About this place
There are eight campsites here, at the foot of the Beaverhead Mountains. You get toilets and picnic tables.
The Nee-Me-Poo National Historic Trail, also called the Nez Perce, runs nearby. It comes in from the northeast after crossing the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. It follows real history. In August 1877 the Nez Perce had just fought the Battle of the Big Hole. With the army close behind them, they came over Bannock Pass and down this valley, passing Leadore on the way south.
People camp, bike, fish, walk, ride, drive off-highway vehicles, picnic and watch wildlife here.
The facts
- Cost
- Camping fee not confirmed
- Stay limit
- 14 days
- Type
- Specific campsite
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
4 miles northeast of Leadore on Highway 29, near Bannock Pass. From Leadore itself, go 3 miles east on ID-29.
Coordinates 44.70277778, -113.2919444
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.
- Eighteen Mile Wilderness Study Area Directions
- Bell Mountain Directions
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
- Salmon, ID Directions
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
You can camp here for 14 days. After that you have to move on, and the Bureau of Land Management usually wants you at least 25 to 30 miles away. So the free campsites closest to you are the ones you cannot use.
Eight in this guide sit inside that 25 miles. The nearest one you could move to is South Van Houten Campground, Montana — 39 miles in a straight line, but a 53 mile drive.
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 Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026.