About this place
The Bureau of Land Management looks after more than 90,000 acres of public land in the Bruneau-Jarbidge Rivers Wilderness.
The wilderness was created by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, signed on 30 March 2009.
The Owyhee Canyonlands is a huge, remote area spread across eastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho and northern Nevada. Deep canyons are cut into that high desert plateau by the Owyhee, the Bruneau and the Jarbidge Rivers.
Those rivers suit boaters of nearly every level, and they offer solitude that is hard to match anywhere, in canyons of unusual shape and beauty.
There are placid pools and turbulent whitewater. There are vertical cliffs and steep grassy slopes. There are California bighorn sheep. There is the Bruneau River phlox.
The rivers give you challenging whitewater in an isolated place. The canyons and the plateau give you a great deal to explore on foot.
There is excellent fishing for trout, and hunting for upland birds and some big game.
If you are truly adventurous, two nearby Wilderness Study Areas hold 180,000 acres of pristine land.
The upper canyon is the most scenic part, and the easiest floating. You can take out at the Roberson Trail. It is the last way out before Five Mile Rapids. The catch is the climb, almost 600 feet up a steep canyon wall to the rim. The Civilian Conservation Corps cut that path in the 1930s.
The second half runs through Five Mile Rapids and Hot Springs Creek. It is rocky and it takes a lot of maneuvering.
Only experienced boaters should attempt the lower Bruneau, and especially not at high water.
The drive to the put-in is an experience of its own. Be prepared for it.
Go with somebody who knows the way, or hire a shuttle driver in Bruneau.
From where the two rivers meet down to south of Bruneau is 56 miles of class II-IV rapids.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Type
- Open area. Camp anywhere within it
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
From the hamlet of Bruneau, head east on Hot Springs Road for 15.6 miles to the wilderness kiosk. Turn right at the kiosk, going west, and carry on three miles to the Bruneau River overlook.
Coordinates 42.29138889, -115.6111111
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
A few more of our own spots are within reach of this one, along with some better-known places.
- Jarbidge Wild and Scenic River Directions
- West Fork Bruneau Wild and Scenic River Directions
- Matterhorn Directions
- Coon Creek Peak Directions
- Jarbidge Peak Directions
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
- Mountain City, NV Directions
- Owyhee, NV Directions
Owyhee 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.
Why “at least”: this route is hard to measure. We worked the drive out twice, with two separate mapping tools, and they gave different answers. That usually means there is no road close to the campsite, so the drive doubles back a long way. The figure above is the longer of the two. The real drive could be further still, so check the route before you set off.
Why the drive to town is usually twice what the map says — what we found measuring every campsite in this guide.
When it’s time to move on
On most public land you can camp for 14 days before you have to move on. Check this site’s own limit before you plan a long stay. When you move on, the Bureau of Land Management usually wants you at least 25 to 30 miles away. So the free campsites closest to you are the ones you cannot use.
Four in this guide sit inside that 25 miles. The nearest one you could move to is Big Jacks Creek Wild and Scenic River, Idaho — 28 miles in a straight line, but at least a 30 mile drive.
Why “at least”: there is no road right at this campsite, so the drive is hard to measure and the real one could be further. Check the route before you set off.
This guide covers five states and does not list every free campsite, so there may be something closer that we do not hold. Check this site’s own rule before you rely on it.
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.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
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.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
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 Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026; opened and read by a person on 2026-08-27.