F&G provides hundreds of boating access sites
Bonner County Daily Bee | UPDATED 2 days, 2 hours AGO
Anglers try the waters of Idaho.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
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 offer access to these waterways for fishing, boating, hunting, trapping, and more.
Access for today and the futureAnglers 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 find 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 primarily funded by fishing and hunting license fees, taxes 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 vast majority of which was 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) but also stretches maintenance and improvement funds.
Maintaining and improving boating access
In each region, Recreation Site Maintenance Foremen are responsible for the 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.
— Idaho Department of Fish and Game