Birch Creek Campground
This is how it should work.
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there
In the agency’s own words
***An intense precipitation event occurring in southeastern Idaho resulted in the flooding of the popular Birch Creek campground. Fast moving water washed out many of the roads, leaving eroded gaps as deep as 3 Ѕ feet. While the area is still open to the public, the Bureau of Land Management Upper Snake Field Office urges the public to remain cautious, as the site has significantly changed.*** This campground includes approximately 25 campsites with amenities such as picnic tables, fire rings, and restrooms, located along Birch Creek. Keep reading
Additionally, there are a variety of large undeveloped camping areas without picnic tables or fire rings south of the middle access (Find map link below). The campground provides easy access for fishing and can serve as a base camp to recreate in Caribou-Targhee National Forest. Amateur anglers and seasoned fly fishing experts will find an abundance of brook and rainbow trout, with some brown trout. At the main entrance, a stop on the Nez Perce National Historic Trail features interpretive panels that explain some of the tragic history of the area. There are no fees associated with this site (except for group reservations). There are 4 group sites available for reservation at $35/night. Reservations must be made 7 days in advance by calling the Upper Snake Field Office at 208-524-7500 or in person at 1405 Hollipark Drive, Idaho Falls Idaho 83401. Group Site 1: Accommodates groups of 20-30 people and about 4 trailers plus multiple vehicles. It has a steel fire ring, picnic table and is adjacent to a restroom. Group Site 2: Accommodates groups of 30-40 people and about 6 trailers plus multiple vehicles. It has a steel fire ring, picnic table and is adjacent to a restroom. Group Site 3: Accommodates groups of 100 people or more with many trailers and vehicles. It is close to a restroom but does not have a steel fire ring or picnic tables. Group Site 4: Accommodates 100 or more people with many trailers and vehicles. Large groups are advised to rent additional portable toilets or use the facilities in their camper. This site does not have steel fire rings or picnic tables.
Facilities
- Toilets
- Portable Toilets
- “…groups are advised to rent additional portable toilets or use the facilities in their camper. This site…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Creek
- Fishing
- Picnicking
Nothing to book, just show up
One of 1,623 federal campgrounds where the site still goes to whoever pulls in first. Get there before noon on a summer weekend.
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.
Every line of the receipt · 6
What you actually pay
How we know this receipt · 4
rules read Sep 7, 2026 · record Aug 23, 2026 · How we know all this
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the phone number
Where it is
Meadow Lake CampgroundSalmon National Forest · 29 mi
Loristica Group CampgroundChallis National Forest · 29 miLoristica Group CampgroundChallis National Forest · 30 miTimber Creek CampgroundChallis National Forest · 31 mi
East Creek CampgroundBeaverhead National Forest · 32 miThe weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Mud Lake, ID
Typical weather
Typical October night 34°F, day 58°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 15°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
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.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Birch Creek 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 →