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

Big Springs Campground

The agency doesn’t say how you get a siteIts record carries no access type, so treat it as a place to phone before you drive.
Right now
Listed not openA database flag with no reason and no date
6,410 ftElevation
388 ftWater · Henrys Fork
12.7 miSW of West Yellowstone, MT
47%Tree cover
Bortle 2Night sky · 326th darkest of 523 in ID

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there

In the agency’s own words

The Big Springs Campground is located 22 miles south of West Yellowstone, Montana in beautiful Island Park, Idaho at an approximate elevation of 6,300 feet. Visitors love Island Park for its world-class fishing and outstanding scenery and wildlife viewing opportunities. Natural Features: Island Park is composed of two areas of extinct volcanic activity. The Henry's Fork Caldera sits inside the larger Island Park Caldera. Keep reading

The area is known for its dense forests of lodgepole pine, broad grassy meadows bursting with summer wildflowers and a wide variety of wildlife, including black and grizzly bears, moose, elk, deer, bald eagles, Sandhill cranes and much, much more. The campground is situated in a clearing surrounded by a forest of lodgepole pines. Grasses and summer wildflowers dot the landscape. Recreation: Big Springs is the headwaters of Henry's Fork and is one of the largest springs in the country. Henry's Fork is considered one of the best fly-fishing streams in the nation. Fishermen cast for rainbow and brook trout. Tubing, canoeing, kayaking and rafting are also popular on the river. The Big Springs National Recreation Water Trail can be accessed from the Big Springs Boat Launch and ends 4.5 miles away at Macks Inn. It offers a lazy three-hour float or canoe trip through beautiful scenery. Wildlife, including moose, bald eagles and Sandhill cranes, are often seen along the trail. The charming and historic John Sack Cabin is nearby, noted for its unique location, construction and furnishings. Hiking, biking, horseback riding and riding OHVs are popular activities. Nearby Attractions: Macks Inn is 4.5 miles west. This full-service facility offers boat rentals, rafting, shuttle service, gas, groceries, showers and laundry facilities. Island Park Reservoir and Henry's Lake are nearby, both offering boating, water skiing, fishing, kayaking and canoeing. Numerous additional small lakes and streams are scattered throughout Island Park. Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are within a short drive, offering hiking and fishing, as well as outstanding scenery.

Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

Facilities

Boat ramp
Yes
Source: Stated in the agency description

Around the campground

On the water
Reservoir, Lake, River, Creek, Meadow
Source: Stated in the agency description

Phone before you drive

recreation.gov publishes no availability for a campground you can’t reserve, so there’s no thirty-night reading to draw here. The season bar above is what the agency does publish.

Booking window6 months outBooking opens 6 months ahead; today unlocks arrivals through April 17, 2027. The agency publishes no reservable season in the record we hold, so the window may close earlier than that.recreation.gov
Runs itU.S. Forest Servicethe agency’s record
Every line of the receipt · 4

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
The U.S. Forest Service publishes no per-night rate for this campground that we can read, so there’s no sign price to print. That’s a gap in the record, not a free campground.
The booking feerecreation.gov
We hold no recreation.gov booking record for this campground, so we can’t say whether a booking fee applies.
What this campground addsits own record
Extra vehicleSee the note

“Single Site $ 25.00 Group Area (Sun-Thurs) $ 75.00 Group Area (Fri-Sat) $150.00 Extra Vehicle (ea.) $ 7.00” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record

What a stay costs
The agency publishes no nightly rate for this campground, so there’s no total to show.
How we know this receipt · 5
Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

record Aug 24, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

Getting there

the map and the coordinate

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

This Afternoon52°Mostly Sunny
Tonight32°Partly Cloudy
Sunday54°Mostly Sunny
Sunday Night31°Mostly Clear

NWS forecast for Island Park, ID

Typical weather

Typical October night 22°F, day 50°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical December night 1°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

80°32°-10°

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: OLD FAITHFUL, WY (USC00486845), 21 miles away and 941 ft higher

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

What threatens this place

Roadless
Two Top6,990 acres · 7 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Dry Canyon3,242 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 · Sep 30, 2026

Who answers for this land

Mike Simpson, official portrait

Big Springs Campground is in Idaho’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Mike Simpson (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’s own recreation database flags it not open and publishes no reason and no date. That’s a flag, not a notice.
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: Island Park, ID, 3 mi ESE. Straight line.