Payette National Forest campgrounds get upgrades through Great American Outdoors Act
This story originally ran in the Idaho Capital Sun on Sept. 27, 2023.
Renovations will soon begin at the Payette National Forest’s Huckleberry Creek and Cabin Creek campgrounds thanks to funding from the Great American Outdoors Act, according to a U.S. Forest Service press release.
The work on the campgrounds will begin the week of Oct. 2. Work at the Huckleberry Campgrounds is expected to be complete by 5 p.m. Oct. 5, but the Cabin Creek Campground will be closed beginning Oct. 4 through the “rest of fall 2023 and most or all of summer 2024,” the release said.
Additional work at Huckleberry Campground will occur during the summer and fall season of 2024 but is expected to require only short-term closures, the release said.
“During these closures, dispersed camping continues to be allowed in the general vicinity of both campgrounds,” the release said. “Developed camping is available at Lafferty Campground, approximately 15 miles south of Huckleberry on Council-Cuprum Road. Developed camping is available approximately 20 miles south of Cabin Creek Campground at Big Flat Campground on Forest Road 206, along the Little Weiser River.”
Some of the improvements at Cabin Creek will include realigning the campsites to be more user-friendly, replacing campground amenities like tables and fire rings, replacing and relocating the area’s restroom, repairing and realigning the roadway and replacing nearby fencing.
The renovations to the Huckleberry Campground will improve access for visitors with RVs by increasing the turnaround radius of the road loop, realigning some campsite turnouts, and grading and improving the campground roadway. Forest officials also hope to replace the campground’s water system in 2024.
