One of the most popular camping destinations in America, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming (with sections in Montana and Idaho too) offers a dynamic mix of wild back country campsites and city based RV parks. The vast size of the park makes it uniquely suited to RV and tent campers looking to explore all of the unique and majestic corners of the park. The following video and narration will provide you with travel tips to and from Yellowstone, ideas on great camping in Yellowstone, and tips for RV camping in the area too.
The following is the transcribed text from the video:
Hi I am Mark with CampgroundViews.com
Here to give you some tips on
how to plan your next trip or your first trip
to
Yellowstone National Park
Yoru first destination should be CampgroundViews.com
Get here and start out looking for Yellowstone
National Park
It is as the name suggests in Wyoming
I don’t know why Yellowstone suggests that
but it is in Wyoming none-the-less
Located in the Northwestern quadrant of Wyoming
the park is a destination for campers
why is that?
because there are no towns in Yellowstone
National park
meaning that for you me and everyone else
tent and RV camping is a great option
First thing I am going to do is widen my radius
here a little bit
and give you an idea of just how great this
place is to camp. Within a 100 mile radius
of Yellowstone there are 162 campgrounds and
RV parks. You have the National Park Service
campgrounds located within the park, Fishing
Bridge is a full hookup RV park, there is
also Bridge Bay which is both tent and RV,
Grand Village is tent and RV, Lewis Lake tent
and RV and Madison the same thing.
Most of the ones outside of Fishing Bridge
are best suited to smaller RVs and tents and
truck campers.
The nice thing about these campgrounds is
they are located long the loop road with about
30 miles between each one. Allow you to sleep,
travel and sleep while taking a nice loop
around the park.
Just south of Yellowstone National Park is
Grand Teton National Park, specifically in
the Moran region.
This area is a must visit if you are coming
here for the first time and maybe the only
time it allows you to see some amazing sights
looking west towards the Teton. the Grand
Tetons are a majestic series of mountains
and there are National Park campgrounds in
Grand Teton National Park.
The most famous and probably one of the most
scenic campgrounds in the entire area is Jenny
Lake. This one is accessible to tents and
small RVs… we are talking class B, truck
campers. This photo should give you an idea
of just how and why this campground is a must
stay… look at that view. As you can see
this Suburban in the site to give you an idea
of the depth and width. We have a video of
this campground so you can just pull it up
and see more of the location.
Overall the National Park campgrounds are
pretty nice… the trick are the forest service
campgrounds. Those are a unique option that
allows you to discover the National Park without
dealing with the heavy crowds. This Atherton
Creek campground is in a very scenic location
and also overlooks a lake. It is accessible
again to RVs and tent campers and its in the
National Forest versus the National Park,
fees are a little bit lower, there tends to
be less park ranger roaming around in that
area so it just ends up being a little bit
more of a rustic feel.
So you do have forest service campgrounds
surrounding the National Park.
So the question is where do we go where do
we stay when going to Yellowstone. You really
have a few choices.
Jackson also known as Jackson Hole, West Yellowstone,
Gardiner, Red lodge, Cody, and Dubois. The
two more popular locations, maybe three, but
the two most popular for RVers and tent campers
are West Yellowstone and Cody.
Jackson is a popular area to visit because
a lot of folks stay in hotels and such head
to Jackson and Jackson Hole but the smart
RVers try to avoid that region there is actually
not a lot of choices in Jackson for RVing.
The main choice is The Virginian Lodge which
is a nice location. The Kudar Motel offers
locations for long term stays and the Fireside
Resort which is a newer park; it is nice and
it is located a little bit outside of Jackson.
Otherwise you are kind of in a rural area;
the KOA is south by about 20 miles and then
you have the National Forest and National
Park campgrounds.
For that reason Jackson is not really a big
destination for tent and RVers… but if you
go over to West Yellowstone this map will
kind of give you an idea of why West Yellowstone
is such a popular spot for RVers and tent
campers and it is simply choice. West Yellowstone
itself there are 8 RV parks within the small
little city here. There is Verizon coverage
here, grocery shopping, all sorts of stuff
plus you are right next to the entrance to
Yellowstone. If you go a little bit outside
of West Yellowstone you have forest service
campgrounds the two KOAs are to the west of
town, you have some private RV parks north
of the lake and then Island Park Idaho.
I mention Island Park Idaho because this is
another option for folks, especially if you
are on a budget and you want to stay for a
long period of time you can stay out in Island
Park. It is significantly less expensive than
West Yellowstone and you are only 20 miles
away. Google centers Island Park down here
but technically this entire region here is
considered Island Park. So you have got Red
Rock RV Resort which is a nice place you have
a state park at Henry’s Lake State Park with
full hookups and you have another full hookup
RV park right next to the road at Valley View
RV Park. All of those offer a budget conscious
way to visit the national park from West Yellowstone
side. From West Yellowstone you are 30 minutes
from the loop road and do a nice little loop
around the park road.
Up to Gardiner. Gardiner is in Montana and
this is accessible through Livingston. In
fact Livingston is the better known location
here. there are some full hookup RV parks
up in Livingston. It is a ways from here down
into Yellowstone.
Gardiner itself there are some RV parks here.
There are also some forest service campgrounds
and the two I want to talk about real quickly
are this Bear Creek and Timber Campground.
The reason I mention both of those is that
they are free to camp at. They are accessible
for tents and small truck campers and small
Class Bs. It is a 9 mile dirt road climb.
What makes those unique is they are pretty
much deserted; there is not a lot of traffic
up there and they are advantageous because
it is 9 miles from Gardiner which is a mile
from the park. So you are 10 miles away from
the National Park, free camping at 9,000 feet
elevation. So when it is hot it is nice and
cool up there it is a great spot if you are
looking to save some money and stay in a unique
location near Yellowstone.
Next up is Red Lodge as an access point into
Yellowstone. Red Lodge is an interesting city
that basically had a road built into Yellowstone
National Park because they knew they were
in the middle of nowhere and it was the only
way to get people in there. The road that
was built is called Beartooth Highway. It
is a must drive and you see these switchbacks
here on the map that is the side of a cliff
that the road is going up. It is majestic
it is beautiful and there is all of these
forest service campgrounds right along the
base here including a dispersed campsite back
here off the road 2005. There is also a private
RV park right here outside of Red Lodge which
is a nice place to get sites that back up
to the water. and then you can drive this
whole loop 212 all the way up though Cooke
Silver Gate there are forest service campgrounds
all along here and then down into Yellowstone.
The only caveat about that location is this
is a day drive right here. You don’t want
to be staying here and driving to Yellowstone,
seeing everything, cause it is really a long
ways from the geysers and everything else
but for a destination just to see that in
a day or two it is a great spot to be.
Next up is the other popular area to discover
Yellowstone thru and that is Cody Wyoming.
Cody Wyoming is the major access point for
folks coming from the East Coast of the US
and it offers private RV parks in town, lots
of museums, shopping gas, this one of the
more reasonably priced locations outside of
the park for all those options… food fuel
and stays. You also have the state park campgrounds
at the reservoir both accessible for all size
RVs and tents. There are some private campgrounds
heading up US 14 into the park and then you
have a number of forest service campgrounds
all along the route leading up into Yellowstone.
And I as I mentioned this is a constant climb
all the way up to the top of the ridge and
this valley here tends to channel weather
so you get a lot of scenic clouds over the
peaks it is a very very pretty drive and then
you drop down to the lake into Yellowstone.
The next lesser known access point in to Yellowstone
is the small town of Dubois. The reason why
this is less known is it is a bit harder to
get to; it is not as quick of a route. As
you can see to access here you come through
the 80 into Rawlins and then climb up it just
ends up being a long drive but it is worth
it.
There is two great RV parks right here in
Dubois. This Longhorn Ranch and the KOA plus
this town is like a mini-Jackson. It has an
old west feel but does not have all the people
so it is a cool stay.
From here you climb up this US 26 to the top
of a ridge and then drop down into Moran which
gives you access to both Grand Teton and Yellowstone
National Park. The great thing about this
drive is as you come over this ridge and drop
down into the valley you are presented with
a majestic view of the Tetons Mountains as
you are looking towards the west… it is
very pretty.
Our tip along here is this falls campground
which is a forest service campground, no hookups.
It is accessible for any size RV and there
is hiking trails over to the waterfall and
this is the view from the campground looking
up towards the mountains it is a very very
pretty campground.
So there you have it. That is your access
points in to Yellowstone National Park. Again
Jackson, West Yellowstone, Gardiner, Red Lodge,
Cody, and Dubois. I have given you a brief
little overview on what to do in those different
areas and our tips. they offer you access
to the park and if you have driven 500 miles
from LA to get here. Obviously if you can
stay at some of the campgrounds in the National
Park and in the Forest Service but also there
are some great RV parks around.
Enjoy your trip to Yellowstone National Park
feel free to ask us any questions over at
CampgroundViews.com and use our resources.
If you noticed as I was flipping through these
campgrounds all of these have pictures and
video. We are the great resource that you
have been looking for. Plan your next trip
here and go and have fun. Thank you and Goodbye.