Camping in Idaho

Camping rules worth knowing in Idaho

On endowment land, camp a quarter mile from livestock structures

The Department of Lands has established a no-camping buffer of a quarter mile around livestock handling structures in applicable management blocks. North of Lake Pend Oreille and the Clark Fork and Pend Oreille rivers, in game management unit 1, all overnight visitors must store food, rubbish and attractants in a locked hard-sided vehicle, camper or trailer, hung at least 10 feet up and 4 feet out, or inside a working IGBC-approved electric fence. Endowment land exists to earn a return for beneficiaries, and recreation is allowed only so far as it does not interfere with that. Source 44

Fire restrictions apply regardless of who owns the ground

When fire restrictions are in effect they apply to all land within the designated area regardless of ownership, and must be followed by law. During the closed fire season, 10 May to 20 October, burning on state and private land is regulated through permits and the BLM issues an annual prevention order. Idaho Code also requires, throughout that same period and whether or not restrictions are in force, that every internal combustion engine carry a working spark arrester, and that operators of motorcycles, trail bikes and all-terrain vehicles carry a serviceable shovel and at least a gallon of water. Source 46

Endowment trust land has its own camping rule

Idaho’s endowment land is managed first for financial return to public schools, and recreation is a secondary use. The state rule allows temporary camping in one location for up to 14 days within 28 consecutive days; to stay longer, the camp, all equipment and all belongings move outside a five-mile radius of the prior site. Personal property may not be left unattended for more than 48 hours, the spot must not be posted closed to camping, and a campfire must sit in a ring no wider than three feet. The Department of Lands also sets a quarter-mile no-camping buffer around livestock handling structures in the management blocks it names, and requires bear-resistant food storage on endowment land north of Lake Pend Oreille. Source 45

Fire restrictions come in two stages, and Stage 2 moves vehicles

Idaho’s land agencies work from one interagency plan, and restrictions apply to federal, state, tribal and private land inside the boundary regardless of ownership. Stage 1 bans fires, campfires and stove fires except in a designated recreation site inside an owner-provided fire structure, and restricts smoking. Stage 2 bans wood and gas campfires everywhere and limits motorized vehicles to designated roads and trails, and from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. it bans chainsaw use, blasting, welding and grinding. A stove fueled only by liquid petroleum or propane stays legal in both stages. Stages are posted by area on the Department of Lands restrictions finder. Source 47

The full guide to overlanding Idaho