About this place
There is no road to this place. It sits in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, next to the Chamberlain Basin airstrip. You get here by plane, on foot or on horseback.
Most people fly in. Pilots and their families land here and camp beside the runway for a night, a long way from any road or town. In hunting season outfitters and guides work out of it. The Chamberlain Guard Station next door was built in 1937 and 1938.
This is very rustic camping. There are outhouses and fire rings but no tables, and no drinking water.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Roads around it
- No road. You fly in, walk in or ride in
- Drinking water
- No, bring your own
- Toilet
- Yes, outhouses
- Type
- Open area. Nothing is marked out
- Managed by
- Payette National Forest
Getting there
Coordinates 45.372600, -115.201300
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
Nothing nationally famous is close. These are the landmarks nearby.
- Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness Directions
There is no road to this campsite, so every distance on this page is a straight line, not a drive. Getting back to a road comes first, and the real trip will be longer. Plan it before you set out.
Nearest town and supplies
- Warren, ID Directions
- McCall, ID Directions
McCall 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.
These are straight lines too. There is no road in, so there is no drive to measure.
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. This is Forest Service land, and each forest sets its own rule for how far you have to go, so check before you travel.
The nearest other free campsite in this guide is Old East Fork Camping Area, Idaho — 32 miles in a straight line. Eight more sit closer than 25 miles, if the rule here allows them.
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 Forest Service’s own records, read in August 2026.