Free Camp Guide
Aerial view of Deadman Hole Recreation Site

Idaho Bureau of Land Management

Deadman Hole Recreation Site

Free to campSet campsite14-day limitSome roads are rough
Free to camp The Bureau of Land Management 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

Deadman Hole has 5 basic camp sites beside the Upper Salmon River. They go first come, first served.

The fishing here is good. There are restrooms, picnic shelters, drinking water, room to park and a boat ramp.

Cell service is patchy.

The facts

Cost
Free to camp
Roads around it
Some need four-wheel drive
Stay limit
14 days
Drinking water
Yes
Toilet
Yes, restrooms
Phone signal
Limited
Type
Set campsites. Five primitive ones, first come first served
Managed by
Bureau of Land Management

The roads around this place are not maintained for a regular car. That comes from the Bureau of Land Management, who record the kind of vehicle that uses each route. Those records cover the roads nearby. They do not cover the last stretch in to the campsite, and nobody has checked that part. Treat this as a warning. We are not promising what you will find when you get there. If you have driven it, tell us what it was like and we will say so here.

Getting there

12 miles southwest of Challis. Go south from Challis on Highway 93 for 2 miles, turn right onto Highway 75 and drive southwest about 12 miles. The site sits between Highway 75 and the river.

Coordinates 44.345, -114.2683333

Open in Google Maps Agency page

What is near here

There is another spot of ours within reach, and some better-known places further out.

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

Ketchum 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 Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026.