Free Camp Guide
Aerial view of Eighteen Mile Wilderness Study Area

Idaho Bureau of Land Management

Eighteen Mile Wilderness Study Area

Camping fee unknownCamp anywhere in it
Camping fee not confirmed Nobody has written down what it costs to camp here, so we can’t tell you. It might be free. It might not. We read through the Bureau of Land Management’s records in August 2026 and found nothing either way. Watch for a sign when you pull in, or ask them before you set off.

About this place

Nearly 25,000 acres of public land, out in north-central Idaho. Nearly 15,000 of those acres are recommended for wilderness designation.

The country is remote, rugged and mountainous. It runs from foothills through grassy meadows to steep cliffs along the Continental Divide.

Sagebrush and grass grow lower down, and higher up the ground carries Douglas fir and lodgepole pine.

No motors of any kind are allowed here. That leaves it popular for big game hunting on foot in the fall.

There is solitude here, and there is walking, backpacking, rockhounding and wildlife to watch as well.

From December through May the access roads around it are usually shut by snow, so the area is out of reach.

Ask the Salmon Field Office for maps and for access information before you set off, because the roads change.

The facts

Cost
Camping fee not confirmed
Type
Open area. Camp anywhere within it
When it’s open
Generally not December through May, when snow closes the access roads
Managed by
Bureau of Land Management

Getting there

15 miles southeast of Leadore, in Lemhi County.

Coordinates 44.49555556, -113.0413889

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

Dillon 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.