Bad Bear Campground

Show on map208-392-6681matthew.nance@usda.gov
P.O. Box 129
Idaho City, ID 83631

Overview

Bad Bear Campground is located 48 miles northeast of Boise, Idaho, in the scenic Boise National Forest on the Idaho City Ranger District, along Highway 21 at an elevation of 5,100 feet. Wildlife and summer wildflowers are abundant. Historic Idaho City is just 11 miles south. Mores Creek runs adjacent to the site, offering whitefish and rainbow trout fishing.

Highway 21, also known as the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway, snakes along Mores Creek to Mores Creek Summit, Gold Fork, and Banner Ridge with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and forest.

Recreation

Numerous trail opportunities are in the area, offering hiking, biking, horseback riding, and ATVing. In winter, the area becomes a playground for backcountry skiers and snowmobilers.

Facilities

This campground contains 5 single sites that can accommodate up to 6 people each, and one double site that can accommodate 12. Picnic tables and fire rings are provided, and most sites also have lantern hooks. The site is in an open area with shade in all sites. Vault toilets are provided. Parking spurs are paved. Due to its proximity to the highway, some noise from passing traffic is to be expected. No trash service. Pack-in-pack-out.

Contact Info

This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (208) 392-3700.

Nearby Attractions

Camp site features

Across 6 camp sites:

  • Fire pit: all 6 sites
  • Pets allowed: all 6 sites
  • Longest RV: 40 ft
  • Largest party: 12 people
  • Equipment: Tent

Directions

From the Idaho City Ranger Station, drive north on Highway 21 for almost 10 miles, then turn left at the sign for Bad Bear Campground. Bad Bear Campground is located at milepost 48, just beyond Ten Mile Campground.

Stay Limit

Check in from 12 PM, check out by 11 AM.

Reviews

28 reviews
5 stars
14
4 stars
7
3 stars
2
2 stars
4
1 stars
1
Nikki P
Loop:Bad Bear Campground
Site:
Reviewed 2 months ago
This is a well kept small camp site with good tree/shade coverage. Some of the camp sites are close to the road but didn’t seem to affect our time. We stayed in site 5 and it fit both our texts with no problem.
Jesse K
Loop:Bad Bear Campground
Site:
Reviewed 3 months ago
Site 2 was clean and away from the road. We were able to setup 2 tents at this site. The restrooms were close to all camp sites and had toilet paper. Red water pump was not operational during our 3 day stay in July. Short hike up camp site had trials, fire wood and game trail camera.
Reed C
Loop:Bad Bear Campground
Site:
Reviewed 4 months ago
Beautifully peaceful spot. Only drawback is no water or power.
Benjamin H
Loop:Bad Bear Campground
Site:
Reviewed 4 months ago
I had a really fun time at Bad Bear campgrounds. Unfortunately, the previous attendees of the lot I reserved left a fair amount of trash. I did my best to clean up but I’m sure I missed a few things. There is a stream along the back of site #2, with crystal clear cold water. The sounds of the small creek were relaxing to fall asleep to, and waking up to a cacophony of bird calls (Ravens, Swainson’s Thrush, Pine Siskin) was a pleasure. Sunset Mountain is nearby, offering a challenging but rewarding hike.
Heather R
Loop:Bad Bear Campground
Site:
Reviewed 5 months ago
The campground itself is great..the reservation system is not.. there should be at my reserved site…a sign with dates saying reserved. It’s not at any site and it’s at the info board in the beginning. I paid about 50$ for the last reservable site and it was a double but wanted to make sure I had a spot on a Friday night rolling in around 8 pm.. I got there and someone was set up camp in my site. I had to kick them out. There’s no camp host so it was up to me. She said they thought it was first come first serve since there was no sign saying reserved. I was not happy at all ..this is my worst fear and has never happened till this campground when they don’t take the time to put some sort of taken sign at the site itself. You need to do this , it could have gone very badly for me if they got upset.
BRIAN P
Loop:Bad Bear Campground
Site:
Reviewed a year ago
I live inMeridian and this was the third time I’ve take my visiting grandkids to Bad Bear campground. It’s the second time at site 3, ( I prefer site2 but it was Already reserved for our dates). The site 3 is huge( double site) and could fit even more than 2 tents.We had a wonderful time making campfires and wading in the creek. The only negative was that for the first time there were bees constantly around, especially when we were eating. We had to put up a bee trap which did help. We also looked at 10 mile campground and site 2 there was really nice but much smaller ( only 1 tent would fit).
Availability

See the Camp Sites section below to find detailed booking availability.

Reserve

Season dates

Peak season

May 21, 2027 – Sep 26, 2027

Reservable online

Peak season

May 19, 2028 – Oct 1, 2028

Reservable online

Camp Sites

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