Camping in yellowstone park

We want to plan a trip to yellowstone park this summer sometime late june. I am just curious if anybody has camped there in the last couple years. I know there is only 1 site [edit - "campground"] there that has full hookups but I am told it was like camping in a parking lot. I would like to know if anybody has camped at the other sites that have no hookups with there trailmanor. I should have mentioned that we have a 2004 3124KB. Also If anybody has camped outside the park which campgrounds are nice outside the park. Thanks in advance Lloyd Mock.

Yellowstone is a wonderful park to visit. The first nation's national park. So much will be said about a visit to this park. Let me tell you this one thing.....the main thing....This is very big place, this Yellowstone park. To camp outside the park will rob you of the time you need to visit the park. The camps in the park are fine. The camps outside the park are fine also. What I would like you to have is time to visit the different sites in the park. I was there a week, 7 days 9 nights. In a tent. Didnot spend much time at the camp site. Drove, Hiked and horse drawn wagoned as many places as possible. Saw all the major wildlife...still lay in bed late at night and think of all those hot spring still shooting out plumes of steam. After we were home purchased a TM. Because I want to go back, not in a tent. Lighting storms are bad....the Bears are real---real close to thin walled tents. Got to call ahead six months. Have to study what you want to do while there. It is so big.................You just can't know. It is such a long drive from outside the park to the places you will want to see.

http://www.yellowstone-natl-park.com/camping.htm
this website shows the amenities for the individual campgrounds in the park. Fishing Bridge is the only park that has sewer and water hookups and yes, it is one giant concrete pad with no trees and very close neighgors.
http://www.yellowstonekoa.com/
Is just a few miles from the west entrance and has an indoor swimming pool and hot tub. It is a few miles outside the park. We stayed there and enjoyed it. No complaints. It was about 35 degrees when we were there and enjoyed the hot tub very much.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/grte/pphtml/camping.html
We also stayed at Colter bay in the Tetons. It is on the south end of Yellowstone park next to a large lake and has a store and other amenities. "Large Park" It will be a little farther from Yellowstone, but is in an absolutely gorgeous area.
Take a look at the websites.
My daughters and granddaughter want to go back again for the third time this year…

[tucsoncarol]

We took our 3326K on it's first "expedition" to Yellowstone. Do not be mislead. Most of the sites are NOT RESERVED. That's right, first come, first served. This works well for you as a Trailmanor will be placed long after many 5th wheels are turned away as not able to negotiate the sites. We got there about 11:00 a.m. on a Thursday, and although there was a line to get into Madison campground (the closest to West Yellowstone) we did get a spot. It wasn't very good and we asked if we could move the next day. No problem, we could get into any site (you will not be allowed to try a site where you would be off the asphalt on any side). We camped a week and every day drivers of 5th wheels would be trying to measure our site and our TM because the "wrangler" denied them entrance as too large for the sites.

You will have to relax because there are a lot of people trying to see the same things you are. A sense of humor will help there. There are still tons of places to go to get away from any crowds. Be prepared to shake your head in wonder at people who ignore the warnings and walk right up to HUGE, WILD animals to take pictures. Believe me, wild animals there will be. Lots of them. We saw bison, elk, a nesting bald eagle, bears, coyotes, all sorts of critters (no moose, though. I was disappointed in that.) These aren't just occasional sitings either, this was lots and lots of them every day (except the bald eagle and bears). All the traffic jams will be because of animal sitings. People will stop their cars in the road to take pictures. One day my son and I were forced to drive at the speed of bison for about ten miles because they were not inclined to leave the road.

It was spectacular. We will go again.

Yellowstone is one of those places you will want to return to over and over again. But it is also being 'loved to death"! Too many visitors cause enviornmental damage and take away from the wilderness experience. I just got an email from Yosemite which said something like studies are being done to establish the load carrying capacity of each park. I read this to mean that sometime there might be restrictions of the number of people who can enter the parks at any given time! Actually, I think the bison do more damage than the people, but I see restrictions on the horizon. Too bad.

Anyhow, excuse the off-topic rant. One thing I might add to your answer your question. When we were there in the spring 2 years ago there were restrictions on tent camping and pop-up trailers due to rather agressive bear activity. I do not think these applied to TMs, since they are hard walled, but you might check it out. And as for the crowds, the further away form Old Faithful you get, the better it will be!

And since you will be in the area, Grand Teton National Park is very close and not to be missed. There are several campgrounds there also.

[Frenchy]

We camped there last summer in a 3023 the week after the Forth. Made reservations about six months in advance. Try to make reservations as soon as they will let you to get the CG you want. If the total length of your TV and TM exceed 40 feet, you will have less sites available to you. Ours exceeded that but we got into Bridge Bay but couldn't get into Canyon. They had the bigger sites in Canyon but they were already taken. I agree with Magdefrau. You need to stay in the park if at all possible or you will spend too much time driving to and fro. Yellowstone is my favorite NP. I could go there every year and still be in awe of the natural beauty and wildlife.

The Fishing Bridge CG (full utilities) cost $38.00 while the other CG's are $18.00 ($9.00 if have a golden age passport).

[wbmiller3]

It's been a while, but we stayed in a KOA in West Yellowstone, just over the Idaho line. It was nice and pretty close to the park. This was in our popup days and we weren't allowed to stay in Fishing Bridge.

[SCBillandJane]

We have been there twice in tents and once in a cabin in the Lake Lodge area. The roads in the park form the shape of the number 8. There are entrances at the top, bottom, and each side of the middle as well as a spectacular very steep entrance to the top right of the figure 8. This last entrance is known as one of the most beautiful roads in all the states, but should be taken with caution towing a trailer.
At the bottom, west side, and top there are commercial campgrounds not terribly far from the park entrances, but time is saved by camping in the park. Some campgrounds require only hard sided trailers because of the bears. You might have to convince some rangers that the Trailmanor is not a popup camper. We camped at the southern end because we wanted to see both Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons just to the south. At the West Thumb camp ground at the south or bottom of the figure 8 set of roads there is expensive gas, small expensive grocery store, and a pay shower/ laundry. The sites had no water or electricity, but did have flush toilets. The pay shower was one of our treats.
We also camped at the private campground called Flagg Ranch which is between Yellowstone and the Tetons. It was nice but again expensive.
There is no sense in trying to describe all the wonders in this park. I would recommend at least a day on each of the four semicircles of the figure 8 road system. I also would recommend moving camp sites to lessen travel time if I could get reservations at different campgrounds.
If you have some relaxing time between the frantic touring trying to see it all, go to the old Lake Lodge past the new yellow modern Lake Lodge ( east side in the middle of the 8). This one is made of logs probably in the 1930's with a view from the porch that is made for putting your feet up and just looking at nature's beauty. Get there at day break for a cup of coffee or at sunset and a drink of your choice. You will see perhaps a bison grazing on green grass in front of Yellowstone Lake with snow covered mountains in the back ground with a 180 degree view. I bet you have guessed that we think Yellowstone is a very special place worth drving across the country to see more than once.

[all4camping]

this was my first maiden voyage very far away with my TM2619 last summer. check on road construction within the park!!!! we used the entrance coming through Chyenne, WY and there were at least 30 min delays in and out. even though we were just outside, the driving to and from your site is time you are not visiting the park and this will make a difference when you are there. Fishing Bridge was wonderful for us. we were outside all day every day and didn't care that there were neighbors close by; and there are lots of trees and wooded areas. I definitely did not feel like it was a parking lot, but we were close. there was a pack of wolves that traveled through the campground each morning and each evening as well as a den of coyotes with pups in the area. we did have to have reservations-but were able to get in because I checked several times each day for a cancellation and good for me, someone cancelled! and I was able to stay inside the parkmy last 5 days. this made a huge difference. I'm planning to go back again this summer. pm me if you want to talk about the trip-I'll be traveling from Tennessee [email protected]

[Northwoods]

I concur with those who say 'stay in the Park'. We only had 2 days to stay there. Yes, sites much closer than these boondockers care for, but we really weren't there much at all. The bus tours are great. Pricey, but so is the gas in your car. If you are seniors, you get a real break on fees, too.We even went to Sunday services in the amphitheater - truly God's cathedral.On line or phone reservations are easy and conveneient.Enjoy! Olga (Northwoods)