Beach

Wakeside Lake RV Park

24 RV Sites, 1 Cabin, 2 Glamping Sites

Wakeside Lake RV Park in Rexburg, Idaho, offers 24 RV sites, a cabin, and two glamping sites across 34 private acres anchored by an on-site lake, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 40 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout. Deluxe and premium pull-throughs join water-and-electric back-ins, with a beach and dog park. Twenty-four sites run in deluxe water-and-electric back-in, deluxe pull-through, deluxe water-and-electric pull-through, and premium pull-through categories, carrying water, sewer, and electric where noted on 30 and 50-amp, sized to 40 feet. A cabin and two glamping sites round out the accommodations. A laundry, dump station, restrooms, showers, firewood, and WiFi handle the practical side. Note the construction detour — follow the posted signs when the road is closed. Pets are welcome. The private lake is the anchor, with a beach for swimming and fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and boating from the water. A dog park serves pets, and a golf course is nearby. The 34-acre footprint gives the property genuine privacy for its size. Rexburg sits in Madison County on the upper Snake River Plain, between the rolling agricultural benchlands and the volcanic tablelands leading toward Yellowstone's caldera. BYU-Idaho, the St. Anthony Sand Dunes, and Bear World are all close, with Jackson Hole and West Yellowstone about an hour away. Summer is peak, with Yellowstone and Teton traffic driving demand alongside university dates. Reserve well ahead for July and August.

from $30/night

Smiley Creek Lodge

6 RV Sites, 7 Cabins, 2 Yurts

Smiley Creek Lodge in Blaine County, Idaho, offers six full-hookup RV sites with 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 40 feet, alongside seven cabins and two yurts on the Sawtooth Scenic Byway. A lake, beach, and general store serve guests near Sun Valley and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. Six back-in sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 50-amp service, sized to 40 feet — note that all sites are 50-amp, and the 40-foot cap suits mid-size rigs rather than the largest coaches. Seven cabins and two yurts round out the accommodations. A general store, laundry, restrooms, showers, and WiFi handle the practical side. With six RV sites, reserve well ahead. Pets are welcome. A lake and creek run near the property with a beach for swimming, and canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding, boating, and fishing all available. Hiking, biking, and stargazing run from the site, with a playground for families and live music through the season. Wine and beer tasting is nearby. The byway position is the advantage. This is one of the most scenically extraordinary mountain routes in the American West, where the Wood River Valley's cottonwood corridors open into the granite peaks and alpine lakes of the Sawtooths. The lodge gives the most direct access to the Sawtooth Wilderness trail network and the Stanley Basin's fly fishing on the upper Salmon. Directions: from the north, drive 22 miles south from Stanley on Highway 75; from the south, 37 miles north from Ketchum. Summer is the season at this elevation. Reserve well ahead.

from $100/night

Lost Trail

20 RV Sites

Nestled along the Portneuf River in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho—in the Gem State's southeastern corner where the basalt lava flows of the Snake River Plain meet the limestone canyons of the Portneuf drainage and the geothermal activity that the region's volcanic geology produces flows to the surface in the world-famous hot springs that gave the town its identity—Lost Trail Resort provides full hookup RV sites on the Portneuf riverbank, pull-through options, and on-site motel rooms and cabins in the most geographically immediate position to Lava Hot Springs' natural geothermal pools that any campground in the area offers. Mountains rising on one side of the property, the Portneuf River on the other, and the town's geothermal infrastructure within walking distance create the specific combination that makes a Lava Hot Springs stay categorically different from any campground that merely approximates the hot springs experience. Full hookup RV sites with riverbank positioning accommodate the range of RV configurations, with pull-through options available for guests arriving with large rigs or who prefer not to back into a riverside site. The family-owned property maintains modern facilities including free WiFi, clean bathrooms, pet-friendly accommodations, and air conditioning. Motel rooms serve the guests traveling without RVs, and cabin accommodations provide the enclosed alternative with private amenities. The Portneuf River flowing beside the property provides the natural sound and visual environment that riverside camping specifically offers—and in Lava Hot Springs, where the river's geothermal character gives the water a warmth unusual for a mountain stream, the riverbank itself carries a specific ambient temperature that guests notice immediately on cool Idaho mornings. Lava Hot Springs' geothermal pools are the resource that organizes the entire visitor experience of this southeastern Idaho town. The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation operates the geothermal complex—maintained at no cost to the state beyond its own revenue—as a public facility with soaking pools maintained at multiple temperatures from 102 to 112 degrees Fahrenheit, fed continuously by the natural spring flow. The pools have operated continuously since the Shoshone-Bannock people first used the springs, were developed as a commercial resort in the late 19th century, and have maintained their public-ownership status through the 20th century and into the present as one of the only state-operated geothermal public bathing facilities in the American West. The Olympic-standard outdoor swimming complex—a separate facility from the hot soaking pools, operated by the same parks authority, open in summer—provides a 50-meter lap pool, diving platforms, and water slides in a facility built to Olympic specification that serves the competitive swimming market alongside the recreational swimming population that the Lava Hot Springs summer economy depends on. Year-round access to the geothermal soaking pools alongside summer-only access to the swimming complex creates the visitor calendar that makes Lava Hot Springs genuinely functional as a destination in every season. Hiking access to the surrounding Caribou-Targhee National Forest terrain, fishing in the Portneuf River system, and the winter sports available in the surrounding southeastern Idaho mountains extend the outdoor programming. Lost Trail Resort is open year-round in alignment with Lava Hot Springs' year-round geothermal pool access. The summer swimming complex season—from Memorial Day through Labor Day—drives peak demand. Winter soaking season draws the guests who specifically seek a geothermal pool experience in cold weather, when the temperature contrast between the 100-plus-degree water and the freezing air produces the atmospheric steam that makes hot spring bathing in cold conditions its most viscerally satisfying. Reserve your riverbank site early for summer and let Lava Hot Springs' natural geothermal infrastructure earn its place as southeastern Idaho's most irreplaceable visitor experience.