About this place
The lower campground has 4 sites, and there is drinking water. It is a stiff climb.
You can fish Hawley Creek and the reservoir.
The Hawley Creek Trail is under 2 miles long, but it climbs over 1000 feet in that distance. ATVs and motorcycles may use the trail, though not off it.
A spur runs to the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. Near the top the trail opens out into grassland.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Drinking water
- Yes
- Toilet
- Yes
- Type
- Specific campsite
- Managed by
- Salmon-Challis National Forest
Getting there
From Leadore, go 1 1/4 miles east on Highway 29 and turn right on the county dirt road. Go 6 miles to the junction with Forest Road 275, then follow it 4 miles east up Hawley Creek.
Coordinates 44.667736, -113.190639
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
- Leadore, ID Directions
- Dillon, MT Directions
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.
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 Bear Valley Horse Camp, Idaho — 30 miles in a straight line, but a 42 mile drive. Six 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.