We are finally both retired and we are in the process of planning a trip from Maryland to California to visit our grandchildren this spring in our 37 foot motor home with toad. Looks like we are definitely too late to get campsites with hookups in the Yellowstone and Grand Canyon national parks. Since we are not familiar at all with the locations of the campgrounds outside the parks and how long it will take us to get into the parks each day from those campgrounds, can we ask the group to suggest various campgrounds at both locations that we should look into?We have started planning our routes with the idea of mid-week reservation at both national parks. We should arrive at Grand Canyon on Monday April 16 and leave on Thursday April 19. Yellowstone check-in will be on Tuesday May 8 and leave on Friday May 11.We will be pulling a toad and we will be traveling with 2 dogs. A kennel on site or near bye would be helpful.Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

The out of park locations are simple. Grand Canyon only the south entrance has camping, some near the park entrance in Tusayan. There is also a USFS dry campground close to the entrance. Ten-X is the name. You might have to go down to Williams to find the facilities you want. For Yellowstone, West Yellowstone, MT is the best place to stay. Last August when we were there, we drove in from there. We would get to the state line about 8:30-9 am and be past Madison Junction in about 45 min. We drove the northern loop one day, the south loop the next. That is about 125-130 miles driving each day. The maximum speed in the park is 45 mph and we found at least four completely stopped sections of traffic each day for people blocking traffic to watch animals - only elk and buffalo- no bears visible during our visit.If either of you are age 62 or older, be sure to get a Senior Pass. Not only will you not have to pay admission, at least now there is a ‘pass’ lane at the Yellowstone entrance to get through faster. If you are not over 62 buy a good for one year Annual Pass for free admission. You definitely will save money, not to mention time with a pass.

So you confirmed there are no vacancies at Grand Canyon Trailer Village? When we visited in August, there were a number of cancellations and we saw many rigs pull in without reservations. Also, don’t confuse this RV park with Grand Canyon “camper village” as it’s a totally different park.

Two days ago I tried to get reservations at Trailer Village for March 12 and 13. They had no spaces. I tried again a few minutes and got in!

We were at GC Trailer Village (full hookups) this past August. Got res for the 2 nights we wanted even though we waited til the week before to call. Wasn't easy but we kept calling. Should be no trouble this time of year. It's the cg run by the concessionaire you want. We've been there a half dozen times and now I'd skip it if I couldn't stay in the Park. Tusayan would be a distant second choice but Williams is just too far away for multi-day visits and to enjoy the sunrises and sunsets. IMHO, the Grand Canyon is the one place in this country you do not want to miss.

Sounds like you have a great trip planned. When we went to the GC, we stayed at the North Rim area at Kaibab Campber Village, a full hookup RV park at Jacob Lake. We've always taken our dogs with us, so I wouldn't have any information on kennels there but the volunteers who run the RV park, have dogs and could share information on anyplace in Kanab, UT nearby. The many times we've visited Yellowstone, we only stayed in the park once at Grant Village. Others we've stayed outside the park in West Yellowstone at Grizzly RV or Bakers Hole FS CG, or on the Idaho side in Victor at a small RV park there and at a FS CG driving over Teton Pass. We boarded our dogs in Victor for a day while we went sight seeing and the place was great, but I just can't remember the name right now. Just last year I checked on a day care in Jackson and found DogJax and even called to talk to them. We changed our minds on our travels that year, but they definitely sounded good and have great reviews on line. The campground at Mammoth is open year around. There may be doggy day care in the town north of there. Check out some of the places using Campendium. A free campground data base with great photos.

Yellowstone and Grand Canyon campgrounds. | Good Sam Community

23 Replies

Two_Hands
Explorer
Jan 08, 2018
Two days ago I tried to get reservations at Trailer Village for March 12 and 13. They had no spaces. I tried again a few minutes and got in!
amxpress
Explorer
Jan 08, 2018
So you confirmed there are no vacancies at Grand Canyon Trailer Village? When we visited in August, there were a number of cancellations and we saw many rigs pull in without reservations. Also, don’t confuse this RV park with Grand Canyon “camper village” as it’s a totally different park.
PawPaw_n_Gram
Explorer
Jan 08, 2018
The out of park locations are simple.

Grand Canyon only the south entrance has camping, some near the park entrance in Tusayan. There is also a USFS dry campground close to the entrance. Ten-X is the name. You might have to go down to Williams to find the facilities you want.

For Yellowstone, West Yellowstone, MT is the best place to stay. Last August when we were there, we drove in from there. We would get to the state line about 8:30-9 am and be past Madison Junction in about 45 min.

We drove the northern loop one day, the south loop the next. That is about 125-130 miles driving each day. The maximum speed in the park is 45 mph and we found at least four completely stopped sections of traffic each day for people blocking traffic to watch animals - only elk and buffalo- no bears visible during our visit.

If either of you are age 62 or older, be sure to get a Senior Pass. Not only will you not have to pay admission, at least now there is a ‘pass’ lane at the Yellowstone entrance to get through faster.

If you are not over 62 buy a good for one year Annual Pass for free admission. You definitely will save money, not to mention time with a pass.

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Yellowstone and Grand Canyon campgrounds.

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