RV Park Review – Boise Riverside RV Park, Boise, ID

The green pet area at Boise Riverside RV Park

A basic, but very friendly RV park in a GREAT location in Boise, ID

Link to park here: Boise Riverside RV Park, Boise, ID
Link to map location here: Boise Riverside RV park, Boise, ID

1. Site quality = 2.5/5
   Just so-so sites here. They are all basic, cleared flat dirt with decent separation (there’s “double-size” between each RV -> a space for your RV and a space next to it for your car) with water/electric (greenbelt-facing sites) or full hookups (50 Amp/water/sewer), but really not much else. Most sites are separated by a concrete pad, some have a strip of grass, several have decent trees (ours was actually quite shaded although the tree threw sap all over the RV), but only a select number have picnic tables. The water/electric only sites had a bit more grass, but were generally smaller in size (smaller rigs only). Electricity OK, but water pressure was low.
2. Facilities = 3.5/5
   Decent facilities. Bathrooms and toilets were a tad older, but spotlessly clean. Low water pressure in the showers, but otherwise good temps and plenty of space. All showers have separate bench and hooks for your stuff.
3. Amenities = 3/5
   Decent, but basic amenities. There is a large, clean on-site laundry ($1.50 per wash), grassy areas, propane, dump and BBQ area. Decent (workable) on-site WiFi although signal was poor the further you got from the office.
4. Location = 5/5
   Location is what you come here for. Boise Riverside RV Park is literally ON the greenbelt with direct access to the bike-hike trail and only ~15 mins from downtown. Excellent location for anything you want to do in town.
5. Pet friendliness = 5/5
   Good area for doggie. There’s limited space at camp, but there is an on-site (large, green) pet-walk area and you are right on the greenbelt for access to miles of walking (and river dips) right from camp. Also, you’re only ~15 mins from the foothills and all the extra hiking there.

Overall rating = 3.8
BONUS ALERT: Camp RIGHT on the Boise greenbelt and only ~5 miles from downtown!

Summary: This park is all about location, location, location. On the cosmetic side I would call it a basic private RV park. Sites are basic dirt with full hookups (rather low water-pressure, but otherwise fine), decent separation, some basic grass or concrete in-between, decent trees, but not much in the way of “extras”. There’s good, basic facilities, good amenities, everything is clean and well-kept and the owners are super-friendly and supportive (e.g. you can wash your RV for only $5). All good stuff, but not exactly stunning. Where the park wins me over is location. You are literally RIGHT on the Boise greenbelt, with direct access to miles of walking, biking and water-dips (for doggie) right from camp. Also you’re only ~5 miles from downtown and the Boise foothills. When we came to Boise a few years back we stayed at Hi Valley which was a very neat park, but further from town. Boise Riverside is more basic and not as modern, but in a much, much better location. I think if we come back we’ll choose to stay here again.

Extra Info: Excellent Verizon signal (4G LTE and 3G). On-site WiFi is workable, although signal is poor as you get further from the office. Sites cost $32.56/night or $179.22/week or $375/month for full hookups. Water/electric only sites are $25/night. Good Sam’s Discount. On-site dump station and propane.

Front view of our site (#6). Very shaded, but the tree threw sap all over our RV

Back view of our RV site. We had no-one to the left and right side is empty.

View down front greenbelt-facing water/electric sites. Mostly smaller rigs here.

View down some sites near front entrance of park

Another view down front entrance rows

View of sites near back of park

Another view of back sites

View down middle row

View of facilities in middle of park (laundry, showers)

Walking Polly on the greenbelt right next to the RV park

RV Park Review – Hi Valley RV Park, Boise, ID

Hanging out in the dog-run at Hi Valley RV Park

A clean, convenient stop-over location for Boise with a huge dog-run.

Link to park here: Hi Valley RV Resort, Boise
Link to map location here: Hi Valley RV Resort, Boise

1. Site quality = 3.5/5
   Basic but decent site quality for a private park. There are long, flat gravel pull-throughs and back-ins (most back-ins occupied by semi-permanents). Like most private parks sites are fairly tight, but each site is separated by a “slice” of concrete and green grass (a nice bonus) plus a picnic table. A few, sparse shade trees around. Full selection of hookups with cable TV.
2. Facilities = 3/5
   There’s a full set of facilities here, but they’re all a bit dated. Older showers and restrooms, but kept spotlessly clean and with a few little, cute touches (free bath-mats).
3. Amenities = 4/5
   A decent set of amenities here. On-site laundry, free Tengo WiFi (works decently), and selection of movie rentals and book-swap at the main store. Small, grassy play-area for the kids. Also propane available. Biggest bonus is the HUGE dog-run.
4. Location = 4/5
   This is a good location to explore Boise. The park is in the West of town in a quieter residential neighbourhood, but close enough to be short drive from downtown. Also Walmart, Home Depot and other shopping just a few miles away. Only ding is not alot of green around here.
5. Pet friendliness = 5/5
   Dog facilities are the biggest bonus here. The park has a huge dog run along the back (next to the river) which you can extend into a longer walk along the river-bank. Very spacious.  You are also only ~15 mins drive from the big off-leash dog park downtown.

 Overall rating = 3.9
BONUS ALERT: Huge dog run on-site!

Summary: We were looking for a convenient pet-friendly stop over in Boise and this place fit the bill. It’s a fairly standard private park with “parking-lot” type sites, but is kept meticulously clean and has some nice extra touches. Sites are mostly pull-through with full selection of hookups and slice of green. Good set of amenities and facilities (no pool however). Owners are super-friendly and location is fairly quiet, yet still convenient to everything in downtown Boise. The biggest bonus (for us) was the enormous dog-run all along the back of the park giving us a nice area to walk and hang out w/ pooch by the river. Given the choice of parks around Boise this is one of the nicer options and we’d probably chose to come again if we needed to stop in town.

Extra Info: Verizon aircard and smartphone had full signal. Free WiFi on-site (Tengo). Sites $ 34/night (regular full-hookup). They do offer a nicely discounted weekly & monthly rate, plus a Good Sam’s and AAA discount. 

Typical site view

View of our site at Hi Valley (all sites are very similar)

Typical view down one of the pull-though rows

Another view down the rows

View of main office and facilities in middle of park

View of playground

SP Campground Review – Three Island Crossing State Park, Glenns Ferry, ID

An early wagon from The Oregon Trail on display at Three Island Crossing State Park

A very green and wonderfully historic State Park in South-Central ID.

Note/ Review updated as of last stay May, 2013

Link to campground here: Three Island Crossing State Park, ID
Link to map location here:  Three Island Crossing State Park, ID

1. Site Quality = 4/5
   The site quality here is very nice although upper & lower loops are quite different. All are long, flat paved sites with picnic table and fire-pit. Most are back-in 30Amp/water although there are 3 sites (#2-4) offering 50Amp and a select few pull-thoughs. There are also several “double hookup” sites (sized for 2 campers side-by-side)
   -> In Upper loop (#1-43) the sites are wonderfully spaced around a huge (enormous!) green lawn with plenty of large shade trees. Front-facing sites (#7-20) have views of the valley too. Great separation, easy access & very green. This is definitely the loop to stay in.
   -> In Lower loop (#44-82) sites are tight (most are far too close for my liking) and access is more difficult.  Good shade and green, but no views. The only sites with decent space are the pull-throughs (81,82).
2.  Facilities = 4/5
   Good facilities here. The showers were large with good pressure and temperature -> only ding is they have that annoying spray-head. Lots of extra facilities around the park including a large day-use area, river access (for fishing), the wonderful Oregon Trail Interpretive center and several hiking trails. On-site dump station.
3. Location = 4/5
   Glenns Ferry is a smallish town, but with easy access off I-84 and some cute, little touches. The main interest here is the Oregon Trail History and for that alone this is a great stop. There is also a winery (with golf course!), a small down-town and (very) basic shopping.
4. Pet Friendliness = 5/5
   Great doggie site. The large, green lawn is perfect doggie-rolling/romping ground and there is a small, but good selection of hiking trails in the park.

Overall Rating = 4.25
BONUS ALERT = Explore the heart and history of the Oregon Trail!

Summary: We thoroughly enjoyed this stop. Southern Idaho can be scorching hot and dry in summer, and Three Island Crossing provides an oasis of a green in the desert. There is a wonderful Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, several hiking trails and huge (enormous) green lawns which are meticulously watered and tended. The campground has beautiful large shade trees, flat,paved sites nice “sitting areas”and electric/water hookups. The upper loop (#1-43) is most definitely the spot to stay with great separation, lots of space and even a few sites with views (front-side #7-20). The lower loop (#44-82) is far more cluttered and not nearly as nice. During the week the place is mostly empty, but we gather it fills up in the week-end. We found the park most relaxing and would definitely come back.

Extra Info:  3 bars of strong Verizon 4G LTE plus full 3G signal. Sites cost $23.32/night (30 or 50Amp/water), $40.28 for double-sites. There is an extra $5/day use fee ontop of the daily camping fee (can also be covered by an annual Idaho Motor Vehicle Entrance Pass for $40). Golden Age pass gives 50% off Mon-Thurs. 82 total sites, all reservable in peak season. On-site dump station.

Typical back-in in the upper loop (#38 shown)

View of our site (#2). Note the large green lawn in the back. Facilities visible too.

View of our “sitting area” in the back of the RV. Lovely and green!

View of pull-through in upper loop (#6 shown). Views of valley in sites behind.

View down upper loop (Site #19 on right, #20 on left)

View down upper loop. Our very shaded site (#2) on right.

Another view down upper loop (Site #35 on right, #36 on left)

View of lower loop. Sites #46-50 front to back. They’re quite tight here.

View of two really tight sites in lower loop (#52 on right, #53 on left).