Trailer sizing in Yellowstone, other NP sites

[mleekamp]

I'm laying out a Yellowstone trip for 2015...yes 2015! It will be a big trip for us...2 weeks + which is why I'm doing some outlining now. Here is the concerns / questions I have (multiple):

Some of the parks in Yellowstone, such as Bridge Bay, Grant Village, etc, seem to have little info on the sites. (1) Do these places have electric at least? I see some have showers. (2) Trailer / RV length seems limited to 40ft with tow vehicle? Is this true? If so, it leaves me out with my current TT and TV.

Appreciate any input...again, I see a ton of info on RV.net and google, just not on the specific questions above...or I'm not looking in the right place.
Thanks.

[GeoBoy]

Go to Grizzly RV Park and you will truely enjoy your visit to Yellowstone NP. Make your reservations early.

[time2roll]

Lots of sun in many of the camps... great time to get 200 watts of solar.

Most camps have a few longer spaces for big RVs. You need to call to get these sites. Click and reserve is limited to 40'.

[DeanRIowa]

intheburbs wrote:
And make sure you have plenty of popcorn if you're staying at Fishing Bridge. It's a nonstop comedy show watching folks try to back their rigs. It's like a train wreck - you want to look away, but you just can't. Too many folks are spoiled by pull-though sites.

Something for me to look forward too, people laughing at me. We are switching from a 12' popup to a 29' travel trailer. Backing a 12' popup in a no brainier, but not sure yet on a 29' trailer.

When reserving our spot in Fishing Bridge I included the hitch in the size as I heard the spots are tight. I got a 35' spot for our 29' trailer plus 3' hitch.


I also heard Fishing Bridge has high sewer connection, 10" off the ground so I am planning on how to keep my hose off the ground, any thoughts?

[A_hitch_and_hop]

Flagg Ranch CG is located just 8 miles south of the South entrance between GT and YS. It has full hook ups. We spent 6 days there last summer. My suggestion is that because the most animal action takes place between sunrise and 9:00 AM and just before sunset when the animals come out of the trees, get up early and beat the crowds. Most visitors sleep late and congregate around the geysers and trails during the late morning and mid afternoon when the traffic starts to back up. Each day we picked a certain area of the park to visit for the day, then got up early, drove with little traffic to that area, spent the day and then drove back in time to have a little time around a fire. Also check the Ranger talk times and try to attend them. The park is HUGE, so plan your time.

[ClaireOKC]

One of our fav places to stay in YNP is in Gardiner. WE love the Northern Tier (from Gardiner to NE Entrance). This is known as the Serengeti of the US and it's true. There's always some animal (fox, wolf, coyote, bear, bison, and any number of other animals) action going on there. We usually stay for 6 weeks, and are never bored of this area. That's why we stay in Gardiner. From Gardiner Hayden Valley isn't far away either. It's not really convenient to the Geo-thermal parts of Yellowstone, but it's not hard to get there either from Gardiner. It's just that it's the animal action we're looking for not so much the Geo-thermal stuff. We stay at Yellowstone RV Park just outside Gardiner. There's another park that's closer, but it's not easy to get into and even though it's closer to the park, I think the view at Yellowstone RV Park is better. You can make reservations on the river which is a lot of fun watching the Osprey and Eagles hunt the river.

They open for reservations April 1 of the year you are staying - So they are making reservations for 2014 now,(starting in April 1, 2014). They would start making reservations for 2015 in April 1, 2015.

They are FHU and wide and you have a nice space for your RV. The showers are clean, laundry is clean and good space to walk your pet. We toured Fishing Bridge and although it's FHU and inside the park, the sites are about as close as you can get and still get an RV in there. We have a 27' trailer & truck, and we would have had problems parking the truck in the limited space available for one site.

[Jim_Shoe]

Here's the specs on all the CGs inside the park. Open/Close dates, sizes, facilities, etc.

[kknowlton]

So far some good information. As previously noted, Fishing Bridge RV Park, administered by Xanterra, which is the lodging concessioner for YNP, is the only CG inside the park with any hookups at all; they have full hookups, though have been updating the electric over the last couple years. I don't know if the project is finished yet. Likely it will be by 2015, but ask Xanterra to be sure. As for making reservations only a year ahead, that may not be true of Fishing Bridge. Xanterra currently takes reservations for hotel & cabin lodging starting May 1st of the year PRIOR, so more than 364 days in advance. That may also be true of the CG - but again, check with Xanterra.

West Yellowstone and Gardiner both have CGs capable of holding some large rigs (more so in "West") and that are close to the park entrances. However, having stayed in both, Gardiner seems farther into the main body of the park than West does. That may be due to personal preference. We like Grizzly - only a few blocks from the park entrance, and from there, about 1/2 hour - 45 minutes drive (roughly 20 miles) to some of the main park attractions, including Old Faithful. There's also a KOA about 8 miles west of "West" which is decent, though pricier than Grizzly, and a few other private parks in/near town which we have not checked out. Henrys Lake SP has electric & water hookups, showers, and a great view; reservations will likely be needed there, and I believe those can be made up to 9 months in advance. They have several pull-throughs which hold longer rigs. Haven't stayed at Valley View but friends like it & have been many times. Both of those CGs will be about a 15- to 20-minute drive to West Yellowstone.

[2gypsies1]

If you want electric, I'd highly recommend staying IN the park itself at Fishing Bridge. It is so convenient. Here's the official Yellowstone park site with lots of information:

Fishing Bridge RV in Yellowstone

Yellowstone

This is a location map of the campgrounds in Yellowstone:

Map of Campgrounds


Here's some driving routes into the park:

Driving routes into Yellowstone

Be sure to plan on spending some time in Grand Teton National Park, too. It's right next door and completely different from Yellowstone.

Colter Bay RV is the place to stay there.

Grand Teton National Park

[intheburbs]

You're smart planning now. But you can't make reservations until you're 364 days or less from your stay. Fishing Bridge is tight, but handy. If you want to cover the whole park over multiple days, you're still going to be doing a lot of driving.

And make sure you have plenty of popcorn if you're staying at Fishing Bridge. It's a nonstop comedy show watching folks try to back their rigs. It's like a train wreck - you want to look away, but you just can't. Too many folks are spoiled by pull-though sites.

[TexasShadow]

West Yellowstone, MT is your best bet for finding an rv park that is very close to Yellowstone Park's west entrance gate. There are several rv parks there, all of them adequate and priced about the same. Just search West Yellowstone rv parks.

If you want cheaper and more room and views, you can go south of town about 15 miles to Henry's Lake State Park, Idaho, with elec, water and dump station.
Or, Valley View RV park which is across the highway from the state park, is pretty decent, too, with a very nice laundrymat.

[bikendan]

1. Fishing Bridge CG is the ONLY campground in YNP, that has any hookukps and they are FHU.
there are no other campgrounds with electric or water hookups in the Park.
2. plenty of the major campgrounds have sites big enough for your rig.
we stayed at Madison and Grant and there were a lot of sites that you'd fit in.
you should call Xanterra and get some better info.

[mleekamp]

Thanks for the input. So Fishing Bridge is only place with electric? What are the campsites "outside" yellowstone? I've heard Grizzly is a good place. Any others?

[agesilaus]

Yeah Fishing Bridge is the only place with FHU. Length shouldn't be a problem but the sites are very tight side to side. So if you have to back in (most likely unless the site behind you happens to be empty it can take some maneuvering to get in. And you will be very close to your neighbors.

BK

[knshook]

mleekamp wrote:
I'm laying out a Yellowstone trip for 2015...yes 2015! It will be a big trip for us...2 weeks + which is why I'm doing some outlining now. Here is the concerns / questions I have (multiple):

Some of the parks in Yellowstone, such as Bridge Bay, Grant Village, etc, seem to have little info on the sites. (1) Do these places have electric at least? I see some have showers. (2) Trailer / RV length seems limited to 40ft with tow vehicle? Is this true? If so, it leaves me out with my current TT and TV.

Appreciate any input...again, I see a ton of info on RV.net and google, just not on the specific questions above...or I'm not looking in the right place.
Thanks.

We have reservations at Fishing Bridge which I understand is the only campground within the park that offers electric. They are full service.We made our reservations almost a year ago so I'm not laughing that you are starting to make your plans now. That's a smart idea! Our 5er is 31' and our truck 21'-there was no problem with length. I believe there is room to park your vehicle next to your trailer. Also, many people recommend reservations outside the park but we really wanted to be in the park to be closer to the action. We can hardly wait for our turn...we leave in June! Good luck with travel plans and happy trails!