Trail Creek Road Dispersed Camping
Sawtooth National Forest
Write a Review NF-51 Sun Valley, ID 83353 208-622-5371 Official WebsiteGPS: 43.737, -114.3005
Overview of Trail Creek Road Dispersed Camping
Accessibility is not guaranteed, always scout ahead before driving down dirt roads. Learn more: Boondocking 101
Last Price Paid: $0
Reported by MotoWest on 6/19/2022
Longest RV Reported: 40 feet (Fifth Wheel)
Reported by grantinggrace on 7/8/2019
Open Seasonally Yes
Elevation 6,233 ft / 1,899 m
Max Stay 16
Tent Camping Yes
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To ask questions of the owner or manager please contact the campground directly. 208-622-5371
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Reviews of Trail Creek Road Dispersed Camping 12 people have reviewed this location.
Cell Phone Coverage
Confirmed by 9 Users
Last reported 6/19/2022
Confirmed by 4 Users
Last reported 7/7/2020
Confirmed by 4 Users
Last reported 8/5/2021
“Beautiful Spot close to Sun Valley.”
Reviewed 6/19/2022
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
| Site Number: | 0 |
| RV Length: | 32' (Toy Hauler Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
Traveling on my motorcycle. Set up tent and slept well. Beautiful Sunset.
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Verizon 5G
MotoWest would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Beautiful Quiet Spot”
Reviewed 8/5/2021
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 3 |
Overall Rating
Sign calls this Antelope Creek. There are about a dozen well spaced sites Highway noise is not an issue Actually we heard the creek down below the cliff more than the rare passing traffic. T-Mobile 3-4 bars at most of the sites If you have a clear view of the Sun Valley ski runs you tend to have great cell service. Actually watched s... more
Sign calls this Antelope Creek. There are about a dozen well spaced sites Highway noise is not an issue Actually we heard the creek down below the cliff more than the rare passing traffic. T-Mobile 3-4 bars at most of the sites If you have a clear view of the Sun Valley ski runs you tend to have great cell service. Actually watched some YouTube videos last evening
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T-Mobile 4G
Fred would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Great ATT. Scary Roads - read!”
Reviewed 7/7/2020
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Overall Rating
UPDATE: I've been here working for 1 week by the road and the internet is crazy. Verizon is still crap but ATT around 12-3pm drops from 5-20 mbps to 0.5 or less for up/down. It's insane. I am struggling to work remotely during these times. This was a scope out because I'm camping here next week: 16 day limit according to the sig... more
UPDATE: I've been here working for 1 week by the road and the internet is crazy. Verizon is still crap but ATT around 12-3pm drops from 5-20 mbps to 0.5 or less for up/down. It's insane. I am struggling to work remotely during these times.
This was a scope out because I'm camping here next week:
16 day limit according to the sign (but other places say this and rangers say its 10 so be careful).
on the road to the left there is the Antelope campground and I tested the internet at various sites along the road and Verizon sucks even with my booster but ATT you'll get between 8 mbps and 32 mbps depending on the site. Closer to the road is better for internet and closer to town so the further you go up the hill the less you'll get from what I saw.
Entrances & Roads:
There are 3 entrances to the loop.
1st entrance: drop off isn't bad. fills with water when it rains but it's only like an inch deep don't let it deceive you its okay.
2nd entrance: good for bringing in a camper and not as dramatic a drop. ****in between entrance 2 and 3 about half way the road is a few feet from dropping straight off a cliff and it tilts sideways...I was terrified in my 4runner and I will absolutely not be towing along this. Scope this first before you go too far.**
3rd entrance: good for brigning in a camper and not a huge drop. See above about scary cliff road.
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AT&T 4G
Verizon 4G
FT_Boondocker would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Stunning location, but terrible access road”
Reviewed 10/1/2019
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 5 |
| Site Number: | 43.7436,-114.2983 |
| RV Length: | 21' |
Overall Rating
This was a beautiful location, but the access road was atrocious. I honestly cannot see how anyone could give this 5 stars for access. When I arrived, the first entrance (coming from Ketchum) was completely under water, so I came in at the second entrance, which had a severe drop that came close to grounding my sewer outlet. Continuing... more
This was a beautiful location, but the access road was atrocious. I honestly cannot see how anyone could give this 5 stars for access. When I arrived, the first entrance (coming from Ketchum) was completely under water, so I came in at the second entrance, which had a severe drop that came close to grounding my sewer outlet. Continuing north from there, the road was terrible. At one point, it passed right by the precipice, with the wheel track by the edge so sunken that it looked like it will give way at some time.
I camped at a beautiful location (coords in site # above) with a large, level site, right on the edge, with a view down the valley towards Sun Valley. When it was time to leave, I could not continue forwards and exit at the third entrance, because there was an extremely sharp, rocky step-up in the road along the way, which would certainly have grounded the trailer. Luckily, my site was big enough to execute a U-turn, and I exited by the second entrance. I really advise against bringing trailers in here; it would be good for motor homes and 5th wheels, which have adequate ground clearance. If I came here again, I would stay at Boundary Campground.
Except for access, this was an awesome location. The site was hard, level and clean, and remained perfect despite three days of rain. The other sites all looked equally good. It was quiet and peaceful, the only noise coming from the occasional vehicle on the highway. Once the rain ended and blue sky returned, I was able to take a day trip on the scenic byway to Stanley. The scenery, especially at Galena Summit, was spectacular. I would also have ridden the Sun Valley gondola, but it was out of service during the low season during the fall. Ketchum was a typical ski-resort town, mostly coffee shops and expensive boutiques. The "visitor center" was just a pamphlet rack on the wall in Starbucks.
Verizon at my site was 2 bars, 4-10 Mbps down and 1-5 up. Gas was expensive in Ketchum - fill up at Hailey on the way in.
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Verizon 4G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
Reviewed 7/8/2019
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 5 |
| RV Length: | 40' (Fifth Wheel) |
Overall Rating
Great open area for campers. Easy access for big rigs. Spots are spaced out so even though it’s a somewhat busy area you still feel like you have space. Beautiful river runs down below the bluff. Super close to town and convenient. Walking and bike trails. Cell/WiFi was pretty good. Great spot.
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Verizon 4G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Amazing views, close to town and hikes, cell service depends on your spot”
Reviewed 6/29/2018
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 5 |
| RV Length: | 25' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
This is one of our favorite boondocking spots ever. Amazing views of the mountains in every direction, a river to explore and cool off in and close proximity to town and everything else you need. The spot we ended up parked in had mediocre cell service but if we stepped a few feet toward the road we got better coverage and there was... more
This is one of our favorite boondocking spots ever. Amazing views of the mountains in every direction, a river to explore and cool off in and close proximity to town and everything else you need.
The spot we ended up parked in had mediocre cell service but if we stepped a few feet toward the road we got better coverage and there was a spot just across the street that had full LTE that we ventured over to with our car and just worked from there for a few hours (despite this we didn't think it was worth moving the bus there- we liked our spot better). The spots closer to town also had better service but those were mostly taken when we arrived.
There is an awesome bike trail that starts around the campground and goes all the way through town. Lots of amazing hikes and Sun Valley has excellent downhill mountain biking. The town is also great to explore- with lots of great places to shop and eat.
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AT&T 4G
Verizon 4G
Vicari.us would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Beautiful and scenic, but no Verizon 4G, even with a Weboost”
Reviewed 6/8/2018
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 0 |
| Site Number: | 0 |
| RV Length: | 28' |
Overall Rating
Didn't stay. Beautiful and scenic, but no Verizon 4G, even with a Weboost
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Verizon
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Small Spots with Beautiful Views”
Reviewed 8/23/2017
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 14 |
Overall Rating
When we were here last year, upon arrival, I was not happy with this area. The sites are small, it's close to the road and the gravel road that you drive on (in parts) is horrible. So we skipped it. This year, we wanted to be closer to Boundary Campground (because of friends) and so we checked it out again. We ended up getting the very... more
When we were here last year, upon arrival, I was not happy with this area. The sites are small, it's close to the road and the gravel road that you drive on (in parts) is horrible. So we skipped it. This year, we wanted to be closer to Boundary Campground (because of friends) and so we checked it out again. We ended up getting the very first spot, entering from the first of three entrances.
Tips for people wanting to come here:
1. Data upload/download is different as you go down the road. We were at about 2.5 up and down and at the second entrance it was 5.5 up and down.
2 MOST IMPORTANT. There are three entrances to this area. The first has a decent size dip, low clearance towed anything might scrape the bottom. The second entrance is the best if you are wanting to access the first loop. The third entrance has one big spot right there for a larger rig, but you will want to back in so you can exit there. The road connecting the third and the second entrance is terrible. Jutted sharp rocks, uneven road and decent size dips in the road. Truck campers, high clearance vans and tent camping would be best. The spots are on both sides of the gravel road, but are right against the road. The first loop between the second and first entrance is much better, but you still have to make sure to watch the rocks. There are 5 spots total in this loop, all against the cliff except for one by our spot with the bench. So to sum it up, SCOUT before you drive on the gravel road between the second and third entrance. It's tight and might be hard to turn around.
Positives about the area: You are close to a couple of the top hikes in the area, Boundary Campground, some mountain biking, the river for fishing and within 2 miles you are on the paved path that will a little navigation through town will get you to Bellevue. Beautiful views of Bald Mountain and great area for solar. This road is popular for road cyclists. You can take the road the entire way to Chilly, ID which connects to 93 to go to Mackay.
Negatives about the area: The sites are close to the main road, which is never guaranteed to be either slow or busy. You will definitely hear the cars going by. The sites are very small and are right up against the ridge. It would be hard to fall off the edge, but you aren't able to race out your front door.
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Verizon 4G
33andfree would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Great free camping close to beautiful hikes and town”
Reviewed 8/13/2017
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 5 |
| RV Length: | 25' |
Overall Rating
We loved our spot off of Trail Creek Road. Beautiful views, close to several great day hikes and easy to bike into town on a paved bike path starting at the established campground down the road. Access was a little tough on us since most of the sites were full when we arrived. We drove down past these gps coordinates to a second entran... more
We loved our spot off of Trail Creek Road. Beautiful views, close to several great day hikes and easy to bike into town on a paved bike path starting at the established campground down the road. Access was a little tough on us since most of the sites were full when we arrived. We drove down past these gps coordinates to a second entrance off of Trail Creek Rd which had a pretty steep drop off and were close to bottoming out our 24' TT. There is a road that connects the front part of the sites to our location but it get extremely unlevel about half way down and we had to turn around, head back to the main road and find the second entrance further down. If your concerned scopeing it out before arrival is a good idea or ask other boondockers about road conditions when you arrive. As always other campers are extremely friendly and helpful.
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AT&T 4G
S+D would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Nice Boondocking Close to Ketchum”
Reviewed 8/7/2017
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
|---|---|
| Days stayed: | 9 |
Overall Rating
I came here on spur of the moment, and I ended up quite enjoying it. I would have stayed longer if I didn't find another spot I like even more for now. On the way in, you pass a USFS ranger station that can be super helpful if you have any questions about the area. There's also a paid campground (Boundary Campground) on the way in, ... more
I came here on spur of the moment, and I ended up quite enjoying it. I would have stayed longer if I didn't find another spot I like even more for now.
On the way in, you pass a USFS ranger station that can be super helpful if you have any questions about the area. There's also a paid campground (Boundary Campground) on the way in, if you want to extend your stay longer (rangers told me that staying in a paid campground does not count towards your 3/16 day limit in the area at all). After the campground, it's primarily a day use area for a short bit, which includes some pretty lovely walking trails, before you start to hit the plethora of boondocking spots. I stayed at a 16 day spot very close to the GPS coordinates provided here. Some spots are 3 day, and you can keep going up the road for more spots that I didn't totally pay attention to.
At the early spots, TMobile is amazing. Verizon seemed pretty decent as well, but honestly, I just used the TMobile hotspot for everything, because it was just so good and I have the unlimited hotspot with it. However, TMobile, especially, gets spotty to nonexistent as you go further up the road, especially depending on any hills in the way. I imagine a booster would help, but I didn't bother testing that, because I just snagged a spot with great reception without it.
For the most part, the earlier spots here don't quite have a ton of privacy, and there's a pretty steady amount of traffic on the road. Some spots just a little further down can be better for that. The spot I picked out didn't have any shade other than what is provided by the mountains themselves, and that also can be different to one degree or another, depending on the exact spot you end up at.
The main road in is mostly paved until you get quite a bit further back. However, most of the campsites are down dirt roads running parallel. Getting onto the dirt roads are easier in some spots than others, if clearance and such is going to be a concern. It shouldn't be a major problem, but it's worth paying attention to if you're worried about that at all.
If you don't have a bathroom on board, you're going to end up either walking or driving to one in most spots. Not really anywhere good to dig a hole here, between the water and the lack of real privacy to do so. I enjoyed the just under 2 mile walk each way to the bathroom and back every day, personally, but it's something to take into account.
The trailhead to Pioneer Cabin is real close down another side road, for a great somewhat difficult hike, along with several other trails. Most of the trails allow dogs, to some degree even off leash (there are signs on most about where a leash is required, etc.). I don't have a dog, but I enjoyed saying hi to plenty on my daily walks around!
This whole area was remarkably clean for how busy it was. Didn't find any garbage to pick up or anything. Just a wonderful spot, with some pretty cool views to stare at up and down the canyon. While I was here, wildfires from all different directions were blowing in an ever increasing amount of smoke. But living in San Diego before I started this full time thing, I've been in far worse. It's just part of being in the west.
This is definitely one I have marked that I'll consider returning to.
It is worth noting: If you stay the full 16 days here, you have to leave Sawtooth National Forest below Galena Summit for 14 days before you can camp anywhere in the area again. It's pretty easy to go into Salmon-Challis National Forest just further down this same road, or north of Galena Summit for those times, although cell service doesn't quite measure up the same as it does here, if that's a concern (maybe that's a positive for you!). Or you can pay for a campsite in the same area, and that counts as being somewhere else (per the rangers I spoke to at the Ketchum office).
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Verizon 4G
T-Mobile 4G
SubaruVagabond would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
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Amenities
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