Idaho has an abundance of rivers, natural lakes, ponds and reservoirs, and Idaho Fish and Game provides about 400 recreation sites throughout the state that allows access to these waterways for fishing, boating, hunting, trapping and more.
F&G provides hundreds of boating access sites and asks people to use them responsibly
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Access for today and the future
Anglers and prospective anglers say fishing access management is important to them, so it’s also a high priority for Fish and Game. One of the best ways to finding access sites is through Idaho Fish and Game's Fishing Planner, which provides a wealth of information about fishing sites in the state, including boating access.
Most of these access sites charge no fees because they’re mostly user funded through fishing and hunting license fees, taxes paid on fishing and hunting equipment, gas taxes paid by boaters, and other small funding sources.
Fish and Game spent $2.8 million in 2025 to operate, maintain, and improve fishing and boating access in Idaho; the large majority of which is dedicated to personnel salaries. Access sites range from small parking lots for walk-in fishing to full-service recreation complexes that include boat ramps, docks, restrooms, large parking lots, campgrounds, lighting, and more.
Fish and Game also continually looks for opportunities to secure property or form partnership agreements for new site development, while recognizing that sufficient staffing and funding must be available to do so. With so many waterways in Idaho, the department can’t do it alone, so it partners with local, state, federal and private landowners to provide public access.
They're your sites, enjoy them and protect them
These sites are popular for obvious reasons – Idahoans love to get outdoors for hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation. People should use and enjoy these access sites and follow these simple rules:
- Quick in/quick out when launching or retrieving boats and other watercraft at ramps.
- Don’t block ramps or docks and try not to impede people launching and retrieving their boats.
- Don’t camp at fishing and boating access sites unless signs show camping is allowed.
- Don’t litter (pack in/pack out).
- If you see any illegal activities, report it by calling the local sheriff's office.
Protecting these sites not only makes them more enjoyable to use (nobody enjoys a trashed outhouse), it also stretches funds to maintain and improve them.
Maintaining and improving boating access
In each region, Recreation Site Maintenance Foreman are tasked with general maintenance of sites which can include restroom cleaning, road and parking lot grading, fencing, vegetation management and weed control, dam maintenance, painting, sign replacement and routine repairs. Each year, Fish and Game also oversees the complete overhaul of several sites, which often requires engineering design, permitting, hiring contractors and construction oversight.