Idaho Panhandle/Sam Owen

Debbie Wilkins

Love this campground and day use area! The concessionaire company that are running it for the Forest Service are doing a great job. The host and maintenance people are very helpful and kind. The dog friendly beach area is a serious bonus that made the stay very enjoyable for our family.

Al Todalen

June 2023 The area has recovered nicely from the wind damage a couple of years ago. There isn't a lot of evidence from the earlier damage other than the remaining stumps. Grasses have grown back nicely to cover most of the damage. Red Sun loop which took most of the wind will have many sites without shade for years to come. The upper loops only had a couple of sites that lost trees.

Jason Buscema

Sam Owen has always been one of our family's favorite spots to camp over the years. It's located in a very beautiful spot on Lake Pend Orielle. The lake is always clear, clean and refreshing. We've camped here many times over Memorial weekend, and also later in the summer. The lake is comfortable later in the summer of course but we've swim a few times in spring as well. The campground lost a ton of trees a couple of years ago due to high winds, so it's quite exposed now. It sadly doesn't have the same privacy it had before, but it's still a great place. Sometimes we'll take a walk over to the Beyond Hope resort area and get a drink at the restaurant there and soak up in the sun and the view from the deck. There's a great pizza place in Hope only a few minutes away, which is a fun addition to a camping trip with the family.

Nikolas Steele

Had a great experience camping here! The camp sights were clean and well taken care of. It wasn’t overly crowded. The camp hosts were really nice! The water was really clear and I didn’t feel like I was too close to other campers. We had enough space to where we still felt isolated enough and not overhear other campers all day or all night long. The fire pit was just the right size as well and the fire wood provided wasn’t too expensive. The beach is great. The water was surprisingly warm! We went swimming and also kayaking. I will be returning to go camping here again.

Chance Ah Yee

This is a no hook up facity. They have a sani station....$8 fee to use but fresh water is free. In all a pretty nice place.

Stone “Newblife” Age

Great little venue very nicely kept and Shakey Graves sounded awesome!! Recommend

Connie Harper

Had a beautiful camping experience on the skipping stone loop. Kelly was the campground hostess and she does a superb job of keeping everything spotless as well as being helpful with letting us know which sites had canceled. We enjoyed 3 pleasant days on the lake., thanks to Kelly. Her husband is very nice too.

Tamara Fox

Sam Owen is a lovely forest service park on the shore of Lake Pend Orielle. 4 loops with lots of good sites, but some are very unlevel, so do your research before reserving. Camp hosts here are great; very friendly and knowledgeable about the area.

Owen

Well maintained. Beautiful location. The camp hosts were the best we've ever encountered. Flush toilets. Only 30 minutes from Sandpoint, and Davis Mercantile in Hope is a great little store. Also, you can rent a slip for a boat at Beyond Hope Resort, and it's within walking distance. Finally, there's a really nice (but short) hike right across the street. Overall, one of the better campgrounds I've been to.

Rachael Wood

One of the nicer campgrounds we've been to. This hidden gem is only lacking one thing to be my favorite: showers. LOL But flush toilets & delicious well water are an amazing bonus to a Forest Service site. Each camp site is very generously sized and good spacing between sites allows more privacy. Bathrooms are in plenty, close, but not too close to most sites. We recommend the Scented Leaf loop for anyone with an enormous tent as there are large, level, dedicated tent pads.