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

Outlet at Priest Lake Campground

3Heads up3 fires, nearest 14 mi
Wildfire
Silver fire · 14 mi away · 2,593 acres · 30% contained · updated Sep 8, 2026
Wildfire
Parker Lake fire · 28 mi away · 1,531 acres · 1% contained · updated Oct 2, 2026
Wildfire
Upper Smith fire · 32 mi away · 4,848 acres · 41% contained · updated Sep 5, 2026
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
Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
Drawn from the record · 2,500 ft · 67% tree cover · Priest Lake within reach · Bortle 3 sky
2,500 ftElevation
457 ftWater · Priest Lake
19.6 miNW of Ponderay, ID
67%Tree cover
Bortle 3Night sky · 449th darkest of 523 in ID

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there

In the agency’s own words

Outlet campground is located on the southwest shore of Priest Lake near the headwaters of Priest River. Campers come to Outlet for sunshine, fishing, boating, kayaking, and the breathtaking views of the rugged Selkirk Mountains of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. Natural Features: Outlet campground is situated at an elevation of 2,500 feet on Priest Lake. The lake is one of three largest and most beautiful lakes in the Idaho Panhandle, and reaches 300 feet in depth and covers 25,000 acres. The world's largest Mackinaw trout was caught here in 1963. Keep reading

Upper Priest Lake is part of the Upper Priest Lake Scenic Area. The entire shoreline of Upper Priest Lake is either the State of Idaho or federal ownership, and is administered as a scenic area. While visiting Priest Lake, watch for moose, black bear, wolves, deer, elk, and eagles, among others. Recreation : Visitors enjoy kayaking, canoeing, and power boating on Priest Lake and up the 2.5 mile thorofare that leads to the Upper Priest Lake Scenic Area. The upper lake cannot be accessed by car. Fishing, swimming, bird and wildlife viewing are popular activities, as well. Beach Trail #48 runs through Outlet campground and stretches northward along an 8-mile scenic part of Priest Lake. Motorcycle enthusiasts will find authorized trails like the Peewee Trail, Steep Creek Trail, and John Wayne Trail. Hike the Chipmunk Rapids Trail that traverses along the Kaniksu Marsh, Priest River, and Chipmunk Rapids. Facilities : Outlet campground has three loops, two upper view sections and one lower lake-side section. Roadways and parking spurs are fully paved. There are RV and tent sites (two of which are walk-in tent sites). Campsites vary from very large, capable of parking an RV and a boat trailer, to small, camper size, with lake side and lake view sites. Some of the sites are heavily wooded, while some are found in opened areas. Campground amenities include swimming beach, water hydrants and accessible flush toilets. Garbage service is available in "bear proof" cans.

Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Flush Toilets
“…beach, water hydrants and accessible flush toilets. Garbage service is available in "bear proof" cans.”
Drinking water
Yes
“…amenities include swimming beach, water hydrants and accessible flush toilets. Garbage service is…”
Bear boxes
Yes
Source: Stated in the agency description
Water, toilets and showers: read from the agency description, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
Lake, River, Creek, Beach
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 16, 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 · 3

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 a stay costs
The agency publishes no nightly rate for this campground, so there’s no total to show.
How we know this receipt · 4
Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

record Aug 24, 2026 · How we know all this

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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

Today67°Mostly Sunny
Tonight37°Partly Cloudy
Saturday61°Slight Chance Rain Showers11% rain
Saturday Night29°Widespread Frost

NWS forecast for Coolin, ID

Typical weather

Typical October night 32°F, day 54°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical February night 22°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

90°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: PRIEST RVR EXP STN, ID (USC00107386), 11 miles away and 129 ft lower

The land, and who answers for it

who answers for it

Who answers for this land

Russ Fulcher, official portrait

Outlet at Priest Lake Campground 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: Coolin, ID, 2.4 mi NW (a census designated place). Straight line.