Beach

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

Smokiam RV Resort

42 RV Sites, 1 Cabin, 46 Tent Sites, 4 Glamping Sites, 1 Cottage, 10 Tipis

Smokiam RV Resort sits on the shore of Soap Lake in the Columbia Basin of central Washington, a mineral-rich body of water so geochemically unique that it ranks as one of only two lakes of its kind in the world. The soap lake campground sits at the edge of waters that the region's Indigenous peoples and early settlers regarded as having healing properties—a reputation supported by the lake's extraordinarily diverse mineral content, which includes sodium, magnesium, sulfate, and carbonate compounds in concentrations that give the water its characteristic feel and the lake its name. The resort delivers a full amenity package centered on the lake's distinctive character: 900 feet of sandy beach, a pool, two mineral spas, a European steam sauna, and a dock with canoe, kayak, and stand-up paddleboard rentals give guests multiple entry points into the Soap Lake experience. A renovated playground, sport court, and miniature golf course provide recreation for guests who prefer to stay on shore. A beverage bar and espresso café are available in the renovated clubhouse, and the resort offers a range of accommodations from full-hookup RV sites to luxurious new log cabin rentals and tepee rentals for guests who want the most distinctive overnight option in the Columbia Basin. High-speed WiFi, restrooms, showers, and laundry round out the practical amenities. Soap Lake is the southernmost of a chain of lakes occupying the Grand Coulee, a massive glacially-carved canyon that runs through the Columbia Basin—a landscape shaped by the Missoula Floods, the largest known floods in Earth's history. The coulees, lakes, and basalt cliff formations of this region are among the most dramatic post-glacial landscapes in North America, and the geology underfoot at Smokiam RV Resort tells part of that enormous story. The lake's mineral concentration has naturally increased over millennia as water evaporates and minerals accumulate without an outlet, creating the chemistry that defines its therapeutic reputation. Dry Falls, about 20 miles north, is one of the great geological wonders of North America—a 3.5-mile-wide, 400-foot-tall waterfall remnant from the Ice Age floods that once carried ten times the combined flow of all the world's current rivers. The Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park that surrounds it provides camping, hiking, and additional lakes for swimming and fishing in a landscape that is simultaneously beautiful and geologically humbling. Grand Coulee Dam, one of the largest concrete structures ever built and the most powerful hydroelectric facility in the United States, is about 45 minutes north and offers tours of its extraordinary infrastructure. Banks Lake, created by the dam as a pumped irrigation reservoir, provides water skiing, fishing, and boating in a dramatic basalt canyon setting. Smokiam RV Resort operates through the Columbia Basin camping season, with the dry, sunny summers of central Washington delivering reliable warm weather from May through September. The mineral lake's soaking pools and beach draw visitors seeking the therapeutic experience year-round, and the fall hunting season brings additional guests to the Columbia Basin. The combination of Soap Lake's genuinely unique geochemistry, the resort's expanding amenity set, and easy access to Dry Falls and the Grand Coulee makes Smokiam one of the more distinctive camping destinations in eastern Washington.

from $49/night

Granite Point Resort

Granite Point Resort occupies 28 acres of Loon Lake shoreline in eastern Washington's Stevens County, offering lakeside sites and accommodations with a beach, boat rentals, a general store, and on-site dining. A recreation center, game room, and sports courts round out a self-contained summer destination in the inland Northwest. Lakeside sites and accommodations serve guests across a range of formats. A general store, boutique shop, laundry, dump station, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side. On-site dining covers meals, which matters at a resort where guests tend to settle in for a week rather than an overnight. The lake frontage carries the recreation. A beach gives direct swimming access, boat rentals put guests on the water, and boating, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and paddle boats all run from the property. A recreation center and game room handle indoor hours, with sports courts, pickleball, basketball, volleyball, and horseshoes outdoors and a playground for families. The programming is well-rounded enough that guests rarely need to leave. Pets are welcome. Loon Lake sits in the ponderosa pine and mixed conifer country of northeastern Washington, among the clear glacially scoured lakes and quiet small towns of the inland Northwest — a summer retreat quite different in character from the Columbia River and Puget Sound destinations that draw the bulk of the state's visitors. The resort has built its reputation over many seasons as a family destination, and demand reflects that. Summer is decisively the peak, with returning families booking year to year — reserve well ahead for July and August.