Free Camp Guide
Aerial view of Big Eightmile Campground/Trailhead

Idaho Salmon-Challis National Forest

Big Eightmile Campground/Trailhead

Free to campSet campsiteWater on siteToiletSome roads are rough
Free to camp The Forest Service record for this site says there is no charge to camp, as of August 2026. Records get old, so look for a sign when you pull in.

About this place

Ten campsites on Big Eightmile Creek. Drinking water comes from a hand pump.

Dirt roads and trails around here are open to walkers and mountain bikers. You can head up Eightmile Creek Canyon, up Dairy Creek Canyon, or out to the old Blue Jay Mine.

Never go into an abandoned mine shaft.

There is a vault toilet. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring.

The facts

Cost
Free to camp
Roads around it
Some need high clearance
Drinking water
Yes
Toilet
Yes
Type
Specific campsite
Managed by
Salmon-Challis National Forest

The roads around this place are not maintained for a regular car. That comes from the US Forest Service, who grade every road by the kind of vehicle it is looked after for. Those records cover the roads nearby. They do not cover the last stretch in to the campsite, and nobody has checked that part. Treat this as a warning. We are not promising what you will find when you get there. If you have driven it, tell us what it was like and we will say so here.

Getting there

Coordinates 44.608730, -113.577296

Open in Google Maps Agency page

What is near here

There is another spot of ours within reach, and some better-known places further out.

Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.

Nearest town and supplies

Salmon is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.

Have you been here?

Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.

Add road notes for this site

The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.

Where this information comes from

The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Forest Service’s own records, read in August 2026.