Free Camp Guide
Aerial view of Cougar Point Campground

Idaho Salmon-Challis National Forest

Cougar Point Campground

Free to campSet campsite
Free to camp The Forest Service record for this site says there is no charge to camp, as of August 2026. Records get old, so look for a sign when you pull in.

About this place

Eighteen campsites in the Salmon River Mountains, at 6600 feet. That is high country. The timber is thick, mixed conifers.

Short trails run north, south and west from the campground. There is big game hunting in season.

The facts

Cost
Free to camp
Type
Specific campsite
Managed by
Salmon-Challis National Forest

Getting there

From Salmon, take US 93 south about 4.7 miles to the Williams Lake sign and turn right. Follow the Williams Lake signs. At the third one, go straight through the junction and on for about 8 miles to the campground sign.

Coordinates 45.083168, -114.054661

Open in Google Maps Agency page

What is near here

Nothing is close to this one. Everything below is a long drive away, and each line says how far.

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

Salmon 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 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 Lost Spring Campground, Idaho — 26 miles in a straight line, but a 42 mile drive. Three 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.

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.