Indian Creek Campground is a free, first-come dispersed camping area set right on the shore of Palisades Reservoir, in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest of eastern Idaho. With sweeping views across the water to the Snake River and Caribou mountain ranges, it's a gorgeous, low-key basecamp for a weekend on one of the region's most beautiful reservoirs — about 25 miles west of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

This is rustic, back-to-basics camping at its best. The main area has around ten designated dispersed sites, with more scattered spots tucked along the road and shoreline, most with simple fire rings and vault toilets or porta-potties nearby. There are no hookups or frills here — just a free place to pitch a tent or park the rig steps from the water (a five-night stay limit keeps sites turning over). The access road was once paved and is now gravel with a few ruts, so take it slow.

The reservoir is the main attraction. Palisades is renowned for its fishing, and anglers cast from shore and boat alike for trout and kokanee, while motorized and non-motorized boaters, paddlers, and swimmers all find room to play on the big, clear water. Back on land, the surrounding national forest offers hiking and horseback trails into the Snake River and Caribou ranges, with abundant wildlife and wildflowers in season.

The location is a big part of the draw. Indian Creek sits on the quieter side of Palisades Reservoir, a 16,000-acre mountain lake famed for its scenery and its fishing, ringed by the peaks of the Snake River and Caribou ranges. From your tent you look out across the water to forested mountains, and the whole area is a gateway to the wider Caribou-Targhee backcountry — a short drive from Swan Valley, Palisades Creek, and the string of trails and creeks that make this stretch of eastern Idaho so beloved by anglers, hikers, and campers.

Because it's free and first-come, first-served, Indian Creek fills up fast on summer weekends and holidays, so arrive early to claim a waterfront spot, and have a backup plan, since there's no way to reserve. Bring your own drinking water and a way to pack out your own waste, and be ready for the reservoir's mountain weather, which can turn cool and windy even in midsummer.

Summer and early fall are prime, when the weather is warm and the reservoir is full and inviting. Come prepared for dispersed camping — pack in your water, pack out all your trash, and follow Leave No Trace — and bring bear-aware food storage, since this is wild country. For current conditions, the Palisades Ranger District is your best resource.

For a free, scenic, water's-edge campout in the shadow of the Tetons, Indian Creek is hard to beat.