By:
Submission
Cold Springs Campground is located near Lost Valley Reservoir, just 10 miles from New Meadows, Idaho. Visitors enjoy boating, fishing and swimming.
Lost Valley Reservoir is just 3/4-mile from the campground, offering boating, canoeing and fishing opportunities. On the north end of the reservoir is the Lost Creek Interpretive Site, an excellent location for bird watching.
The campground offers two group sites that can accommodate up to 75 and 50 guests each. Several additional single and double-family sites are available as well. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Roads and parking spurs are gravel.
A boat ramp is located on the southeast shore of Lost Valley Reservoir, while Slaughter Gulch Day Use Site can be found on the west shore.
The campground is set in an open meadow lined with ponderosa pines and fir trees at an elevation of 5,000 feet. A few sites are shaded, but most are not. Summer wildflowers are abundant.
From New Meadows, Idaho, take Highway 95 west for 8 miles. Turn onto Forest Road 089, located at the Pine Ridge Store junction. Take the gravel road approximately 2 miles to a fork. Turn left and follow the signs to the campground.
I loved being able to see so many stars, but the bathrooms were so nasty and never cleaned. In the morning, whatever chemical that gets poured down to the tank was so rank of ammonia that it was barely tolerable. It was also not delightful listening to the neighbor's generator most of the day. Thank goodness that it didn't run in the night too.
The campground was quaint and nice. My family and I (two small kids) stayed at #26 which was closely tucked between two other sites and while we were close to other sites, it was doable. Lots of other sites that could offer more shade/more seclusion but we enjoyed our time there. The bathrooms were not attended to which is why they lost a star rating. Pictures of the site throughout the day to gage the shade/lack of shade where we were at.
Smaller in length spaces but there are a couple for a larger setup. Vault toilets were very fragrant. There are a couple of hand pump wells for fresh water. Love the area. Great starting point for taking out the sxs's.
Stayed 2 days. Great little quiet place to camp and enjoy being away from cell phone signal. Restrooms were clean. No shower unfortunately, but you can always go swim in the lake or go to a hot spring. Lots of people had dogs there.
