About this place
The Owyhee Front has a wide spread of off-highway vehicle trails. There is single-track for motorcycles, and wider trails and two-tracks for ATVs and other machines.
The system takes in the Hemingway Butte, Fossil Creek and Rabbit Creek trailheads. Between them they reach hundreds of miles of roads, trails from moderate to difficult, and sand washes on steep rocky ground.
Each of those trailheads has a loading ramp, a staging area and restrooms for the people using them.
You may only travel across country in one place: the 200 acre patch right next to the Hemingway Butte trailhead. Everywhere else, stay on the route.
The Murphy Travel Management Plan says where.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Toilet
- Yes, restrooms at the trailheads
- Type
- Specific campsite
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
The Owyhee Front is a big area between Melba Junction and Oreana on Highway 78, about 45 miles southwest of Boise. From Interstate 84, take Exit #33 onto Highway 55 and follow it south for 18 miles to Marsing. In Marsing, turn left onto Highway 78 and carry on about 25 miles to the Rabbit Creek Trailhead.
Coordinates 43.23194444, -116.56
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.
- Little Jacks Creek Wilderness Area Directions
- Little Jacks Creek Wild and Scenic River Directions
- Crater Rings Directions
- Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area Directions
- Mahogany Mountain 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
- Melba, ID Directions
- Kuna, ID Directions
Kuna 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.