June 27, 2025 | Day 8
Friday, June 27, 2025 | Day 8
Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Idaho
This morning Xiomara and I sat on the curb beside the van soaking in the morning sun, hunting for crickets, and reading “Ramona Quimby, Age 8.” We even took a walk before the boys woke up.
We drove to Lucky Peak State Park to have breakfast. On second thought, oatmeal might not be the best thing to eat at a sandy beach, but the kids didn’t seem to mind the extra crunch. This was a fantastic spot for small kids because the water was pretty shallow near the shore, and there wasn’t a current or waves. We were one of the first to arrive at the park and we enjoyed the quiet, family-friendly vibe. By lunchtime it got quite busy. We appreciated having access to outdoor showers, even if the water was cold.
In the afternoon we drove to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area near Stanley, Idaho. Campgrounds around Redfish Lake book up quickly, and we were not able to get a reservation until the evening of Sunday, June 29. Several of the campgrounds have first-come-first-serve spots, but those were all filled by the time we arrived in the early evening. Thankfully there was a single spot available at Redfish Lake Overflow Dispersed located off of Highway 75 at forest road 654D. The road in is a bit rough, it was really dusty, and the sites have some small boulders you have to navigate when parking or putting up a tent, but overall it’s a great spot that offers fire rings and pit toilets. The site we chose had a short (put fairly steep) trail leading to the Salmon River. We had hoped to find a first-come-first-serve spot, but this was even better because it was free and felt just as safe and comfortable as a standard campground.
Once we set up camp and got the kids clean with our outdoor shower off the back of the van, we watched Inside Out 2 and ate dinner in the van - a (somewhat successful) attempt to keep the kids clean before going to bed. The sunset here was absolutely gorgeous. The Sawtooth National Recreation Area is within a designated International Dark Sky Reserve, so the stargazing is incredible and we could easily see the Milky Way.
