Idaho Route

[david1601]

I am interested in taking Hwy 21 north of Boise to Stanley and then returning to Twin Falls via Hwy 75. We are 36' Tiffin gas with toad. Is this doable? I have no problem with mountain driving just wondering about road conditions before going this route.

Also any good campgrounds along the way? Anything from resort to dry camping works for us.

[ReneeG]

We live in the Boise area and travel the mountain road a lot. The best way from Boise to Stanley, is Hwy 55 to Banks. Take the Banks Lowman Road to Lowman, then north on Hwy 21 all the way to Stanley. Hwy 21 from Idaho City to Lowman then Stanley is way too winding for any RV driving. Then from Stanley you can connect to 75 and head South through Ketchum and Sun Valley to Twin Falls, or another way would be to head north on 75 to Challis, then through the Peaks to Craters scenic Byway to Arco, then drop down into the Twin Falls area.

Off the Banks Lowman Road are several forest service campgrounds, but only one or two that you could fit in - Hot Springs right off the road on the left (in the direction you're going), or Pine Flats on the right. The entrance to Pine Flats is pretty tight, but I've seen some big rigs in there. Near the Lowman fire district are boondocking sites along the South Fork of the Payette River. Stanley has some hookup sites, one is at the Valley Creek Lodge, which is basically just a few sites between a couple of lodges, but the view is beautiful. Also, there is the Mountain Village Resort at the end of town overlooking the Salmon River. All pull through sites. Further down, if you're going to go through Challs, is Torrey's Burnt Creek Inn. Cabins and an RV Park with full hookups right on the Salmon River. Worth driving down to stay there even if you're going to return and go through Sun Valley. I know the owners. I sell my art work in their little gift shop. Great location. A lot of boondocking sites along Hwy 75 between Galena Summit and Ketchum.

[david1601]

Thanks to all. We will be returning from a month or so on the Oregon Coast next spring and although we have been through Idaho several times I want to see more of the Gem state.

[WE-C-USA]

21 out of Boise is a normal, 2 lane, no shoulder, twisty,uphill, narrow valley climb. just watch the road ahead and you'll be okay. 75 will be a piece of cake. On 21 I stayed at 10 Mile CG. Nice but small sites. 75 I've stayed at both Stanley Lake & Redfish Lake CG's. Redfish is more modern. There are to many boondocking sites to list. Have fun & enjoy.

[profdant139]

I think the roads will be fine -- we took 93 and 75 up from Twin Falls to Stanley, and then 21 from Stanley to Boise. No problem. If you can, spend some time in the area -- it is beautiful!

Here are a couple of blog posts that I hope will be of interest:

Sawtooths 2017

Sawtooths 2016

Both of those links are part of longer trip reports, so look for the other parts if you are interested.

[paulj]

Another Idaho Stanley question

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/30106860.cfm

[bobsallyh]

At Twin Falls, there is Rock Creek County RV Park. Water and electric. We use it quite frequently. Also the Twin Falls County Fairgrounds in Filer also has many RV site available if there is nothing going on at the fairgrounds. $106.00 for a week.

[agesilaus]

We drove 75 south from Challis to Stanley last year, good road as were all the others we drove on in ID. There were a lot of dispersed camping spots along the river. I would carefully check the Stanley weather before going there, it was awful last year. Rain so hard you could not see the mountains. Both days we were in the area. There are campground around redfish lake south of Stanley. Both USFS and private.