U.S. Forest Service · Boise National Forest · ID

Barber Flat Cabin (Boise National Forest, ID)

1Heads up1 fire 30 mi away
Wildfire
East Fork fire · 30 mi away · 1 acres · updated Oct 17, 2026
ReservableOut of season, no booking; November 21 opens May 21.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
Sites
1All of them booked ahead
4,450 ftElevation
722 ftWater · North Fork Boise River
23.6 miNE of Robie Creek, ID
36%Tree cover
Bortle 3Night sky · 406th darkest of 523 in ID

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices

In the agency’s own words

The Barber Flat Cabin site was established for administrative use by the Forest Service in 1923, and was used prior to that by the Barber Lumber Company. At the time, the Forest Service used a cabin already on-site as a guard station and then built a new one in 1927. The current cabin and outbuildings were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935, and the cabin today looks much as it did back then. Guests can drive to Barber Flat Cabin in two-wheel drive passenger cars or trucks, although the roads may occasionally be rough. The cabin provides most of the conveniences needed for a comfortable stay. Keep reading

Recreation

Several multi-use trails run east and west from the cabin. Hikers and mountain bikers can access the Barber Flat Trailhead nearby, and the Hungarian/Sunset Trail is located just across the road about 200 yards north of the cabin. Other trails in the area include the Beaver Creek/Grand Mountain Trail and the Short Creek Trail, which is known as a haven for nesting ospreys. The river offers great rainbow trout fishing and many swimming holes. Seasonal big game hunting is another popular pastime in the surrounding area.

Facilities

The cabin can sleep six people on two futons and one bunkbed. The kitchen is equipped with a table and chairs, cookware, dishes, utensils, a propane stove, refrigerator and sink with hot water. The bathroom has a sink, bathtub and flush toilet. A wood stove is provided for heat and firewood may be gathered from the surrounding forest. A picnic table and campfire ring with benches are located outside. Limited bear-proof trash recepticles are located at the back of the cabin. Please be mindful and try to pack-out as much as you are able to. The cabin has no electricity, so please plan accordingly and bring your own light sources. Bedding, pillows and towels are not provided. Guests are asked to please use provided cleaning supplies to clean the cabin upon checkout.

Natural Features

Barber Flat Cabin is situated near the North Fork Boise River among towering Ponderosa pines at an elevation of about 4,300 feet. The cabin is surrounded by the Boise Mountains and tucked beneath Hungarian Ridge. Osprey nests are a common sight around Barber Flat. Visitors to this area may see other wildlife, such as mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk, chukars, wild turkeys, eagles and the occasional black bear or wolf. Contact Info This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (208) 392-3700.

What the agency tells you

Rule

The cabin code will be sent via email. If you haven't received the code before your reservation, please contact the Idaho City Ranger District at (208) 392-6681 24-48 hours in advance.

Rule

Drinking water is tested monthly for contaminants and will be abruptly shut off if not currently potable. Please plan accordingly with your own water supply in case of a shut off during your stay.

Rule

Drinking water at the cabin is from a cistern that needs to be filled, typically once a week. In order to this, a Forest Service employee may need to run the generator during your stay for approximately 2-4 hours. We apologize for this necessary inconvenience.

Everything else this campground posts · 9
Rule

The roads are graded, but often are in somewhat rough condition; they can be traveled in good weather with 2-wheel drive passenger cars or trucks.

Rule

Reservations cancelled last minute due to weather or smoke conditions will not be refunded unless campground is closed to the public.

Rule

Campfires are allowed in fire rings ONLY, unless fire restrictions are in place. Contact Idaho City Ranger District for updates regarding fire restrictions.

Rule

Camping is not allowed at this site; please do not use tents, motor homes or RVs at the cabin.

Rule

Livestock, such as saddle, pack or draft animals, is not allowed at this site.

Rule

Bears occasionally are seen in the area. Please practice bear-safe camping and keep the outside of the cabin free from trash and food.

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Don't Move Firewood: Help prevent the spread of tree-killing pests in our national forests by obtaining firewood near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.

Rule

Guests should be aware that there is a risk of exposure to hantavirus when visiting remote cabins; click here to learn more

Rule

For questions regarding the campground, please contact the Idaho City Ranger District at 208-392-3700.   For questions regarding reservations and refunds, please contact Recreation.gov customer service

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Tents and rigs

Sites
1 · 1 cabin
Hookups
None
Accessible sites
None listed
Pets
Allowed
Campfires
Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade
Every site
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Flush Toilets
“…The bathroom has a sink, bathtub and flush toilet. A wood stove is provided for heat and firewood may…”
Firewood
Mentioned
Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026
Water, toilets and showers: read from the agency description, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
River, Creek
Biking
Fishing
Hiking
Hunting
Wildlife viewing
Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026

No reading yet, book on recreation.gov

Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.

No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.

Booking windowOut of seasonOut of season, no booking. On November 21, 2026 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through May 21, 2027.recreation.govAdd to calendar (.ics)
Sites, a night, from$80From the rate schedule matched to 1 of its 1 sites. U.S. Forest Service publishes no campground-level rate we can read.derived by CAMPANAC
If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.gov’s schedule
Runs itU.S. Forest ServiceBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record
Watch for a cancellation

Full? Watch it.

One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Tell me when the season opens

Watch for the season to open

One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

We’ll write once, when the season that starts Fri, May 21 2027 is open for booking.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 12

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
Sites, a night, from$80
Derived by CAMPANAC from the rate schedule matched to 1 of its 1 sites. U.S. Forest Service publishes no campground-level rate for this campground that we can read, only per-site rate templates its own record matches to each site’s own type.
Group area, a night$80
These are next season’s rates, May 21, 2027 to Sep 26, 2027. The campground is between seasons now.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Reservation fee, booked online$8
One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.
Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.
What a stay costs
The agency publishes no nightly rate for this campground, so there’s nothing to add the $8 booking fee to. We won’t total a receipt with a number missing from it.
If your plans changerecreation.gov
Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10
Cancellation fee$10
Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night
No-show$20 + your first night

Who keeps the booking fee

The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →

How we know this receipt · 5

rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

1 sites · the site map

All 1 sites

1 of 1 sites located
Cabin or shelter1
Aerial · Esri World Imagery
SleepsUp to

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

BARBER FLAT CABIN1cabin nonelectric53 ft$80

OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Coordinate43.82194, -115.53667
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Getting there

From Idaho City, take State Highway 21 for 2 miles to Granite Creek Road #327. Turn right and travel approximately 25 miles to the cabin. The road becomes North Fork Boise River Road. Please drive carefully as this road is heavily traveled., occasionally narrow, and often in rough condition.

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Tonight42°Partly Cloudy
Saturday72°Mostly Sunny
Saturday Night43°Partly Cloudy
Sunday70°Sunny

NWS forecast for Idaho City, ID

Typical weather

Typical October night 28°F, day 62°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 14°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

100°32°0°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more

A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: IDAHO CITY, ID (USC00104442), 15 miles away and 485 ft lower

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

What threatens this place

Roadless
Grand Mtn.14,468 acres · 4 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Breadwinner20,487 acres · 6 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Sheep Creek70,371 acres · 8 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Source: MTJP Threatened Lands map · Oct 5, 2026

Who answers for this land

Russ Fulcher, official portrait

Barber Flat Cabin (Boise National Forest, ID) is in Idaho’s 1st congressional district. Its representative, Russ Fulcher (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: U.S. Forest Service publishes no season and no closure for this campground, and it takes no bookings we can read. That’s a gap in the record and not a locked gate.
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.
Nearest place of any size: Idaho City, ID, 14 mi E. Straight line.