Comments on: The 30 Nicest Backcountry Campsites I’ve Hiked Past

By: Michael Lanza

Michael Lanza — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 20:29:42 +0000

In reply to Eric Fechter. Agreed, Eric, Indian Ridge is spectacular but you gotta carry water up there. And those endless switchbacks up the Snow Creek Trail, plus the distance of North Dome and Indian Ridge from any trailheads, explain why that's such a relatively quite area so close to the Valley. Thanks for the comment.

By: Eric Fechter

Eric Fechter — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 19:06:36 +0000

Great read. Especially liked Indian Ridge. I surprisingly found a lot of solitude hiking the the North Rim (eastbound), with SO many great vistas (El Cap, Eagle Peak, Yosemite Pt) but most are too close to the rim to camp as you mention. The section between North Dome and Indian Rock is a fantastic choice as long as you still have enough water. I passed through midday before having to take the (brutal) switchbacks of Snow Creek Trail down to the valley floor. Next time.

By: Michael Lanza

Michael Lanza — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 20:00:03 +0000

In reply to mary. Glad you like this story, Mary. Hance Rapids in the Grand Canyon is an awesome place. I'm sure we did see the sand blowing at times on the beach. Enjoy the new places you discover.

By: mary

mary — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 19:56:50 +0000

Wow! totally saving this article. Hance rapids was magical- did you see the flowing sand on the dunes?
Unfortunately, I don’t want to share this with anyone 😉
but I will…….

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 14:28:43 +0000

4.5

By: MichaelALanza

MichaelALanza — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 12:54:48 +0000

In reply to zgr322. Good tips, thanks. I think I know that unnamed lake near Sand Mountain Pass; I'm going to try to camp there. Yup, Idaho and the Sawtooths are pretty special.

By: Rod Benson

Rod Benson — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 15:14:49 +0000

Wow! Those are some nice ones. It’s not really a backcountry site (only accessible by canoe), but here is my favorite campsite – Eagle Creek Campsite along the Missouri River in central Montana in October. https://bigskywalker.com/2017/03/26/white-cliffs-canoe-adventure-scenes-of-visionary-enchantment/

By: zgr322

zgr322 — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 04:18:38 +0000

I’m very surprised you’ve never actually camped at Imogene Lake! On my first visit to Idaho 5 years ago my friend and I stayed the night at Imogene on the east side close to where you first meet the lake coming from Hell Roaring. Actually it wasn’t far at all from your picture location. When we got there we could hear/see campsites across the lake and figured they got all the primo locations. Fortunately our small camp on the east side allowed amazing views of sunset/sunrise of the light hitting Mt. Cramer and Payette. I can’t imagine the view from the west side was even close. Even better, the second night we were planning on camping at Toxaway Lake but once we spied a beautiful small lake from Sand Mountain Pass we made that our goal. It had no name, just elevation marker, but Google Maps now calls it Rendezvous Lake. The sunset hitting the walls around Sand Mountain and Payette were awesome. Idaho is truly special, I enjoyed the article.

By: sierracanon

sierracanon — Fri, 30 May 2014 23:42:16 +0000

I have camped at Hamilton Lake, and agreed, it is a gorgeous spot. The only down side is, that it tends to be pretty crowded, since it’s not that far from Crescent Meadow. Last time we were there, there were a couple of large groups, and the camp area was pretty overrun.