By:
Submission
Calamity Campground is located along the Snake River drainage at the north end of beautiful Palisades Reservoir at an elevation of 5,700 feet, just 55 miles east of Idaho Falls, Idaho. Visitors enjoy boating, water skiing, fishing and canoeing.
Palisades Reservoir offers excellent boating, water skiing, swimming and canoeing. Lake and shore fishing are very popular here as well, with wild and stocked cutthroat trout as the predominate species. Kokanee salmon, brown and Mackinaw trout can also be found. A boat ramp and large parking area are located on-site.
The Palisades Creek Trail begins nearby, leading hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders to beautiful Upper Palisades Lake and expansive views of Swan Valley.
The campground offers several campsites on three loops. All sites are equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring with grill. Some sites have a few stairs from the parking spur to the site pad.
Vault toilets, drinking water and trash collection are provided, but there is no electricity. Firewood is available for purchase from the host. Roads and parking spurs are gravel.
The campground is situated on a hillside above Palisades Reservoir, affording scenic views from many sites. A mixed forest of lodgepole pine, spruce, fir, aspen and maple trees partially shade the campground. Summer wildflowers dot the landscape.
Big Elk Creek Trail, for hiking, biking and horseback riding, begins at nearby Big Elk Campground and meanders up a beautiful canyon brimming with wildflowers, towering trees and views of the surrounding mountains.
Swan Valley and the Snake River offer more great fishing and boating opportunities, as well as rafting, canoeing and numerous trails for hiking, biking, horseback and ATV riding. Fall Creek Falls is 20 miles away, and the Fall Creek area has hundreds of miles of such trails.
From Idaho Falls, Idaho, travel on Hwy. 26 for approximately 50 miles. Turn right off of Hwy. 26, (just before ascending grade to top of dam) and go ¼ mile, turn right and cross the river following signs to the campground. Distance is approximately 5 miles.
This campsite was great. We were in A5 and there was room for 3 tents which was rare on the loop. Most spots were made for trailers. We had trailer space for our boat. There is a boat launch right at the campground which was perfect for lake access. The reservoir is huge and we had plenty of space for surfing and tubing. Beautiful scenery.
Beautiful location with nice RV & Camping sites but no electricity so plan on boondocking
Discovered this place looking for a spot to watch the solar eclipse of 2017 and have now come back for a second year. What brought us back, the beauty, the peaceful laid back atmosphere, and the most accommodating camp hosts I have had the pleasure of meeting. To be sure, Mike and Cheryl run a tight ship, but play nice and they will fast win your hearts. They helped the kids find Huckleberries and checked up on us to make sure we were enjoying our stay.
We have a large class A RV, so 4 miles of graded road rattles a few things around, but otherwise no problem. It keeps the place a little out of way for most and that's just the way I like it. I hope they keep the road unpaved.
Great campsite! Love taking our kayaks here in the summer!
These are notes I took years ago about the campsites. They're not complete, but might still be useful to someone out there. For reference, most of these notes were written when we didn't have a camper and had only gone tent camping at the time so our point of view with these was from someone with a 10x16 size tent with the intent to get a camper. I edited one review after getting a camper and you'll see it. These notes were also taken late in the season while the latrines were full to the brim and ready for a cleaning.
C1 - tiny, barely any space from fire pit to tent, afternoon full sun. Water right outside site and garbage super close. Tent barely fits, last resort for reservations!
C2 and C3 tent sites are ten feet away, our tent won't fit
C4 very open, our tent won't fit easily
C5 more private, close to smelly latrine.
C6 close and tent spot far from fire pit. Close to latrine.
C7-9 too small for our tent, fire pit close to tent, open to walkers.
C10 Private, room for our tent. Lots of shade.
C11 has two tables, private area at top of loop. Tons of shade. Two tables. Dutch oven cooking hook.
B13 great for an RV, only room for one small tent. Fire pit is terraced down and fairly private from the road. Two parking spots.
B8 close to bathroom, campfire site down below, actually very private. Camper door opens to trees not the road.
B-12 RV only, no tent sites.
B7 room for one tent, but very close to the fire pit. fairly private.
B5 room for two tents, several cars, camper or tents. Private fire pit area down stairs. Back tent area is open to B2
B4 no tents
B2 room for 2-3 tents, two vehicles. Firepit is down stairs away from road.
B3 super open, best for RV, tent area is slightly sloped.
A1 super open, closest to water, room for a tent.
A2-4 RV only, or tent in parking lot
A5 super open, room for two medium tents
A6 no tent
A7—13 all RV only or tent in parking lot (13 best water view and most private) 12 is closest to water to fish
A8 sitting area downstairs, has bear box, pretty private. Water spigot in parking area. Has a firepit grill.
A9 sitting area up stairs, no bear box, we managed two vehicles and 20ft camper easily. Somewhat private up top. Tent area is up hill towards front of parking. Has a firepit grill.
A14 room for one tent and two cars, water and latrine directly across road, can smell hint of latrine. Private though. Boat sounds clearly echo up to site.
A15 room for one tent, close to fire pit, stairs up from parking so slightly private, but back of it is right above next camp site. Tent site close to fire pit. No latrine smell.
A16-17 seem RV only, occupied. Garbage and latrines very close.
We were in the A loop, and there is ample parking for RVs but not a lot of room for tents. In the upper area there is a picnic table and fire pit, but the space left is barely enough for a tent and too close to the pit to have a fire. Also we had two tents so we pitched it in the parking area. Has pretty clean pit toilets, water spigot outside each bathroom, the water comes out brown but it's potable. It tastes pretty good it's just a little silty. The area is beautiful. The lake is serene and there are dirt bike and ATV trails all over. I suggest going all the way to bear Creek. If you are self sufficient with water and such you may consider using some of the ample boondocking areas for free. They have an RV dump at the entrance near the dam for $5.
