camping in yellowstone

Where I would recommend, depends on what amenities you want.

If you want full hookups, then make reservations at Fishing Bridge.

Camping in the park, I was last there in 2006 and stayed at Fishing Bridge. It was basically like an RV Park, not a "campground" with spaces between sites, etc.

Where you stay in the park also depends on the size of your rig.

I did a drive through tour last fall and the few campgrounds that were open in late September, weren't what I'd consider big enough for anything over a 20' trailer, except for Mammoth Hot Springs, but that campground has very limited shade.

West Yellowstone has a few parks. The two KOAs are close to town, but cost a fortune during peak season. The one further east is the nicer of the two.

Awesome info everyone! There's a reason these forums are my go-to. Looking at a lot of the parks in Yellowstone, it seems most of them do not offer hookups. Glad to hear there's one. We're looking to go after labor day, so I'm hoping this is far enough in advance to get a spot.

Also we are considering Tetons instead, and maybe a day trip or 2 to Yellowstone. Either way we're definitely going to both. Hookups unfortunately are a must, as we'll likely need the ac for the times we need to leave the pups behind. But I'm also reading about various doggie day care services, so maybe we can go dry.

If you want to stay in the park with full hook-ups, it's Fishing Bridge or nothing. Your choice of CG should reflect what your plans are while you're there.

We have stayed several times at the Fishing Bridge RV Campground which is the only campground that has full hookups and is in the park. Reservations are a must. There are some sites for larger rvs in the other campgrounds in the park, but you usually need reservations for those too. Get online, find the campground that looks good for you and make reservations now. We came in from the Grand Tetons to the south and it was an excellent route. You will be within 65 or so miles of the Tetons so you should make that part of your trip.

Do a search for "Yellowstone", and you get other threads where your questions have been addressed.

That said, I stayed in Tetons, and drove into Yellowstone one day. Very heavy traffic, so that took lots of time. While camping in Tetons (Coulter Bay, or others on the north end) is very nice, if you intend to spend most of your time in Yellowstone, it will take much more driving.

But, Teton National Park has lots to offer, also. Depends on what you are looking for. We decided that there was too much traffic in Yellowstone to warrant another trip in on another day, so we did not see much of that Park.

Happy travels!

Last year we stayed just west of Cody WY (Yellowstone Valley Inn) and drove our tow into Yellowstone (stayed 10 days). The east entrance is curvy and steep for about 6-8 miles past the check-in station. After that, it is beautiful and mostly downhill into the park. The NE entrance is not recommended for an RV or camper - way to curvy and steep hills. We did not try to stay inside the park as reservations were very difficult to obtain. It was an incredible trip.

We took 191 out of Bozeman to West Yellowstone. Winding road but a pretty easy drive overall.

We did a day trip through the park before moving on but if we did stay it would have been in West Yellowstone.