Free Camp Guide
Aerial view of Paradise Campground

Idaho Payette National Forest

Paradise Campground

Free to campSet campsiteNo waterToilet
Free to camp Two separate records both say there is no charge to camp here.

About this place

Paradise is three camping spots beside Mann Creek, in the Hitt Mountains north of Weiser. None of them is marked out.

This is good mountain biking country. Backcountry roads and trails run for miles through the hills.

It’s open all year, but snow can close Forest Road 009 in winter. There’s a vault toilet. Any water you take from the creek needs treating or filtering before you drink it.

The facts

Cost
Free to camp
Drinking water
No, bring your own
Toilet
Yes
Type
Specific campsite
Managed by
Payette National Forest

Getting there

From Weiser, go 12.5 miles north on Highway 95. Then go about 10 miles north on the county road and Forest Road 009.

Coordinates 44.543862, -116.952450

Open in Google Maps Agency page

What is near here

Nothing nationally famous is close. These are the landmarks nearby.

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

Weiser 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 Valley Reservoir Camping Area, Idaho — 37 miles in a straight line, but a 76 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; a second independent record also says there is no fee.