Buffalo Campground

The second we arrived we knew this was going to be a good spot. Good spacing between well maintained sites nestled among lots of trees, how could you go wrong?

Sites were asphalt and seemed to be quite level. Tables were good sized, in good shape and made of wood. Fire pits were metal with a flip over cooking grate. There were also tent pads in many of the sites that were covered in small pea gravel. Several of the pull through sites had Class A rigs, including the camp host. There was a mix of flush and pit toilets in the campground and gray water disposal stations. There were also fresh water spigots scattered around.

About the only issue we ran into was that we were in a double site (rate in the review reflects single site rate) with power and there was only one pedestal so we had to link our trailers together to both get power.

If you want to walk to the river behind the campground it would be best to book a site that backs to the river. There are well defined trails beyond the campsites but to get to them you have to really hunt or cut through another site (I always hate doing that). At the far north end of the camp there are some fishing docks. The area was closed when we were there as they were replacing them. So come the 2015, they should be all shiny and new.

While here be sure to explore Island Park and take a drive up to Macs Inn, Big Springs and Johnny Sack Cabin.

Date of Stay: June 2015

$15 a night non-electric, $20 a night electric. Electric only available on one of seven loops and the electric sites were pretty full when we were there. However, for the first night we had the entire Loop D to ourselves, which was great!

Some loops are older than others. This simply means that some loops have better pavement on the roads and in the sites, but there is no horrible condition to be found. We stayed in Loop D which is one of the older condition loops, and it was just fine. D-11, where we stayed, had a decent view of the Buffalo River.

Buffalo Campground is in the heart of excellent fly fishing. The Henrys Fork of the Snake River, a famous fly fishing spot, is close by. But I don’t fish, so I was content to watch the masses standing in the middle of the river doing their thing.

1 bar AT&T, 3 bars Verizon, without boosting, so it was usable.

There is a bit of noise from the nearby highway, but it is tolerable.

The Mesa Falls Scenic Byway is close by, which offers nice views of the hills, as well as river falls (oddly enough).

Not much else to say about this campground. It is a nice Forest Service campground in a part of Idaho that is quite. I understand why people stay here if they fish, but if not, it serves as a good place to stop when going from point a to point b.

Many loops in this campground. While many sites are reservable, there is a nice quantity of sites left open for same day visits.

We almost took a spot in loop C, where there is electricity and the pads are paved, but there was a large travel trailer right behind us and they were eager to have the level spot. We moved on to loop D and got a very nice gravel pad across from the rest rooms (which were flush toilets in our loop). This site had direct access via a very short trail to the river. It was a well wooded site with trees that allowed our daughter to string up her hammock.

We were there in mid-week in August. Many sites were empty.

It's a popular place for playing on the river - a number of people were floating from the dock area to the end of the campground and then walking back to the dock to float some more. We were able to sit on the shore in the morning and later in the evening when it was quiet.

We rode bike to the Island Park reservoir and saw a moose. If you have a boat, this would be a very short access to the reservoir.

Pulled into Buffalo campground on Memorial Day weekend and had no trouble securing a waterfront site. In the heat of summer I imagine the waterfront sites are taken (reservations are available) but the campground is big enough I suspect you’d rarely have trouble finding a spot in one of the loops.

The park is managed by a vendor, and I always give vendor-run places a more critical eye (if they are profiting on public land, they better be adding value!). The sites here are large with decent privacy from the neighbors. Plenty of trees to hang a hammock. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring with grate. Tent pads are crushed gravel. Bathrooms were decently clean but the sites aren’t kept as neat as they could be.

Plenty of traffic noise, especially in the A and B loops. Verizon’s two bars were useable for web surfing. AT&T’s one bar was severely overloaded. I wouldn’t count on this spot for working.

The campground is fine, but I would likely pass it over in the future as there are better options in the area.

We really enjoyed this campground. Our camp spot was next to the river and it was so beautiful. We arrived the Thursday before Labor Day and had no trouble getting a spot. Even through the holiday weekend there were still some spots available. Not the only spots with electrical hookups are in loop C and as near as we could tell they must be reserved ahead of time. We had plenty of room for our 26' trailer with a slide out. There is a fire ring which we enjoyed most nights. Spots are spaced out giving most a lot of privacy. Will will return and this is our new favorite place.

Online campground map is inaccurate so we thought we were reserving a site that would give us some privacy, but ended up in a site with zero privacy. At least we had some shade. Good luck scoring an electric site in the summer, they are practically impossible to get. Must be why EVERYONE was partying in the river, floating around in inner tubes. No fish here, that’s for sure. Easy access right off a VERY busy Hwy 20. Campground was kept clean. Vault toilets were also clean. Fresh water available at spigots throughout the loop. Just too much commotion from tubers and traffic for our taste. May be better off season.

We wound up at Buffalo Campground after finding that our reservation at the nearby Riverside Campground had been canceled and the campground closed up tight.

Buffalo is actually a very nice national forest campground and was pretty empty with only about 1/4 of the sites taken in mid-September. The sites are mostly pull-thru and all paved, with nice wide access roads around the campground loops (very easy to maneuver). The campground host had suggested site A11 when we pulled in, and it is very nice — right next to a water spigot and the bathrooms (clean flush toilets), lots of woods around us and between the very spacious sites, so the sites feel private, and we didn’t have to unhitch for the night. The host also said there have been some moose in the campground so we might see them if we’re lucky! We had one intermittent little bar of cell service here at our campsite, but I was able to send a few text messages to family to update them on where we ended up for the night. There were several threaded water spigots throughout the campground A loop.

All the campsites were very nice and mostly large pull-throughs. However, to be close to the river, sites B9 and B11 were excellent. If you want electricity C loop has electricity — threaded water spigots are available around the park, but no dump station. Loops C & D were closed during our stay for renovations, so no advice on best sites.

Reservation loops are: B, C, E, F — Walk-in loops are A, D, G. According to the camp host, this campground is very popular through Labor Day weekend, so book early.
Reservation site is AuDiCampgroundServices.com

Big rig friendly, 38 feet allegro bus.
Beautiful setting lots of large spaces.
Host is friendly and very helpful. No reservations needed. Right off 20 on our way to Yellowstone. Verizon cell service was great. Loop A is little noisy noise from 20.

We enjoyed this campground a lot. This was a mostly empty campground though the weather wasn’t the greatest. We arrived without reservations on a Sunday night and had many options to choose from. We had views of the river from our windows and two moose were seen around the campground daily.

Verizon: 128down, 7.9up
ATT: we hit our data limit and got throttled so I couldn’t get exact speeds. But it was workable for us which means it was over 10down and 2up.

Very friendly camp hosts. Restrooms just recently as today have been replaced with brand new vault toilets.