Yellowstone area campgrounds

I highly recommend you stay at the Ponderosa Park in Cody, WY. Nice campground, friendly staff, clean ground and facility. Spent three days there in June and enjoyed it very much. It is about 57 miles east of Yellowstone. There is also a car rental service available in Cody, but a little pricey if you ask me.

Some real different responses from our experiences there in our 3 visits over the past 7 years, always the later part of Aug. into the last of Sept.

First - Fishing Bridge usually closes down after Labor Day weekend. HOWEVER, the other campgrounds will be open, but they don't have hookups. They do have fresh water fills and dump stations however. We have stayed at Madison, which is our favorite and right next to the river. It is also the closest to West Yellowstone. Mamoth is at the north end and you have long drives to Old Faithful and the lake.

Second - Yes, weather MIGHT get iffy into Sept., but we have been there during the 3rd. week of Sept. and still in the mid to upper 70's+. The week before, it was still in the low 80's. Yes, it can vary, but generally no problem until the latter part of Sept. Yes, you may get snow and cold nights, but generally the snow doesn't stick around during the day.

Third - I really don't view West Yellowstone as the "middle of anything"!! Especially if you are there to see the real wonders and sights of Yellowstone Park!! WY is a "tourist trap" that gives the illusion of Yellowstone!! But, different strokes for different folks! :B It is probably the only place to rent a car however.

I would certainly make time to drive the Bear Tooth Scenic Drive outside the northeastern entrance to the park. One of the most spectacular and scenic mountain drives in the lower 48.

Have a great trip and enjoy one of the wonders of our country.

Thanks all for the great info.

That time of the year is real "ify". The weather can change in a hurry.

We've been to Y'stone a number of times and always stay at Grizzly RV Resort in West Yellowstone. It's in the middle of everything and only a two minute drive to the park entrance. There is a car rental business in town you can walk to from the rv resort. I rent there every trip.

2gypsies wrote:
The east entrance is nice to stay if you want to tour Cody but it would add A LOT of extra driving into Yellowstone.

Exactly. Not only is it a long haul, the drive up just past the east gate is a significant mountain road, not too twisty, but it has a good incline to it. We have a TT so I would not have been towing that into/out of YNP everyday but I also thought that would not be a road I wanted to drive on for access in and out of YNP everyday.

If the RV parks inside are all closed when you make the trip, I would stay in West Yellowstone. Very easy going on the access to and from YNP.

Farmer Bob, I'd recommend going to rvparkreviews.com to check for CGs outside the park on the east side. Most just outside the park are national forest CGs with small sites (not suited for large RVs) and no hookups, but there are some private ones between Cody & the east gate of Yellowstone. They may be listed under Cody but might be actually closer to YNP. That said, it's a good 1.5 - 2 hour drive from Cody to Yellowstone (one way).

I do advise checking on the fire situation in the park several times before you go. Right now, for example, there is a big backcountry fire that could cause some problems for the Fishing Bridge area.

Remember, Fishing Bridge is the only CG inside the park that has any hookups.

Good luck.

If you look at this site you'll find more than Fishing Bridge open at that time of year:

Closing dates for Yellowstone campgrounds

The east entrance is nice to stay if you want to tour Cody but it would add a LOT of extra driving into Yellowstone. Plan to stay IN the park for a more pleasant experience.

Buffalo Bill State Park Wyoming is on the east side. Open until Sept 30th. There are 2 camping areas: http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/Site/SiteInfo.aspx?siteID=3
We stayed at Yellowstone Valley Inn, outside Cody Wyoming closer to Yellowstone. Open thru October. Not fancy, like a gravel parking lot but it suited our purpose. Full hookups. Restaurant on site.

Plan on snow in certain areas of the park that time of year and it will be/could be very cold at night, Plan for it.