Priest River

Giant letters on the entrance sign "The Mudhole" should have clued us in. While we found no mud, the insect life In rare form on a 90 degree, windless day. This 20 space campground is tucked under tall pines between Hwy 2 and the train tracks on the north shore on the Pon D'Oreilles River. Road noise is significant, likely from logging trucks at night. We didn't hear any trains though. Maybe the incessant high-pitched buzz of mosquitoes was enough to cancel it out. The facility has a decent swimming beach, picnic shelter and camping area for bikers. It's clean, well-maintained and has good hot showers (25 cents for 5 min).
Perhaps at other times of the year this would be a viable option. We visited in late July and there were plenty of open spots late in the afternoon. #12 is right by the river, and there's even a small dock and slip for two boats.
I'll post photos later!

Hosts are very friendly and welcomed us. Spots have plenty of room. Hot showers and its 25 cents for 5 mins. Bathrooms are clean. They lock gate of location from 10pm to 7am. Some road noise. Love the tall trees.

Pulled in for an overnight stay. Would stay longer if plans allowed. Site rate is $10, we paid $5 senior rate. Restrooms were very clean and well maintained. Site was level and would accommodate units up to 30 feet easily. Camp host was friendly. This campground is one we will return to for a longer stay and to explore the area. Our Winegard Coonect2 had no problem with a 4g LTE signal for internet use, signal strength was only two bars.

Came here thinking the campsite was $10 in the end it was $22 and it’s right by the road. There are free showers but it’s so close to the road that it’s very noisy. All sites must be reserved there is no ability to make a reservation on site you have to do it through the app. They do not take cash. Firewood is six dollars a bushel. Gate locks at 10 PM and opens at seven

We camped here in July 2021 in a 40’ Motorhome.

We booked our site in advance online and arrived to find we couldn’t fit. Definitely over estimate your length when making an online booking. Luckily we were able to remove a post that was blocking the driveway so we could fit. We watched many others arrive after us and have to squeeze into a spot barely big enough.
The tiny bumpy loop road thru the park is very tight with tons of trees. We made it in our 40’ but I wouldn’t have wanted to be even a foot longer for some of the tight turns.

Other than the tight squeeze we had a great stay. The river access and beach area are great (we launched our SUPs from the dock). The town of Priest River had everything writhing we needed from groceries to laundry and some sweet drive thru coffee huts. You can receive packages at the local hardware store.

The tree canopy is pretty thick so we weren’t able to utilize our solar when parked here. There are no hookups so you’ll hear a lot of generators.

As others have said, the road is noisy. Try for a spot on the back side of the loop to help with that.

This was our first stay at an Army Corps park and all in all it was a good one!

Here’s a video of our stay if you’d like to see more- there’s a campsite walk thru and some pro tips on booking online at the end- https://youtu.be/IMkCdrQthx0

Nice smaller dry campground just across the river from the little town of Priest River. Locals call this place The Mudhole. Easy access, right on Hwy 2 but that means traffic noise. By reservation only! There are a few sites that will accommodate larger rigs but be prepared to struggle to get in and out. We were in site 1, a pull through, but a tight one for larger rigs. However, it is also the most private. If you book this site, best to not turn in right away but circle the campground and then you have a straight shot in and can avoid the trees we did not. Camp hosts very nice. On the 4th of July, we went down to the swimming area, an easy walk from the campground, and were able to see the city fireworks being set off just across the river at Bonner Park. Only a few people seem to know about this. Not a long drive to Sandpoint but far enough to get away from the crowds. We had cell service, no Wi-Fi. Our rate was due to Senior Lifetime pass.

Made our reservation online the day before. Campground had lots of trees and sites were spaced out nicely. We had a nice pull thru site that was level but some sites didn't look to level. Bathrooms were clean and had GREAT hot showers with a lot of water pressure and separate changing area that stays dry while you're showering. Also had 2 large stainless steel sinks in a common area to wash dishes. We didn't hear too much traffic noise late at night when trying to sleep. Campground Host was friendly.