Barneys Campground (Boise National Forest, ID)

We had a wonderful stay at Barney's campground! We stayed in campground #5. The campsites are clean, spacious and not too crammed together. There's plenty of trees for shade and hanging hammocks and easy access to the reservoir for kayaking, paddleboarding, and swimming. The water was cool but pleasant to swim in in early August. Motorized watercraft are allowed on the reservoir, but we didn't really see any boaters; the lake was very quiet and pefect for kayaking, fishing, and paddleboarding. It felt like we had the whole lake to ourselves most the time. It may be busier on the weekends, but during the week it was very quiet.
Those were the cleanest, best maintained outhouses I have ever encountered. Not a single spider/cobweb in the corners, floors mopped, plenty of toilet paper, and a bag for garbage.
There is plenty of wood in the area for firewood but you'll need an axe and probably a saw to be able to use it.
Just be aware there is about 30 mi of dirt road to get to Deadwood reservoir and Barney's campground, coming from the North or the South. If you're hauling a boat, trailer, RV, or anything of the sort you have to come from the North, up through Cascade. The road coming from the south requires a good 4x4 vehicle with plenty of ground clearance.

Not great campsite. Gave up on it and found a better site at Howers where a first-come first-serve was open. Would not book this site again.

Not great campsite. Gave up on it and found a better site at Howers where a first-come first-serve was open. Would not book this site again.

never under estimate camping on off days.

bald eagles, clean bathrooms, no children = heaven

never under estimate camping on off days.

bald eagles, clean bathrooms, no children = heaven

We stayed at Barney’s Campground for the first time last weekend. Once we got there, we had an amazing time and loved how spread out the campsites are. We could walk to the other from our site and had plenty of room to set up by the water.
We had quite an adventure getting there, we followed the directions written on the confirmation email, and it took us MUCH longer than expected to get there, pulling a pop up camper. 34 mi on a bumpy dirt road, little ones got car sick and threw up. (All part of the memories) and literally everything was great when we got there.
Our camping neighbor told us to go back home the Cascade route and that was a much better drive and only one stop to throw up for the littles. Lol.
We will definitely be going back and taking the new route to get there.

We stayed at Barney’s Campground for the first time last weekend. Once we got there, we had an amazing time and loved how spread out the campsites are. We could walk to the other from our site and had plenty of room to set up by the water.
We had quite an adventure getting there, we followed the directions written on the confirmation email, and it took us MUCH longer than expected to get there, pulling a pop up camper. 34 mi on a bumpy dirt road, little ones got car sick and threw up. (All part of the memories) and literally everything was great when we got there.
Our camping neighbor told us to go back home the Cascade route and that was a much better drive and only one stop to throw up for the littles. Lol.
We will definitely be going back and taking the new route to get there.

Our overall stay at Barney's campground was excellent. One HUGE caveat though... OUR ORIGINAL CAMPSITE WAS CAMPSITE NUMBER SIX, AND THAT SITE IS TOTAL CRAP. Campsite 6 has zero shade, has no place to park a camper, is right next to the bathroom, and has no water access.
The reason that our overall stay was excellent is because someone told us that there was another campsite up for grabs and we took it. All of the campsites in Barney's are fantastic, except for size 6. Site number 6 needs to be discontinued as a site altogether. I cannot believe that the Forest service leaves it listed as a site at all. It is dismal. In fact our family called it "Barney's Dismay" the entire time that we were there.
all of that being said, the Forest service does an amazing job up here in the mountains. Deadwood reservoir is a wonderful place to stay, with the campsites being pretty far apart and most of them have water access. You will drive through a lot of burned forest on the way, but once you get to the reservoir it's all green and nice. We really enjoyed ourselves. There are power boats on the lake, but not too many and not too loud.

Our overall stay at Barney's campground was excellent. One HUGE caveat though... OUR ORIGINAL CAMPSITE WAS CAMPSITE NUMBER SIX, AND THAT SITE IS TOTAL CRAP. Campsite 6 has zero shade, has no place to park a camper, is right next to the bathroom, and has no water access.
The reason that our overall stay was excellent is because someone told us that there was another campsite up for grabs and we took it. All of the campsites in Barney's are fantastic, except for size 6. Site number 6 needs to be discontinued as a site altogether. I cannot believe that the Forest service leaves it listed as a site at all. It is dismal. In fact our family called it "Barney's Dismay" the entire time that we were there.
all of that being said, the Forest service does an amazing job up here in the mountains. Deadwood reservoir is a wonderful place to stay, with the campsites being pretty far apart and most of them have water access. You will drive through a lot of burned forest on the way, but once you get to the reservoir it's all green and nice. We really enjoyed ourselves. There are power boats on the lake, but not too many and not too loud.

NOT good for a trailer/RV; should be advertised as a tent only site. The site is simply a wide spot in the road and it's got a significant slant to it. Morning and evening has shade, but none mid-day. The map is completely wrong in where it shows sites 6 and 7. You turn off the main road down a small road that is between Sites 5 & 8 on the map. Site 6 is along that small road. Site 7 is at the end of that road closer to the water. It's not oriented like the map shows at all. Be prepared for horseflies and mosquitoes. The scenery is beautiful and the lake is the perfect temperature for swimming, but there's not much beach there until the water recedes later in the summer (we went early July).