yellowstone grand tetons without reservations

[Toolguy5]

Need a little help. We are considering heading to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons sometime in August. We will be traveling close to 2000 miles to get there. We only like to travel about 350 miles a day.

Our situation is I can not pin point the exact day we will leave so hence I can not point the exact day we arrive.

What is the possibility of finding an RV site when we get there. Is there any nice RV parks that you can just walk into and be sure of getting a site.

Would like to stay between 4 to 7 nights.

[TenOC]

Baker Hole a few miles north of West YS is a NFS (?) campground some with full hookup (?). I have always found space available. There is also one other (I forget the name) NFS campground on the left near a lake north of West YS.

[Toolguy5]

Thanks everyone.

[Busskipper]

JoeH wrote:
I think you should be OK in West Yellowstone as there are a few parks there. We stayed at Grizzly RV last year, Buffalo Crossing RV is nearby too. When you get a day or so out, give them a call and see what they can do.

This is solid advice - there are many places in and around the park you could visit to help with the co-ordination of sites that are available.

Get a good list of CG's and just work your travels around the availability that fits.

BOL,

[kknowlton]

Remember that this year is the 100th Anniversary of the NPS, with Yellowstone being the first park and so it sets the anniversary date. LOTS of people will be visiting. I would try to get any reservation that is still available and then figure out how to get there to meet it.

Good point - already attendance in Yellowstone & Grand Teton is noticeably ahead of last year's figures, and last year set a record.

[2gypsies1]

...and we're just the opposite. We've never had reservations in either Yellowstone or Grand Teton with our 40' motorhome. We been to both many times in August and September. Many schools begin the first part of August nowadays. If you can plan to spend the previous night nearby and pull in the morning you'll get a site.

We prefer to stay in the parks themselves. Some campgrounds don't even accept reservations. There are always cancellations and no shows and we've also gotten a site like that.

For Grand Teton we've always stayed in Colter Bay campground or Gros Ventre campground (our favorite). Each has 300 non-reservable sites and rarely fill, even on the major holidays. They have water fill and dump stations.

For Yellowstone we've stayed at Mammoth (our favorite), Madison and Bridge Bay. We've also stayed at a wonderful national forest campground about a mile north of W. Yellowstone called Baker's Hole just because we like it. They have some electric sites but we prefer the ones on the Madison River in the rear which don't have electric. There's no water fill or dump station here so you'd have to arrive full with fresh and empty tanks. You can dump in any RV park in W. Yellowstone. We've also stayed at Henry's Lake State Park which is nice. We tried staying just west of Cody but it's too far to drive into Yellowstone every day.

Have a great trip!

[dewey02]

Remember that this year is the 100th Anniversary of the NPS, with Yellowstone being the first park and so it sets the anniversary date. LOTS of people will be visiting. I would try to get any reservation that is still available and then figure out how to get there to meet it.

[kknowlton]

Since you know the approximate total mileage to get there, and how far you want to drive per day, you can calculate when you'd get to Yellowstone. Add a day, perhaps, for delays or extra sightseeing enroute, and make your reservations to start then. August is still busy in the park; attendance doesn't drop off like a rock until perhaps mid-October, so even after most schools start, visitor numbers just decline very gradually. The first-come, first-served CGs inside and outside the park will mostly still fill up each day, so you would need to show up by mid-morning to find a site (even then, not guaranteed.)

[donkeydew]

approximately 700,000 visitors to yellowstone each august. how lucky do you feel?

[bikendan]

inside YNP, get reservations, since it's August.
outside YNP, you'll probably be fine.

no need for reservations at Colter Bay regular campground but you'll need them for the RV Park.

i would go after Labor Day, then you don't need to worry about reservations.

[Ed_C]

To be safe, I would call for a reservation as soon as I knew my arrival date. Even if you call the same morning it gives you a better chance of having a place to sleep.

[BB_TX]

I just glanced at Fishing Bridge, the only campground inside Yellowstone with full hookups, and surprisingly there are quite a few open days in August in lengths of up to 7 consecutive days. That is for an RV that is 35' or less not counting the tow vehicle.

So if you want to stay inside the park, you might look when you know when you will arrive and see if something is still available.

xanterra.com reservations for Fishing Bridge

Colter Bay in GTNP has a very few days open in August.

[azdryheat]

When I visit places like Yellowstone I always get advance reservations. It's worth the peace-of-mind and you don't get what ever's left.

[kalynzoo]

We have really enjoyed our stays at KOA West Yellowstone. In Jackson we stay have stayed twice at The Virginian, which is a gravel full hookup lot in back of the small Virginian Hotel. Very central location, not much of a park, but clean, friendly, and access to the hotel pool. Often when we make our plans we can not be sure of the exact date we will arrive at the end point destination. Many parks will permit you to make your reservation in advance and then adjust the arrival date a few days before arrival or even the day of arrival. We have called campgrounds on many occasions over the last 40 years requesting a change in reservation for a day late or a day early. I have never been rejected. Perhaps we would have to switch spaces to accommodate other reservations, but never a rejection. Now this has always been at private campgrounds, KOA's family run campgrounds, etc. I have no idea what the rules might be at State or National campgrounds. I will add, that if you have any RV problems in Yellowstone or need to rent a car of van, contact Big Sky Rental in West Yellowstone. They really went out of their way to accommodate use when we had RV problems, so I recommend them every chance I get.
Do enjoy, and Happy Trails.

[TexasShadow]

as stated, check the rv parks in West Yellowstone first.
Or, if your approach is from the south, through Jackson, you can find a place at Gros Ventre campground in Grand Teton Park. Then, call from there to see if you can luck into a few days inside Yellowstone at Bridge Bay or Canyon campgrounds.
If not, then on to West Yellowstone.
Last resort, you can go south from W. Yellowstone 15 miles to Henry's Lake State Park. Very nice state park.