About this place
Deep canyons cut into a vast high desert plateau, carved by the Owyhee, Bruneau and Jarbidge Rivers, in a remote corner of southwestern Idaho.
The Bruneau runs 50 miles in all. Nearly 40 of those are designated wild.
Volcanic caves, canyons and spire-like hoodoos stand hundreds of feet above the whitewater. The solitude is complete.
In early spring, desert flowers come out bright against the dark volcanic rock.
The sagebrush plateaus of the Owyhee Uplands hold over 200 species of wildlife. Eagles and hawks soar along the skylines and nest on the cliff faces.
The ancestors of the Shoshone-Paiute and Shoshone-Bannock people used these canyonlands for thousands of years. They came for shelter, for weapons, for fish and game, and for water.
The water runs from placid pools to turbulent whitewater, and the walls from vertical cliff to steep grassy slope.
The facts
- Cost
- Camping fee not confirmed
- Roads around it
- Recorded as four-wheel drive
- Type
- Open area. Camp anywhere within it
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
The roads around this place are not maintained for a regular car. That comes from the Bureau of Land Management, who record the kind of vehicle that uses each route. 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
At the One Stop in Bruneau, turn south onto Hot Springs Road and follow it 15.5 miles. Turn right there and go 3 miles to the Bruneau Canyon Overlook.
Coordinates 42.3375, -115.6463889
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
A few more of our own spots are within reach of this one, along with some better-known places.
- Duncan Creek Wild and Scenic River Directions
- West Fork Bruneau Wild and Scenic River Directions
- Matterhorn Directions
- Coon Creek Peak Directions
- Jarbidge Peak Directions
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
- Bruneau, ID Directions
- Owyhee, NV Directions
Owyhee 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.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
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.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
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 Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026.