the iron ranger.

I don’t believe that this campground is open all year any longer because I saw a sign stating that it was being closed October 30th.

All in all a nice place for an overnight or a longer stay too.

We loved Powell Campground. It was not far from the main road, but we did not have any road noise. There were many trees, and we could hear the river from our site. The electric loop did seem to be more crowded, and have more activity going on. I think this must be a popular site for residents of Missoula to camp on the weekends.

Water was not drinkable.
Flush toilets were clean.
Campground hosts do not arrive until mid June.

I was nervous about going over Lolo Pass, but it was fine. We stopped at the top of the pass and enjoyed the small visitor center.

Wifi (very weak signal) available at Lochsa Lodge. We had breakfast there one morning and that was a nice treat. No cell service for 40+ miles.
Gas available at the Lodge.
Small store with a few items also available at the Lodge.

This is a forest service campground but it has electric hookup in about half the sites, and flush toilets. It is next door to a lodge with a restaurant, fuel and a convenience store, but they cannot be seen from the campground. The roads and sites pads are paved and there were a number of pull throughs. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. It's a lovely place in the woods. The full rate for electric is $20 and non electric is $14. No cell service is the only reason it is not 5 star.