Top 9 Yellowstone National Park Campgrounds & RV Parks
Yellowstone National Park is located in both Montana and Wyoming and boasts 3,468 square miles of land– larger than both Delaware and Rhode Island combined! With a variety of campgrounds throughout the park, ranging from first-come, first-served to booking six months in advance, Yellowstone offers its guests campsites fit for a weekend getaway or your next week-long outdoor adventure! With Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, Grand Prismatic Spring, Norris Geyser Basin, and a variety of other world-renown sites just short distances away from campgrounds, you are sure to find the perfect place to rest your head after a long day of adventuring.
Bridge Bay Campground is the largest campground in the Yellowstone National Park. It lies directly across the west shore of Yellowstone Lake and is located 30 miles from the east entrance. This campsite accommodates tents camping, camper vans, and RV camping. Each campsite also has a picnic area with a fire pit, and the campground has potable water, flush toilets, food storage lockers, and coin-operated shower and laundry facilities. Keep in mind, there are no hookups on the campground, nor is there a dump station. However, offsite near the Bridge Bay Marina is a dump station for use. Additionally, there is a small store close to the campground where food, firewood, ice, and other goods are available for purchase. Bridge Bay Campground allows its guests to book in advance, but be quick as this campsite is a popular choice amongst travelers, especially during its peak season.
Enjoy the night sky and the fresh air within the beautiful lodgepole pine forest at Canyon Campground. Canyon Campground is one of the most popular Yellowstone National Park lodges due to its central location to incredible sites that draw in thousands each year. It also has the closest access to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. Canyon Village, located about half a mile from the campground, offers amenities for guests of Canyon Campground to use. Those amenities include potable water, flush toilets, picnic tables, fire pits, dump stations, laundry and shower facilities, as well as a variety of shops for guests to enjoy. You can book the campground through the national park website for a bargain of $32 a night, which includes two showers a night, but keep in mind the popularity of the campground!
Grant Village Campground
Grant Village Campground, located on the southwest shore of Yellowstone Lake, is just a few miles away from the West Thumb Geyser Basin. Once you get to the basin, you will see amazing views of the hot springs and geothermal features that Yellowstone has to offer. If you have time for a drive within your stay, visit Colter Bay and immerse yourself in the view of the mountain on the lake. Colter Bay is quick 40 miles from the Grant Village Campground. With adventure in all directions of you, biking, boating, hiking, swimming, and wildlife watching are some of the many activities that attract visitors. Not to mention, the gaping mountain peaks, large lakes, and hot springs keep the area bustling through the winter months with snow sports as a popular draw. Some of the amenities at the campsite include the potable water, vault toilets, coin-operated showers, picnic tables, and fire pits. Included with your stay, however, the campground does include two showers a night at $32.
Madison Campground
If your dream vacation includes fishing and relaxing on the river, this is the campsite for you! Located on the Madison River, which is known for its excellent fishing and particularly popular for its ideal location to Old Faithful and the Upper, Midway, and Lower Geyser Basin, Madison Campground and its location is perfect for devout river rats! The campsite offers over 270 individual sites accommodating RVs, campers, tents, and even hammocks, but don’t let the large numbers fool you. These get booked out very quickly! We recommend booking up to 6 months in advance to secure a spot at this popular campsite. As it is just $27 a night, this is the perfect stop for all travelers. Potable water, fire rings, vault toilets, and an amphitheater are all promising amenities for campers. However, keep in mind there are no hookups available, nor are their showers, although a few miles away are coin-operated showers for guests to enjoy between adventures.
Norris Campground
Looking over amazing meadows and situated right next to the river, offering a short 10-minute walk to the Norris Greyser Basin, which has the hottest thermal area in Yellowstone. You can enjoy the tranquillity this campground has to offer while watching the bison roam through the camp– be aware, it is not uncommon to have bison weaving between tents, camper vans, and RV’s. The campground offers potable water, fire pits, picnic tables, and vault toilets, but there are no showers or laundry facilities on-site. However, there is access to those facilities a few miles away from the campsite. Norris Campground is open from mid-May to late September and operates on a first-come, first-serve basis, but the incredible features and views keep its short season a busy one in Yellowstone National Park.
Mammoth Hot Springs Campground
Mammoth Hot Springs Campground, although located just outside Yellowstone National Park, is about a five-mile drive north of the Northern entrance of the park. Mammoth Hot Springs campground is fantastic all year round and has ample room for campers, tents, and even the largest RV’s. Mammoth Hot Springs Campground is the only campsite in Yellowstone that stays open all year round and operates on a first-come, first-serve basis. With some of the best hiking, fishing, and outdoor adventuring in the Northwest, Mammoth Hot Springs Campground is the perfect location for some of the best memories throughout all four seasons. The campsite attracts those wishing for a colder getaway, with ample opportunity for winter sports. It is a spacious campground with 85 campsites and just $20 a night. Amenities included at this campsite has vault toilets, fire pits, potable water, and picnic tables. There are no showers on-site, but there are coin-operated showers a few miles from the campground.
Slough Creek Campground
Perfect for tent camping lovers, Slough Creek Campground is the ideal oasis for fishing fanatics. Sitting outside the Beartooth Mountains with incredible access to the Lamar River and the Yellowstone River, Slough Creek gives it’s guest the chance to fish cutthroat and Cutbow Trout. Keep in mind the difficulty of catching these incredible fish, but for some, a challenge is a perfect reason to spend a few nights at the campsite hoping to get lucky and catch a fish or two. Not only is the fishing spectacular, but the wildlife watching is equally as great. Wolves, in particular, are common in the area as well as bears. Bear spray, on even the smallest adventures up the river, is recommended to ensure the safety of guests. As the campsite lies far North into Yellowstone National Park, other attracts such as Old Faithful and Yellowstone river is a long day’s drive away. There are no dump stations, shower or laundry facilities, hookups, nor are there generators allowed on site. It is an authentic wilderness experience; however, there are vault toilets and potable water for guests to enjoy.
Lewis Lake Campground
Boat-in, walk-in, and drive-in accessible, Lewis Lake Campground is the perfect location, just around 8 miles south of the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. It is a quiet and spacious campsite, perfect for those wishing for a low-key vacationing experience. There are incredible outlets to Lewis Lake, as well as a short distance to the wonders of Yellowstone National Park. Fishing, swimming, hiking, biking, and wildlife watching are some of the many activities enjoyed by guests from all over the world. Lewis Lake Campground offers 85 campsites for guests to choose from and operates on a first-come, first-served basis. Keep in mind that the campsites fill up quickly during the summer months. There are water hookups, potable water, fire pits, vault toilets, cabins for those wishing to stay indoors away from wildlife.
Indian Creek Campground
Located about 8 miles south of Mammoth Hot Springs lies Indian Creek Campground. At the base of the Gallatin Mountains, the campsite offers guests an incredible view of Electric Peak. Due to its distance from the main roads of Yellowstone National Park, the campground stays rather quiet and peaceful during its open months and is perfect for those wishing to have a relaxing getaway. The amenities provided are not extensive, as they do not have hookups of any kind, dump stations, or laundry and shower facilities. There is, however, potable water available for use as well as seasonally available vault toilets. Indian Creek Campground truly allows guests to enjoy the serene nature around them, and with no cell service at the campsite, the ability to unplug, relax, and enjoy the natural world comes second to none.
Yellowstone National Park is a literal “hot spot” for the outdoor enthusiast and is one of the most visited national parks in North America. Campsites fill up quickly during peak season, so if you can’t reserve a spot at one of our top campgrounds – no worries. Yellowstone has several other campgrounds to check out, such as Tower Fall Campground, Yellowstone Campground, Mammoth Campground, and Fishing Bridge RV Park. If you’re coming from the west entrance in West Yellowstone, Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park and Wagon Wheel RV park are two great options, especially if you need full hookups.
Looking to extend your national park road trip? We recommend heading on down to Grand Teton National Park, which is only 31 miles from Yellowstone’s south entrance.
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