North Fork Canyon Road Dispersed

On our way into Murdock Campground we saw a beautiful spot and decided to pull over and just boondock. There weren't and signs saying we couldn't camp there and we have been told that in Idaho the only places you cannot camp are marked. The spot was beautiful. It was mid October though and the sun hid behind the mountains quite early in the evening and didn't shine on us until late in the afternoon. It got down to a chilling 18'. We would absolutely camp here again, maybe just a little earlier in the season.

We stayed 9/10/2019. Our GPS coordinates were 43.801667, -114.421167

Awesome free boondocking spot right near the river with good cell coverage. Dump ($5) and potable water really close on FR-146, back towards the Visitor Center.

FR-146 can be tough especially after it rains. About 1/4 mile after the visitor center it becomes a washboard road with large potholes and small buried rocks sticking up. All is manageable if you go slow.

This is a popular spot so it might be challenging to get a site. We unhooked at the North Fork Visitor Center at the Sawtooth National Recreation Area Headquarters to scope it out.

We boondocked in this location and it was wonderful. We only drove in about a mile on the dirt road. We found a location across the road from the dump station. There appeared to about 5-6 good spots for a variety of rigs to fit in. We are a 31ft Fleetwood Terra. We had plenty of room The Creek was just a short down from our site. The dump station had everything you need for $5

There's a campsite ring on the right with like 8 spots across from the dump station (has potable water) in the field. This is where reception is! 43.798782,-114.420334. NOT up the street where the GPS coordinates take you. Up there you have bars but I couldn't get more than 2 Mbps on att or Verizon with my weboost. Down at the bottom I'm getting 25 Mbps up and download on att and Verizon without a booster and there's a dump station. It's 15 min from town. Amazing!! The sites at the bottom are smaller and I don't think you could put more than a 20 ft camper max. Most require smaller and you'll have to unhitch.

Update: Rangers said this is only a 10 day limit, not 16.
Verizon is spotty throughout the day but ATT is consistently good.
Rangers drive through and are posted up basically constantly. This really feels like we're being policed when this is probably the quietest place I have ever camped in my life. No one's even outside. They're just watching us and counting how many days we've been here. This place is weird.

The forest service is in the process of converting Murdock Creek and Forest Road 146 into designated disbursed sites only. They have blocked off a number of existing campsites and the remaining ones will be numbered and have a steel fire ring. No camping outside of numbered sites once they're finished.

My second time here but first time camping along the creek. Access to the creek sites is just before (and opposite) the dump station, look for the single lane road to the right. Campendium map has the creek sites located after Murdoch CG but they are before. Good gravel road in from the Sawtooth Ranger Station.

Verizon service only at site #17A, I had no Verizon service anywhere else along the road or, last year, in Murdoch Campground.

Dump site is closed shoulder season, no sign as to when it opens.

Gorgeous, gorgeous fields with snow-capped peaks in the distance. Tons of hiking nearby, fishing and a short drive to Ketchum. It's a camper's dream! Particularly in May when it was free.

We stopped at the SNRA headquarters to use the dump station, then realized there was some excellent designated dispersed camping just up the road, and decided to stay! The views here are amazing, high mountain ridges on both sides of the road, and a beautiful river running through the valley, right behind our site!
The sites are all well spaced, we couldn't see any other campers! The road could be a bit rough, but nothing to shy away from, just take it slow. Cell signal was surprisingly good, but degraded as you drove further up the road. Fresh water and dump station available at the bottom of the hill, at the entrance to the road, honor system fee of $5 for the dump station.
Be aware that this is active bear country; we were stopped on the road by rangers who told us that a campsite further up the road had been raided by a bear who was successful in getting food. They brought in a live bear trap that afternoon and the indicated that the animal would likely have to be euthanized. Camp bear aware!

This is a great boondocking spot with options for easy access and more secluded tucked away options. They gps coordinates for the boondocking by Murdoch campground takes you to an area with a few sites back behind the campground (a bit harder to access) In reality, there are a handful of nice sites across the road from the dump station and then some really nice sites further down the road that Murdoch Campground and Caribou Campground are on. Of note, as of Memorial Day the dump station still did not have the water turned on.