The Blue Lake RV Resort is located in Naples, Idaho. In the center of northern Idaho, this twenty-acre property has forty-three RV sites, two sleep shelters, a pole tent, a camping cabin, and a one bedroom cabin. Over half of Blue Lake sits within the resort acreage is and is available for guests to swim, fish, and paddle in. Games such as cornhole, life-size chess, and horseshoes are spread throughout the property for guests to use. Every campsite has access to a public grassy lawn area, a firepit, and a picnic table. A wine and beer bar is located off the property's main office and is open from 6-9 PM every night. The Blue Lake RV Resort is open to short-term guests from April to October.
The Blue Lake RV Resort is located in the center of Northern Idaho. The campground is 22 miles north of Sandpoint and five miles south of Bonners Ferry. The resort currently covers twenty acres of land. The main attraction to the property and its namesake is Blue Lake. This three-acre lake is small, and Blue Lake RV Resort owns more than half of it. No fishing license is required to fish on the lake—trees and dense forest border the entire property. Large grassy lawns cover the common spaces of the grounds, and well-established dirt roads lead to each campsite.
There are fifty total campsites available for reservation at the Blue Lake RV Resort. Forty-three of the spaces are set up for RV sites; two of them are specifically made for tents; there is also one camping cabin, two sleeping shelters, and a full-sized cabin rental. At the property entrance, there is a main office that adjoins a beer and wine bar. Other amenities on the property include a dog trail, dog park, a laundry room, and a bathhouse. Firewood and ice are sold in the main office, and additional parking is available for guests with more than one vehicle.
The wine and beer bar is attached to the back of the main office. Here guests can select their beverages from a menu of beer, wine, and pre mix cocktails. The huckleberry mimosa is a very popular drink at the bar. Inside there is a small lounge and a large table. Most guests take their drinks outside, however. The wine deck overlooks Blue Lake, with a gas fire pit at the center surrounded by several tables and chairs. The bar is open from mid-May to mid-September.
The entire campground is pet-friendly and even caters to animals by means of a dog park and trails throughout the twenty acres guests can use. If pets are not in an RV or the dog park, they are required to be on a leash, and owners must keep their pets quiet during the quiet hours of the park. Pets are allowed to play in the lake along with their owners.
Other amenities on the property include free internet access throughout the entire property. The internet is not suitable for streaming but works well for browsing. The laundry room is coin-operated with a change machine and a drying rack. The bathhouse was strategically built in the center of the park so guests can have quick access to a restroom and shower. Each bathroom includes a toilet, sink, shower, and mirror.
In addition to firewood and ice being sold in the main office, guests can rent movies from the DVD rental shelf.
Free games are available for all guests to use throughout the property. A giant chess board is located on the lakeshore along with ladder ball, cornhole, horseshoes, connect four, tic tac toe, and checkers. There is a ball bin where guests can find a variety of balls to check out for free. A ping pong table is available to be set up on the wine deck until 5:00 PM. Several activities are available on-site, most of them pertaining to the lake. A swimming dock leads out to the lake, and guests can bring their own floaties, kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards. For those without their own, they can rent a kayak, pedal boats, and SUPs. Each of these water toys can be rented by the hour. Recently a floating swimming dock was built and placed in the middle of the lake where guests can swim out to and play on. For those who don’t wish to get in the water, they can sit in reclining sun chairs or gather around the community fire pit.
The full hookup option is the most popular rental at the Blue Lake RV Resort. There are eighteen total full hookup sites. Several sites are big rig friendly with filtered views of the lake. 53 by 35 feet pull-through sites have 20, 30, and 50 AMP and can accommodate RV’s and camping trailers up to 45 feet. 70 by 30 foot Super Sites are back-in access and can accommodate rigs up to 45 feet. The partial hookups are in a more wooded area with 30 AMP and water hookups. Guests can pull through or back into these sites. A free dump station is available for partial hookup guests.
The lakeside sites are feet away from the lake and are specifically intended for smaller motorhomes or cab overs. The sites are back-in only with electricity hook up.
A pole tent with wood floors, electricity, a queen-sized log bed, mini-fridge, microwave, and small dining set up is also a reservation option. Guests are required to bring their own linens. The camping cabin is an intimate camping space that is 10 by 14 feet and can fit two people with a full bed, microwave, dry cupboard, heater, and mini-fridge. The Adirondack Cabins are two-person wood cabin shelters. Every site at the Blue Lake RV Resort includes a picnic table and firepit.
There are many dining spots and attractions in the area. Some recommended restaurants include Mugsy's, the Rusty Moose, Kootenai River Brewery, and Mi Pueblo. Commonly visited attractions in the area include Glacier National Park, Kootenai River, and Brush Lake.
The Blue Lake RV Resort was created with the goal of providing an outdoor escape for individuals without compromising modern amenities and attractions. The resort is family-friendly but also suitable for couples or single visitors. Each campsite is spread out in an effort to give guests space to do as they wish. This provides guests with relative privacy and allows trees and foliage to grow between each campsite, adding to the camping atmosphere of the resort. Nick, the manager of the property, and his staff strive to keep the property well-groomed without taking away any of the natural greenery.
Nick hopes every guest who comes to stay at the Blue Lake RV Resort is comfortable and has everything they need. Upon entering the resort, Nick or a member of his staff will check in with each guest then guide them to their site with a golf cart. Two members of the Blue Lake RV Resort staff are always on the property. One staff member will manage the main office while another will walk the grounds making sure games are in place, and garbage is taken care of.
Many family reunions and group gatherings are held at the Blue Lake RV Resort. Visitors can rent a series of campsites near each other and spend time on the twenty-acre property together swimming in the lake, playing games, or having a drink at the bar. There are many return guests at the resort, usually passing through the area from Canada or on their way to the Glacier National Park. The campground can be a convenient road trip stop.
There are a few policies put into place that help maintain the nature surrounding the property and keep guests comfortable. Those who bring a dog with them are responsible for all waste of their animal and are required to clean it up. After using any games or equipment within the campground, guests are encouraged to clean up after themselves, returning what they used to its original state. Quiet hours are strictly enforced. A customer-first attitude is enforced in all of Nick’s staff so that guests are taken care of promptly and with respect.
Guests often leave positive reviews regarding the privacy of their camping area, the activities to do on the property, the woodsy theme, and their appreciation for the resort’s pet-friendly areas. A recent guest at the resort left this review, “Quaint RV park that has sites either under the forest trees or under the stars at night. They have kayaks for rent, and sometimes you can catch a turtle while paddling along in the lake. Dog friendly with an off-leash area and a dog park too. We even saw wild turkeys roaming around a few mornings with their babies. Park is easy to access from the highway, which was nice while still maintaining that campground feel.”
The laundry room, bathhouse, wine bar, fire pit, and lake activities were all specifically added for the comfort of guests and their families. All visitors are encouraged to utilize these amenities at their own leisure. The Blue Lake RV Resort is open year-round; however, the resort is closed to short-term guests from October to March. Month-to-month rental options are offered to long-term guests during winter.
Nick Larsen is the general manager of the Blue Lake RV Resort. His mother purchased the property as a retirement project but hired Nick to manage the property completely. The resort has been passed through many hands since it was first established as a campground sometime around 1960. For years it was run as a campground before a previous owner attempted to turn the acreage into a vineyard. RV sites were added with the next owners. The couple who ran the property before Nick turned it into what it is today, adding the swimming dock, small beach, full hookup RV sites, and wine bar.
Since purchasing the property, Nick and his staff have added many amenities to the area. They completely remodeled the bar and added the floating island inside the swim dock. Several new sites and added electrical and water services were put in place throughout the property. An additional forty acres were purchased from the property next door, and Nick hopes to add a few more full hookup RV sites.
Nick enjoys meeting all of the different people who pass through the resort. The work at a campground varies drastically day to day and never gets boring for Nick, which he appreciates.
The Blue Lake has a local lore of being a bottomless lake. In 2019 a college student came out to Northern Idaho to study the lake and measure it. It was fifty feet deep when the mud and weeds settled; however, when rods were sent down to find the hard bottom of the lake, it could not be reached. Local rescue does their ice rescue training on the lake during the winter. The lake is more than 100 feet deep, and was formed by a break in the Borah Glacier.
242 Blue Lake Rd
Naples, Idaho 83847
United States
Campground
Nick
