Baumgartner Campground

Baumgartner Campground is situated alongside the South Fork Boise River, 11 miles from Featherville, Idaho. The area offers excellent fishing, hiking and off-road vehicle riding opportunities, and Baumgartner Hot Springs is located within the campground itself, where visitors can enjoy soaking in the pool while admiring the scenic, natural setting. The hot springs are the campground's main draw. The 101-degree water is piped into a large concrete soaking pool, open during daylight hours and drained and refilled daily; the pool is pressure washed Tuesday mornings and will not open until around noon. The South Fork Boise River provides great fishing for wild and stocked rainbow trout, and younger campers love splashing in the cool mountain waters. An accessible path leads to a bench overlooking the swimming and fishing hole on the north end of the campground, and the John Baumgartner Gravesite is a short walk from the hot springs. A 1/4-mile interpretive nature trail begins at the hot springs and meanders up the hill through the forest. Kelley Creek/Iron Mountain, Virginia Gulch, Willow Creek, Van Gulch and Big Water Trails all begin in the area. Ponderosa Trail Learner's Loop, approximately 1 mile to the west of the campground, offers beginner level trails for young ATV and off-road motorcycle riders. ATVs, UTVs and off-road motorcycles cannot be ridden within the campground; you may trailer them in and out, but the trailer must fit within your camping spur. The campground offers single and double-family sites, as well as one quad site and one large group site (Site 100), all with picnic tables, fire rings and utility tables. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Roads and parking spurs within the main campground are paved; Site 100 is not. The campground is nestled beneath towering ponderosa pines at an elevation of 5,200 feet, with the gentle South Fork Boise River running along the site. A variety of wildlife is commonly seen in and around the campground, including deer and moose. Numerous hiking, biking, horseback and off-road vehicle trails crisscross the surrounding area. Kelley Creek Flats Recreation Area is adjacent, with additional designated dispersed site camping and livestock corrals near Kelley Creek. The historic Iron Mountain Lookout is located to the south of the campground, approximately a 12-mile one-way trip along the Kelley Creek trail, which is open to vehicles 50 inches or less in width.