Picnic Point (Id)

PO BOX 696
CASCADE, ID 83611

Overview

Picnic Point Campground is located on a bluff overlooking beautiful Warm Lake, at an elevation of 5,300 feet. Visitors enjoy boating, fishing, swimming, hiking and viewing local wildlife.

Recreation

Warm Lake offers great fishing opportunities for cutthroat, rainbow, lake and bull trout. Boating, canoeing and swimming are popular activities. A boat ramp is located at neighboring Shoreline Campground. Billy Rice Swim Beach is within walking distance, offering a day-use site for picnicking and access to a swimming beach.

The surrounding area offers great hiking, mountain biking, horseback and off-road vehicle riding and hunting. The WeWuKiye (Wa Wu Kia) Trail No. 252 was recently built and can be accessed nearby, at the entrance to Shoreline Campground. It is available for hiking and mountain biking.

For off-road vehicle enthusiasts, Telephone Ridge Trail No. 112 offers 20 miles of trails for all riding levels, with staging areas at Shoreline Campground and at Warm Lake Campground down the road.

Facilities

The campground offers tent-only campsites, which can be accessed via a 50 to 200 foot hike from the parking area. Some sites overlook the scenic lake. Stairs lead to the lakeshore from three locations within the campground.

Sites are equipped with a table, campfire ring and grill. Vault toilets, drinking water and trash collection are provided throughout the campground, but electricity is not available. The parking area is dirt, as are the pathways within the campground.

Natural Features

The campground is situated beneath towering ponderosa pines, which provide partial shade. Summer wildflowers are abundant in the area. A variety of wildlife including bears, deer, elk, fox, grouse, eagles, osprey, grosbeaks, whooping cranes and otters, lives around the lake.

Nearby Attractions

Rustic North Shore Lodge is not far from the campground, offering a small restaurant, lounge and store with limited supplies.

Camp site features

Across 8 camp sites:

Pets allowed: all 8 sites
Largest party: 8 people

Directions

From Cascade, turn east on Warm Lake Highway. Travel approximately 26 miles along the paved road to Forest Road 489 and turn south. Continue about a half-mile past the Shoreline Campground and North Shore Lodge. The campground will be located just past the lodge, on the left side of the road.

Stay Limit

Check in from 2 PM, check out by 1 PM.

Reviews

22 reviews

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

Mailea H

Loop:Picnic Point

Site:

Reviewed 4 months ago

I booked this campsite for a friend's birthday camping trip, having never been to Warm Lake previously, and it was so wonderful. We were on site 001, which is the campsite closest to the parking lot, the bathrooms, potable water, and also some (kinda steep but super convenient) stairs with perfect lake access for paddleboarding or fishing. Even though it was a short walk from the parking lot to the campsite, we still used a wagon to carry most of our belongings, which made a world of difference. The sites are pretty close together, since this campground is a small loop with 8 individual campsites, but everybody was nice and super respectful of each other. It had such a beautiful view of the lake and had ample space for all 8 of us. We were able to fit 4 smaller tents at this one campsite while still having enough room for all our camp chairs and even another foldable table for playing games. We ran out of firewood the first night and went to the lodge to get some more, which was a literal one-minute drive or like a 5-minute walk down to the sandy beach area.

Thomas H

Loop:Picnic Point

Site:

Reviewed a year ago

This quickly became one of our favorite places to camp. It's a beautiful place; the lodge resort is just down the hill if you need anything, and the swimming beach at the end of the lake is amazing. We will definitely be back. The only drawback to this campground at all was that you have to park at the top and pack your stuff in, but it's so worth it. It's just beautiful there.

Mark H

Loop:Picnic Point

Site:

Reviewed a year ago

Beautiful quiet spot

Deborah V

Loop:Picnic Point

Site:

Reviewed a year ago

Other than in wind storms with thunder and lightning and rain, we had a great time. The lake is beautiful. The campground is clean and well maintained. Will definitely be going here again. Very peaceful.

Mark A

Loop:Picnic Point

Site:

Reviewed 3 years ago

Buffy G

Loop:Picnic Point

Site:

Reviewed 3 years ago

The lake was beautiful and calm, bathrooms were clean, and the camp host was friendly. Walking from our car to our campsite was quick and easy. The views! Gorgeous! Most of the campsites were vacant while we were there (June 8-13). We didn’t take our kayak out because it was cold and rainy most of the time but the lake looks great for kayaking! Some things to note - fire wood was unavailable to purchase but we lucked out and were able to scavenge some from vacant campsites. It was quite loud on the weekend because of people partying at the lodge. Our fist night a large group of women and children were camping and they got very drunk and screamed at each other all night and their kids were peeing on the trees next to the campsite. They let their dog roam around off leash and didn’t clean up after it. The camp host is off site so no one official to get them to behave. At least it was only one night. Next time we will plan a night to eat in the restaurant at the lodge. No cell service.

Availability

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

Reserve