Free Camp Guide
Aerial view of Big Bar Camping Area

Idaho Payette National Forest

Big Bar Camping Area

Free to campSet campsiteNo waterToilet
Free to camp Two separate records both say there is no charge to camp here.

About this place

A large camping area along the Snake River in Hells Canyon. There is no formal parking and there are no numbered units. Nothing is marked out.

Tent campers and RVs both use it.

There is very little here: one outhouse and an information sign at the pull-in to the parking area.

The Allison Creek Trailhead is across the Hells Canyon Road, and Allison Creek Trail #514 starts there.

The facts

Cost
Free to camp
Drinking water
No, bring your own
Toilet
Yes
Type
Open area. No formal parking or camping units
Managed by
Payette National Forest

Getting there

Coordinates 45.127821, -116.738570

Open in Google Maps Agency page

What is near here

Nothing nationally famous is close. These are the landmarks nearby.

Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.

Nearest town and supplies

Joseph is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.

Have you been here?

Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.

Add road notes for this site

The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.

Where this information comes from

The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Forest Service’s own records, read in August 2026; a second independent record also says there is no fee.