Bruneau Dunes Campground

Idaho’s capital, Boise, and the populous Treasure Valley dominate the state’s southwestern corner – an urban agglomeration in a mostly rural state. It’s where you’ll find trendy coffee shops, international cuisine, great cultural attractions, and more recently, a lot of transplants from Silicon Valley looking to escape the traffic and crowds. But before Boise became the easternmost outpost of Pacific Northwest culture, it was just a medium-sized city that attracted nature lovers with its clear waters, tall peaks, and dense forests.

What’s even more unexpected than Portland-esque vibes in what was once Potato Country? Five hundred-foot-tall sand dunes comparable to the Sahara. Hundreds of miles from the coast, sand-swept Bruneau Dunes State Park is one of the more exceptional ecological attractions in the state. Due to a very particular convergence of winds, the sands have collected for thousands of years in this 5,000-acre region an hour's drive southeast of Boise.

Fortunately, there’s a great campground inside the state park, packed with amenities for visitors camping with an RV. Most of their sites have water and electrical hookups for your rental RV, along with Wi-Fi, dump stations, and a small gift shop. Below the sand dunes are a couple of small lakes with boat ramps for easy access. If you need fuel, propane, food, or any other sort of supplies for your RV rental, you can find it in the little town of Bruneau southwest of the park.