Camping at Yellowstone

[TexasMan77]

Please share any expieriences camping at yellowstone, good, bad or ugly. I want to make it up there sometime in the next 2 years, for at least a week stay.

[Diveralan]

Re: Camping at Yellowstone

I just returned from a week of camping in Yellowstone. We stayed in one of the larger campgrounds (Madison). The larger campgrounds in Yellowstone accept reservations, this is why we decided on Madison.

Yellowstone is great! You will have many opportunities for wildlife viewing so take a camera with a good lens. We saw bison every day, elk 3 different times, a grizzly bear, and many other kinds of animals. There are also more waterfalls than I can remember and thermal features in most areas of the park. I got one photo of my son with two different geysers going off in the background.

If you enjoy hiking there are trails from less than a mile that are easy for most anyone to more difficult trails with substantial elevation changes that take 8 hours or more to do. Remember you will be at about 8000 ft. so take it easy until you get accustomed to the altitude.

Yellowstone is a large park; it can take several hours to drive from one part to another. Expect heavy traffic in the summer and delays due to both road constriction and wildlife crossing the road. We got stuck for about 15 minutes one afternoon because there were 3 donkeys standing on the side of the road and everyone was stopping in the middle of the road to take pictures. We also got held up several times as bison crossed the road. Allow plenty of time to get to your destination. If you are in a hurry these delays can be very frustrating.

Camping in Yellowstone has both good and bad sides. First the good. Because Yellowstone is so large driving outside the park to camp each day is very time consuming. It was nice getting back to our campsite each evening 30 to 45 min sooner than we would if we had camped outside of the park. The larger campgrounds have stores, gas stations, showers etc. They are mostly set up for RV's but they do have separate tent only areas.

As far as the bad goes, unfortunately there is a lot. The large camp grounds are very large and noisy. I was awakened at once or twice every night by car alarms going off. We could also hear traffic from the road screaming kids until about midnight and then it would start up again by dawn. If you want peace and quiet so you can enjoy the sounds of nature you won't find it in the large campgrounds. The campsites are very close to each other. We had 5 other tents less than 100 ft. away. We also had people walking through our campsite all day and most of the night.

I looked at several of the smaller campgrounds as we were driving around and they looked a little better but they were still had everyone almost on top of each other. I don't know much about the back country campsites but that may be the best option. Hopefully someone else can provide information about the back country.

If you want to see one of the most diverse and beautiful places anywhere,Yellowstone is hard to beat. If you are looking for a secluded campsite to getaway from everything Yellowstone might not be your best choice. We were very unhappy with Madison campground but I do want to go back to Yellowstone someday.

I will be happy to answer any additional questions you may have.



Alan

[renodesertfox]

Re: Camping at Yellowstone

Alan, that was a great review! The pics at the bottom are outstanding! So happy that you gave a good and fair review!!! Thanks for sharing your experiences!

[TexasMan77]

Re: Camping at Yellowstone

Great Reply, thank you! Great pics! I'd definately select a tent-only campground.

[renodesertfox]

Re: Camping at Yellowstone

Here is the link to the National Park Service in Yellowstone for detailed Campground information.
http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisi...ellowstone.htm

[sarahspins]

Re: Camping at Yellowstone

We camped in Yellowstone two summers ago... we ended up in Bridge Bay because it was the only one we could reserve online with only 3 weeks notice (end of summer season) and I wasn't about to drive 1600 miles to find out every other campground was full. Our first campsite was a DISASTER... we ended up in the C loop packed in a "tent city" on unlevel ground, there were no trees around, everyone was crammed up against each other, and we had a very hard time finding a flat enough place to pitch our large tent... and then people ignored quiet hours and kept us up until almost 3am (we later found out that we should have used the emergency phone to call a ranger and they would have taken care of it, but we didn't really think of noisy neighbors as an emergency) we insisted on being moved and were put in another loop (F loop, I think) that was wonderful... quiet, secluded, lots of trees, our neighbors were quiet and courteous, and it was quiet from sunset to sunrise - the only noise being the occasional closing of a car door. From what I understand now, in Bridge Bay, the E and F loops are the better ones for tent camping. We had a bison walk through our site but because of the layout of that loop, no problem with people coming through.



If I were to do it again, I'd still get a reservation in a reservable campground for the first night, but we'd probably try to get a good spot in one of the tent only campgrounds the second night and beyond.

The weather was as expected while we were there - highs in the 70's and 80's, nights were in the low 30's. Showers, laundry, and a general store were a short drive away at Fishing Bridge.. so not having them "on site" at our campground was really not a big deal - we are used to camping in places without showers and laundry (and often running water!) so just having bathrooms is a luxury

From our "base camp" at bridge bay we were able to drive to every main area of the park and spend the day there without feeling like we were doing nothing but driving.