If you are looking for a concrete pad then this is not the place for you. It has lush grass, mature trees, and lovely views, we had to go out of our way to stay here, but it was worth it! The hosts are wonderful and the park is well cared for. read more

We just camped here for a few days and have to say it's a beautiful RV park. The camp host was so accommodating and there for antything you need. We highly recommend staying here. read more

Really peaceful campground during the week. it gets crowded on the weekends. Tons of shade and the people who run it are extremely nice and helpful. Took one star away for the bathrooms as they are old and in need of renovation. They we're clean, just old. We would stay here again if we returned to the area. read more

Mary's Place is always so pleasant. The hosts Bob and Tammy and Kevin were awesome. Thanks for all the fun.

Between the trains traveling all through the night and the very rude camp host, we will find another camping spot. The Camp host was very rude and disrespectful to some guests that came to visit us while we were staying. Made a nice camping getaway into a stressful shouting match with the camp host. Pass this one up, there are better camping spots in Lava Hot Springs. read more

This was a nice place to camp. Full hookups for our trailer and they had WiFi. The grass and trees were really nice as well for those who stayed in tents. They also have real bathrooms with flushing toilets and showers. It was close enough to walk to town, the river, and hot pots. A few complaints: - I think we had 3 campsites for our whole family but only had 1 fire pit and it was tiny!! It took a very long time to cook everyone's "hobo dinners." - We had to call and ask them to clean the bathrooms. The women's bathroom was terribly disgusting for 3 days; the trash cans were overflowing, there was no paper towels or toilet paper, and it reeked! (There was what looked like a girls camp staying at the campground). Other than that we had a great time with family! read more

We just spent the greatest 4th of July weekend in Lava Hot Springs, and Mary's Place is the best place to camp. Perfect view for the town's firework show too! We had lots of space and there is so much grass for the kids to run around on. We've stayed at other campgrounds in Lava and we were disappointed at how tightly we were packed into a gravel parking lot. The camp hosts were the best though! Kiera made red, white and blue rice Krispy treats and served them with lemonade for everyone in the camp ground. They even drove around and picked up our garbage at night. And they were so nice and friendly. Great camp and great holiday weekend! read more

Mary's Place - Kids playing dodge ball - Campgrounds Near Me - Lava Hot Springs, Idaho

Super cute place to stay if you like being treated like garbage by the camp host. Both years we went the camp host was so rude it was ridiculous. He is a very rude old man who will treat you and even kids like they are below him. A cute family was camping next to us (with children ranging between 3-7 years old) while we were staying and he came and yelled at the kids like they were his own for running around the campground during the day!!! I will never be staying here or recommending to ANYONE just because of the host and multiple bad experiences with them. read more

Looked like a nice place upon arrival. I was led to my spot by a their camp "host" who seemed to have cop energy. BTW way this-place is run by the local law enforcement. Anyway, I was chewed out by the host when I tried to park my vehicle. He said I was going to get a $700 fine for driving across a camp site. I apologized and said I didn't know I was disturbing anything. Not a good first impression of a friendly place. They have good hook ups but the sites are EXTREMELY close to one another. Our neighbors were less than 10' away. There are so many places to camp in Lava,....Don't pick this place!! read more

I booked this campsite for a family reunion over a year ago. We have stayed here before and had a great time. This weekend was just the opposite. From the moment we set up camp we were confronted with Mike, the camphost who yelled at us for having mats over the muddy ground outside of our trailer. We were a group of 33 and for the next 3 days he found trivial things to yell at us for. We are rule followers but, after having 4 family members get yelled at we wouldn't put up with it anymore. It's one thing to tell people a rule and ask to follow. Its completely another to come out attacking and yelling. We got so sick of being yelled at we finally wouldnt take it anymore and yelled back. After Mike dropped a few major curse words he called the police. Come to find out this jerk has the right to kick someone out of their campsite for not putting up with his rude behavior. The police said unfortunately he has that right and we lost a family. It was so sad to see them have to leave our reunion early because they stood up to a complete jerk. This is a great location and beautiful place to stay but until they get a new camphost I would avoid this place. read more

We pulled in around 6pm to setup camp and all the signs said "if the office is closed, go ahead and camp and check in with us in the morning"! So we did that, woke up in the morning, packed up and on our way out we stopped at the office to pay; come to find out they charge $44 PER NIGHT! I asked the girl at the desk if they had any signs up that stated thats how much they charged and she said theres no signs! Of course we could of left and not even bothered to stop by at the office but we stopped and paid the $44 per night! Overall ruined the whole experience due to not knowing how much they charge prior to setting up camp! read more

Worst camping experience ever!!! Avoid this place at all costs. The camp host AND camp manager was disrespectful and rude. We had one visitor (who paid for the day), who accidentally parked in an unmarked spot. The manager yelled at her without explaining what she had done wrong. She is elderly and became scared after how aggressive he was. She got so uncomfortable and left early to go home after driving several hours to come see us. read more

Terrible camp host. Treats people like criminals. Very rude. Bathrooms are never clean. Camp sites are too close together. I do not reccomend this place to anyone. read more

The place was so crowded and packed with campers it felt like I was living in an apartment building. It cost me $82.00 for the night. I was not impressed at all. read more

Great full hookup! Dave and Kiera were so friendly and helpful. Within walking distance to the hot pools, river tubing, downtown and bars. You must eat at the Thai Restaurant! They are looking for part time camp help! Showers were okay. Usable for sure. Wear flip flops read more

The campground is beautiful and shady. Hosts were nice. BUT the women's shower room was disgusting. There were dozens of worms in the showers and on the floor. I reported it to the office and asked that it be cleaned. The worms were vacuumed; the next day they were back. The gentleman in charge said "they come every spring and they can't do anything about it." He said they "vacuum them up twice a week". He thought they came from the ground and came in around the foundation. OK, then seal the the outer walls at the foundation. Unacceptable and gross. They should vacuum once or twice a day. We will never stay there again. If you don't mind using the bathroom and showering with worms... have fun. read more

There was no one at this campground and after reading the reviews I now understand why. our experience wasn't much different than the other low ratings here. The cost $40/night for tent camping with no amenities is a little crazy even though the sign on the door says $10 tent camping. No one was there so we planned to pay in the morning. The spot we were in had a smell of a dead animal drifting in and it was too late in the night to pack up and move. Finally and most importantly Chelsea is a horrendous woman. If you hate your job or your life so much why work in customer service I'm pretty sure something away from the public pays the same. Her character is completely opposite of a welcoming, fun, and good times. She was the moldy cherry on top it all off. So if your looking for a east coast style rude experience go find Chelsea over at Mary's place, then go over the KOA across the street at least the dead smell would stay with Chelsea in her purgatory! read more

I originally wrote a positive review for this place a few years ago. But! Since then I have had a few duplicate negative experiences with camp host regarding car and parking. I am a single older lady traveling alone sometimes. Once I brought my family. We arrived a little late and had tons to unload. Paid in full in advance! The host has no, I mean none! No patience if you do not quite get the parking scenario. One has to drive down a hill and travel in front of, if not on part of, other camping areas depending on what site you have on river. Camp host is nazi about this situation! One feels if they do not unpack car and move it back up the hill within five minutes they are degenerates trying to take advantage of said situation. He makes you feel very less-than, disregarded. We have your money and now we just want to get you in and out! It blew my mind other folks experienced this also!! I thought maybe it was just me. Now I know it wasn't and I felt compelled to review. It is a pretty spot for sure! And it was nice as single lady knowing police own, felt safer. But! I also, each time, experienced rude and loud drunks in tents! Some were agressive when approached at four AM to please quiet down! The next morning the person I asked to please be quiet that was drunk night before actually made it seem like they were purposefully driving toward me and my car to hit me/it in morning when they left with passengers in his car all laughing. Bad, right?One would think being owned by Sheriff they would have better control, right? My opinion to rid what seems to be a habitual issue? Ban the alcohol from tent sites. I truly believe it will make no difference in your occupancy, meaning you will not loose folks. If anything, I think it would help avoid negative reviews due to alcohol and make it more family oriented! It is bad enough one cannot swim in the river in front of tents! It is the same river we are tubing in! It takes away from the camping experience not being able to dip in water at your campsite. Too bad! One can go above the bridge but perhaps if you forbid alcohol you might be more willing to let us swim. Add the fact that each year they raise their prices! Erybody right across the river in KOA place are swimming and it is a bummer watching them when we are told not to swim right across the way! I mean....certainly there is more risk in allowing alcohol and beer then swimming! Joining the multitude of greed seekers regarding rents, camping, up and down i15 corridor,one has to ask is it worth paying a higher price each year with these limitations and issues when one can go to two other campgrounds a few miles up the road on river for lots less? No. Last season they were not doing anything via internet regarding reserves, paying. Phone rang and rang just to get a question asked! Bathrooms were also dirty for long period of time. Cleary, it must be challenging to locate decent and consistent office staff/management. I have experience and would love to help you whip that place into shape! I do not have an RV otherwise I would have applied two seasons ago. Contact me if your interested of RV required has changed! Get rid of alcoholic beverages! Your so close to UTAH would it really matter to not allow? Allow swimming. Pay some conscientious person who needs extra cash to come in and clean the bathrooms three times a day. Management does not have the time and it is reflecting in upkeep. Train staff answering phone better and to learn not to say, I don't know! Just a few things....don't raise the price until you get some of this stuff taken care of! Please take constructively. It might help. believesinprayer@gmail.com read more

If you like being packed in like a sardine, cars blocking roads, noise and yelling from drunks till midnight, dogs barking all day and night, one bathroom stall and old and dirty showers this place is for you. This was a very bad experience, and will not be returning. Have come here for years, seems with new management come changes to maximize their profits. There are many other choices in the area that are not like this place. Has some nice shade and is close to town. Stinks like a bad sewer. read more

Don't EVER book a a reservation here. They take full payment ahead of time and they will not give you any refund if you booked for one night. Even if it's raining cats and dogs, even if you have extenuating circumstances, they are unwavering and unhelpful. They wouldn't even let me put my deposit towards a future use which is a terrible policy. For being in the hospitality industry they are not hospitable at all. She was very curt with me and didn't offer any recourse other than taking my money. We had stayed here before and had a lovely time, but I'll never be using this establishment again. read more

While this campground lacked some services that we have come to expect in other campgrounds (no laundry, no store), I'm thinking that we would stay there again if we find ourselves in that area. The camp sites were a field of lush green grass which helps to keep down the dust. There are no concrete pads but each site had a clean picnic table. There are some sites that are near the Portneuf river but then you are closer to the train tracks that are across the highway. We chose to stay as far from the tracks as possible but wherever you stay in Lava, you are going to hear those trains that frequently pass through the area - day and night. We were allowed to fish from the property which thrilled my daughter who got to fish to her hearts delight, (once she bought a fishing license of course)! The managers warmed up to us after a while (or we warmed to them, not sure). The campground is owned by the local Sheriff's Deputy association so we were not surprised at the strict rules that were definitely enforced. We appreciated those rules when the 10pm noise restriction was getting violated by another group's rambunctious children. The bathrooms were clean but you'd better get your business done early as they close at 8 PM and don't open until the following morning. There are a couple of porta potties out for emergencies. A big downer is the location. To get to this campground you have to drive through the KOA in front of it. The walk to town is not bad (maybe 10-15 minutes or so) but if the footbridge from Mary's Place was repaired, you wouldn't need to walk around through the KOA and the walk would be cut in half. The town's activities are great for families but activities are limited for us older folks. We did visit the Foundation's hot mineral pools. That was an experience! The Foundation is very clean and has impressive facilities. read more

Didn't know where our next stop would be on our summer trip. Husband found Lava Springs for a few days. Looked at the reviews on campgrounds and was very impressed by Mary's Place. This place is beautiful and the staff is incredible. Ended up staying another night. Everyone in the cute little town was very nice. We will definitely plan on coming back next year if we can. If you are near Lava Springs this campground is a must stay. read more

Fun, good prices. They allow dogs. MAny rental stops will give a Mary's discount, great!!

After reading and doing research on this PRIVATE non big business park we have returned each year for a peaceful and always hospitable time. As always the grounds are well manicured ,flowers are homey, facilities are alway clean, guests come far and wide. The "family" returns each year whether it be after their own family reunions, passing through, R&R, or just a weekend get away. It is a safe and friendly place to go to. In the premise of the late owners, Glen and Mary ' Memsie' Perkins " A life that touches the hearts of others goes on forever and ever' Mary bequeathed her heart and her park to Tha Bannock County Sheriff's Association knowing that the Sheriff's would live on forever. Please support the park , the Sheriff's and the local community so that's park will always be there for generations to generation . Our favorite part is to come and relax in the local City Hot Springs it is so relaxing. read more

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We loved this clean campground. The managers kiara and Dave were awesome and made our trip easy. Stay in the area away from the waterfront for shade. And there is a fence by the water and a loud train that comes thru 6 or 7 times a day. A hike down to a natural spring in the river was great as well. Couple blocks to walk to center of town and the hot springs. River rafting exceptional. read more

Very disappointed in Marys Place. I had see it from afar many times from KOA and Lava. We decided to give it a try. Everywhere we camp, we drive our street legal UTV into town, and after unloading it here, we were told by staff to load it back up or park it in the KOA because they don't allow any UTV, ATV or motorcycle. I explained it was street legal and our vehicle to drive into town, but they didn't care. We now have to drive our 25' motor home and 14' trailer into town to do anything in town after disconnecting everything and hook back up when we get back. Very ridiculous. Our UTV is quiet and not disruptive. I followed their speed limit of 5mph during the short period of time we had it off the trailer. Marys place has signs posted for ATV's and motorcycles stating they're not allowed, but Street Legal UTV's that are used as a vehicle and are permitted around town should not be prohibited especially since it's not posted. We planned a three day trip here only to find out we have to walk to town or drive our big rig motor home around. What a disappointment. The staff was rude and unwilling to understand or listen to our frustrations. If KOA had an available site for our trip, I would have moved there and got my money back, even if it was dry camping. I would NOT recommend Marys Place campground at all to anyone. It's pretty, but run by a bunch of rude, and inconsiderate staff. I won't be staying here again. read more