U.S. Forest Service · Sawtooth National Forest · Idaho

Upper Penstemon Campground

Open nowFirst-come, first-served

Sites are first-come, first-served. Recreation.gov lists this campground for paying on site, and you may be able to pay with the Scan and Pay feature of its app.

More like this: first-come in Idaho

1fire
active
Stinson Creek Rx 2026 (prescribed burn) · 31 mi away · 450 acres
Interagency incident data as of 2026-10-16
Incident details ↓

Season & status

StatusOpen
SeasonJune
ForestSawtooth National Forest
FeesFEE SITE- $8.00/night
RulesOccupancy: The following act is prohibited within the Minidoka Ranger District: Pursuant to 36 CFR 262.58 (a), camping in any area including a developed recreation site or an undeveloped/dispersed recreation site for more than 14 (fourteen) days in a 28 (twenty-eight) day period.

Sawtooth National Forest recreation page ↗

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Upper Penstemon Campground30°40°50°60°70°80°January: 0.82 inches of precipitation, 5.7 inches of snowFebruary: 0.69 inches of precipitation, 5.0 inches of snowMarch: 1.14 inches of precipitation, 4.2 inches of snowApril: 1.55 inches of precipitation, 2.0 inches of snowMay: 2.05 inches of precipitation, 0.2 inches of snowJune: 1.12 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 0.69 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 0.72 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 1.08 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 0.88 inches of precipitation, 0.6 inches of snowNovember: 0.78 inches of precipitation, 2.2 inches of snowDecember: 0.79 inches of precipitation, 5.2 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 30.6°F averageFebruary: 34.3°F averageMarch: 41.8°F averageApril: 47.2°F averageMay: 55.1°F averageJune: 63.0°F averageJuly: 71.5°F averageAugust: 70.5°F averageSeptember: 61.9°F averageOctober: 50.5°F averageNovember: 38.6°F averageDecember: 30.1°F average0 in2 in4 in6 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Oakley, 20 miles from the campground at 4,559 feet, station USC00106542 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 12 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 25 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Getting there

Coordinates42.1943° N, 114.2859° W · Directions ↗

Fire nearby

  • Prescribed
    Stinson Creek Rx 2026

    31 mi from the campground · 450 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Call the managing office before you drive.

Supplies & services

Outdoor gearXtreme RV ↗26.5 mi
Dump stationDump station ↗34.2 mi

Locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. Call ahead; hours change seasonally.

Limited data for this unit

No site-by-site records, no amenities, no fee schedule, no directions or photos in the Recreation.gov record. What is here comes from the agency's own listing. The rest lives there.

Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the record fills in.

Explore

Worth a stop

Trails nearby

Forest Service trail data →
  • under 0.1 mi
    Penstemon Loop
    2.8 mi trail · snowshoe, ski
  • 0.1 mi
    Penstemon Short Loop
    0.4 mi trail · snowshoe, ski
  • 0.5 mi
    Short Loop
    1.5 mi trail · snowshoe, ski
  • 0.7 mi
    Rock Creek Loop
    2 mi trail · snowshoe, ski
  • 0.8 mi
    Trail Canyon
    1.6 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike, motorcycle and 2 more
  • 0.8 mi
    Wahlstrom Loop
    4 mi trail · snowshoe, ski

Trail and trailhead records are the Forest Service's. Distances are straight-line to the nearer trail end. Trail conditions are not tracked here.

Guidebooks for Idaho

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

Do I need a reservation at Upper Penstemon Campground?

No. Upper Penstemon Campground is first-come, first-served. Sites are taken on arrival and paid at the fee station.

Source: Forest Service

How much does it cost to camp at Upper Penstemon Campground?

FEE SITE- $8.00/night

Source: Forest Service

Is Upper Penstemon Campground open right now?

Open as of Oct 16, 2026. Season June.

Source: Forest Service status

What if Upper Penstemon Campground is full?

The nearest public campgrounds are Lower Penstemon (0.1 mi), Pettit Campground (0.8 mi, first-come), and Diamondfield Jack Campground (1.7 mi, first-come).

Source: Campgrounds nearby