Where to Camp in Yellowstone

There are lots of places to stay in Yellowstone National Park.  More places than usual for a National Park. These range from bare-bones campsites to swanky lodges. If you’d like to experience the Wyoming landscape in luxury you’re going to need to book way in advance. I’m talking almost a year out if you want a semi-affordable room or cabin.  Your best bet for staying within the boundaries of Yellowstone is camping. 

Now there are several options for camping in Yellowstone. You could rent one of those “I clearly don’t go outside much” Cruise America RV’s. But if you aren’t accustomed to driving a rig that big, don’t bother.  Too many things can go wrong.

If you already own and operate a recreational vehicle like a fifth-wheel or travel trailer, you have some great options for camping in Yellowstone. You’ll really come to appreciate those insulated walls during the shoulder season nights. There is, however, a downside to where the RV campsites are which we will talk about in a second. If you can afford to stay at least a week in the park then you can bypass the negative side of things.

In the end, your best bet is going to be traditional tent camping in Yellowstone, or something similar to our truck camper setup.  Here is why:

The Layout of Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park is a loop. This makes it hard to stay in a single campsite for the full duration of your stay. You’re constantly going to be backtracking day after day to get farther through the circle. Plus, you’re going to be wasting precious time sitting in the same congested traffic every day because there is only one main road. And if a Bison decides to cross the road, forget your day plans. Stupid people love to stop in the middle of the one road that connects all areas of the park to stare at the wildlife instead of pulling to the side of the road. Good luck keeping your sanity, if you have to sit through that mess more than once. 

This is the only problem with bringing an RV/Trailer to Yellowstone. The main campgrounds that support these large vehicles are all on the same side of the park making it difficult to get to Mammoth Springs or Tower Falls on the opposite side of the park. 

Which Campgrounds to Stay at

There are quite a few places to pitch a tent in Yellowstone but only a few campgrounds take reservations. Without a reservation, you could go without a place to stay the night. During the peak summer season, the campgrounds fill up incredibly fast. If you don’t have a reservation make a list of backup campgrounds in the event your first choice doesn’t work out.  The worst case scenario is you have to sleep in your car at one of the pull-offs (another plus for the truck camper conversion).

If you are following our Three Day Itinerary for Yellowstone here are the best campgrounds to stay at as you navigate the park.

Madison Campground

This will be your first and last campground. Its the first campground you will come to as you enter from West Yellowstone. It is also at the junction of where the park’s loop begins. Madison is one of the biggest and most popular campgrounds in the area. (Not that you asked, but it also has the cleanest bathrooms I have ever seen in a national park.) Due to its size and popularity of the campground, it takes reservations.

Spend your first night here, complete your sightseeing, and then spend your last night here before heading home. If you have had a enough nature for one trip you could also drive through and get a motel room in West Yellowstone.

Canyon Campground

If you do the loop counterclockwise, spend the next night at Canyon Campground. This is another large campground that takes reservations. Its located by a gas station and several stores and shops if you need to resupply. The campground also offers a free shower with your stay. 

Pebble Creek or Tower Fall Campground

At the far side of the loop campgrounds became scarce. Most weekend tourists don’t make it this far regardless of which way the came from so there are far less amenities. The best option for staying on this side of the park is Pebble Creek Campground. If Pebble is full, try Tower Falls. Neither of these campgrounds take reservations.

Mammoth Campground

If you are doing the full grand loop, the next major campground will be in the town of Mammoth. This is another first-come, first-serve campground. If your ahead of schedule, you can breeze through Mammoth and finish the last part of the loop ending where you started at Madison Campground.

Our Experience

In an attempt to beat the crowds we visited Yellowstone in September. We knew it would be cold but we’ll take cold over crowds any day. We made reservations one month prior to arriving at the park at Madison and Canyon Campgrounds with no issue.

After arriving at Madison and listening to the park ranger humorously lecture a group of Swedish teenagers about bear safety (his tips included hiding in the bathroom and be faster than your friends), we got assigned a campsite designated for truck campers. I have to say I was disappointed. The campground itself is wonderful but our spot was no more than a pull off on the camp road. It was not a pull-in or back-in like most spots, so cars and camper trailers passed within 2 feet of our truck all day and night. In the future, I would have asked for a tent site.

We had a much better setup at Canyon Campgrounds. This campground sits higher in elevation then Madison so the night temperatures dropped to freezing. We did not anticipate the sharp drop but Frito chili pies warmed the belly and kept spirits high.

The rest of our time camping in Yellowstone would prove to be more of a challenge. The park began filling with more and more people and the crowds just left us exhausted and desperate for a good night sleep. So as the temperature continued to drop we made the decision to cut our trip short. Luckily we crossed off all the major items on our itinerary so we were still very happy with our visit Yellowstone.

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Well there you have it, your ready to plan a camping trip in Yellowstone. If you have any other recommendations for great camping spots, let us know in the comments or on social media!