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It’s time to head out on the road with your kids for another summer of family camping trips. If you’ve managed to narrow it down to Idaho, then you’re already in a good place. While there are countless places to set up camp, I’d like to introduce you to the absolute best places to camp with kids in Idaho.
Idaho tends to slip under the radar when you’re considering places to travel. If you already live there, you know that Idaho is much more than just potatoes. The wilderness areas and state parks are outstanding. This is just a sample of them all. If you want a bit more luxury, check out these recommendations for the best glamping in Idaho.
How do you choose a good family campsite?
Making a campsite fit your family can sometimes feel like a difficult task. You need to make sure that it has all the amenities that you need, PLUS plenty of things close by for keeping kids happy and avoiding boredom. If you do your research then you’re setting yourself up for success and it’s not to hard to find the perfect family friendly campground in Idaho. It only takes a little bit of browsing and you’ll be off your way to a dream campsite with your kids in Idaho.
Choosing The Best Idaho Campground Location
One of the most important factors to the success of your Idaho camping trip is campground location. Choose a campground in Idaho that has some shade (it gets hot in the summer), and also that’s nearby to fun activities to do. We’ve found that choosing a campground with lots of rocks to climb on or with water nearby are some of our family favorite places to camp in Idaho.
Idaho Campground Amenities
If you’re looking for an Idaho campsite that isn’t too much of a separation from home, you’ll want to find the right amenities. There are campsites that offer everything you can imagine. If you want to work while out on the trip you can find a site with wifi. Having access to showers and flushing toilets can be a great amenity for when you have younger children that are slopping around in the mud and need to get cleaned up.
There are even sites that have RV hookups and everything that you need to dump and fill. That doesn’t mean that every campsite in that campground is like that though. Often campgrounds have tent sites, RV sites, or even cabins for rent.
Just remember that the more amenities a campsite has, the more it will cost! Public campgrounds can cost as little as $15 per night for a basic tent/rv site with a vault toilet, whereas a private campground with full RV hookups and WIFI can cost over $100/night.
Private vs Public Campgrounds In Idaho
You’ll often come across a lot of family campgrounds in Idaho that are either public or private. These will often be easy to distinguish as the public campgrounds are government-run and located in state parks or national forests. These can range in their level of quality, but they’re likely to have fewer amenities than private campgrounds. Unless otherwise noted, just plan on them having basic sites, pit toilets, and central water spigots.
Private campgrounds are great for when you’re ready to pay a good amount of money for a higher quality stay. It’s kind of like hotels. The more you shell out, the more there will be for you to enjoy. For some people, it’s more about enjoying the wilderness, not the swimming pool at the KOA.
Reservations for Idaho Campgrounds
Most campgrounds will require a reservation. It would be hard to show up at a campground without a reservation and hope that you can get a site just to find out that it was full. A quick Google search, or just following this guide will help make sure you don’t end up searching for another site last-minute.
The 11 Best Places to Camp with Kids in Idaho
Family Camping At Redfish Lake Idaho
Closest City: Stanley
Reservations: Varies
Best time of year to go: Summer and Fall
There’s a huge number of choices if you start looking into going camping at Redfish Lake. You have access to dozens of campsites all with differing levels of amenities and facilities. This only speaks to the beauty of the space you find around you. People want to be there. You can paddle on the lake and hike through the woods. It’s a great place in Idaho to introduce the wilderness to your kids.
City of Rocks Idaho Camping With Kids
Closest City: Almo
Reservations: Reservations suggested in Summer months
Best time of year to go: Summer and Fall
With 64 different sites, it’s pretty likely that you’ll be able to find a space in the City of Rocks campground in Idaho without any difficulty. There’s not a lot of amenities that come along with this one, but there are perfectly good vault toilets and available drinking water from April-October. There are stunning granite formations all around that the kids can play on and the whole family can tour.
Last Chance Family Campground, McCall Idaho
Closest City: McCall
Reservations: First come, first served
Best time of year to go: Year-round
The Last Chance Campground in Idaho gives your family easy access to a beautiful waterfall at the top of a short hike. The hiking trails depart straight out of the campground and is the perfect activity for the whole family. This family campsite is temporarily closed as of March 2021, but be on the lookout for the moment it opens up. There are plenty of great sites for your kids to feel at home in.
Lava Hot Springs Family KOA Idaho
Closest City: Lava Hot Springs
Reservations: Reservations Required
Best time of year to go: Year Round
The Lava Hot Springs KOA is one of the best places to camp in Idaho with kids year round. It’s only a 5 minute walk from the famous Lava Hot Springs pools, and they have some of the nicest family campsites in Idaho. You can choose between tent sites, RV pads (some with river front access) and even cabins. Of course, while you’re there, you absolutely must head to Lava Hot Springs for a swim in their hot pools.
Massacre Rocks State Park Camping For Families
Closest City: American Falls
Reservations: Reservations Required
Best time of year to go: Summer
The Snake River winds down below Massacre Rocks State Park Campground and it gives your family a huge array of different things to do while staying there. If you love to fly fish, this is the place to teach your kids for the first time. In the summer, you can enjoy splashing around and playing together. Camp right above the river and be back to this rustic site in no time.
Salmon River Family Friendly Campground
Closest City: Stanley
Reservations: First come, first served
Best time of year to go: Summer and Fall
The Salmon River Campground is split up into two separate areas. You can be right by the river, or hop across the road to a quieter location. The best part of this Idaho family campground is the access to a plethora of different hot springs in the area. There’s plenty of fishing and hiking around in the area, and with the Stanley museum nearby you’ll never get bored with the kids.
Ponderosa State Park Camping With Kids
Closest City: McCall
Reservations: Reservations required
Best time of year to go: Year-round
Ponderosa State Park has just about everything you and your family could possibly want for camping with kids in Idaho. There are cabins, rustic tent sites, or campsites for big groups where you can bring all of the family friends. It’s a fantastic choice if you’re hoping to pair a mountain landscape with great fishing in the Payette lake, this is one of the best family campgrounds in Idaho..
Heyburn State Park Family Campground
Closest City: Coeur d’Alene
Reservations: Reservation Required
Best time of year to go: Winter, year-round
This Idaho camping park has been around for the long haul since 1908. It’s only improved since its inception and will continue to do so. The buildings were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, but their age doesn’t show. If you love to bike or paddle, this park has everything for you. It will get your family started in just about every possible outdoor activity and you can have a ton of comforts while you do it at this family friendly campground in Idaho.
Round Lake State Park Campground, Idaho
Closest City: Sagle
Reservations: Reservations Required
Best time of year to go: Summer and Fall
The state park surrounds Round Lake, which means it is the prime place to take your family paddling and fishing on your camping trip to Idaho. There’s a great beach for the kids to swim at, and because the lake only hits a maximum of 37 feet, it stays pretty warm. You can rent loads of different boats or SUPs to take out on the lake and then go for a hike around the lake.
Farragut State Park, Idaho Campground for Families
Closest City: Coeur d’Alene
Reservations: Reservations Required
Best time of year to go: Summer and Fall
Playgrounds, frisbee golf, and a museum are only the beginning or what Farragut State Park has to offer. There’s also swimming, boats and over 40 miles of hiking trails to take the kids on. There’s no possible chance of running out of activities on this trip. It’s one of the most perfect places imaginable for Idaho family camping and has 4,000 acres for you all to explore.
Beaver Creek Family Friendly Campground
Closest City: West Yellowstone
Reservations: Reservations needed for Summer months
Best time of year to go: Year-round
This is an Idaho campsite that doesn’t have too much to offer, but everything is well-maintained and beautiful. There are pit toilets, but no sinks to go with them. You can just straight into the lake and not have to worry about ever getting too dirty anyways. If you want to take the family for a trip that isn’t full of frills, Beaver Creek has all of the basics, but nothing more. You and your entire family will learn to fall in love with the outdoors here.
