Open
The campground opens for the 2026 season on May 23. Seven sites are reservable through Recreation.gov and seven are first-come, first-served. Fire danger is currently low.
About
Shadowy St. Joe Campground is a riverside destination located at 2,100 feet elevation along a calm, slack-water stretch of the St. Joe River in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. The campground sits 10.6 miles east of St. Maries and provides convenient access to one of Idaho's most celebrated fishing rivers. In 2023, the facility underwent a complete redesign funded by the Great American Outdoors Act and an Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation RV grant, resulting in all-new accessible infrastructure including paved roadways, electric hookups at every site, new fire rings, picnic tables, and vault restrooms.
The campground features 14 fully accessible back-in campsites with electrical hookups, each equipped with a fire ring and picnic table. Amenities include potable water from a hand pump, vault toilets, trash receptacles, a boat launch with docks, and a group picnic shelter that seats up to 40 people. Seven sites can be reserved through Recreation.gov while the remaining seven are available first-come, first-served. The surrounding landscape consists of open grassy areas with fruit and ornamental shade trees, and elk herds are frequently spotted along the lower river sections.
The St. Joe River offers excellent fishing, and motorized boats can travel upriver to St. Joe City. Thirty miles further east, the town of Avery marks where the river becomes a designated Wild and Scenic corridor. The upper river provides whitewater rafting in spring while the lower sections support rafting, drift boating, canoeing, and tubing.
Directions
From St. Maries, take Highway 3 north for half a mile, then turn right on Saint Joe River Road and continue 10.6 miles. Turn right into the campground.
