National recreation area · Sawtooth National Forest · est. 1908
Sawtooth National Recreation Area
Redfish Lake's eight loops anchor the Sawtooth NRA — 35-ft dry-camp, on-site dump, dispersed restricted inside NRA boundary by Comprehensive Plan, Galena Summit at 8,701 ft punishes weak cooling.
Max RV length
35 ft
Hookups
None (dry)
Dump station
Yes
Dispersed camping
Allowed per MVUM
RV season
Late May – late September (high-elevation loops)
Access road
Paved ID 75 (Sawtooth Scenic Byway), 116 mi length
About this area
Created by Congress in 1972 specifically to preserve the Sawtooth Range and Stanley Basin from speculative development, the Sawtooth NRA covers 756,000 acres with seven federally-designated wildernesses and forty-plus developed campgrounds. Redfish Lake's eight loops form the rig-grade anchor — Glacier View, Mt. Heyburn, Outlet, Sockeye, and three others — all dry-camp, 35-ft caps, with on-site dump at Redfish Outlet. Alturas Lake and Stanley Lake add high-elevation capacity at similar specs. Dispersed camping inside the NRA proper is restricted to designated pull-offs (a tighter rule than typical USFS) under the NRA Comprehensive Plan; outside the NRA boundary the standard Sawtooth MVUM dispersed rules apply. ID 75's Galena Summit (8,701 ft) caps the byway and punishes underspecced cooling systems. Pacific Northwest smoke regularly closes back-country trailheads August through September.
How to plan this area
Reservations and the Motor Vehicle Use Map
Developed loops book through recreation.gov; dispersed camping is legal only where the ranger district's MVUM allows it. Both links go straight to the official source.
Looking for the rig? Browse Idaho RV rentals on PickRV
Official sources
Every fact on this page traces back to these primary sources.
More USFS areas in Idaho
Caribou-Targhee NF — Mesa Falls Scenic Byway
Upper Mesa Falls' 114-ft drop on the last undammed Snake-tributary waterfall — Warm River's 32-ft dry-camp loop with on-site dump sits 35 mi south of Yellowstone's West Entrance, peak-season overflow ready.
Boise NF — Lowman/Garden Valley Dispersed
Lowman/Garden Valley dispersed mecca along ID 21 — hot-spring dispersed clusters, 30-ft developed loops at Helende, Boise MVUM allows broad dispersed but check FSR 555 for post-Pioneer-Fire washouts.
Salmon-Challis NF — Frank Church River of No Return
Lower 48's largest wilderness at 2.37M acres — perimeter-only rig access, 28-ft caps at Corn Creek and Boundary Creek, no on-site dump, no cell, lottery-permit float trips drive summer demand.
Idaho rules · last verified 2026-05-10
- Rental tax
- 7.00%
- Min driver age
- 21+ std · 25+ Class A
- Gravel roads
- Allowed — disclosure required
- Generator quiet
- 22:00-07:00
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