Yellowstone Grant/Madison CG's

Several years ago, we were in Madison CG in a 30 ft site, with our 29 ft class C, which actually measure 30.5' and our dolly and toad.

dryfly wrote:

ccchuck wrote:
My Grayhawk is 30" 9", and I was towing a CRV. I called the campground number and over a few days they found me a 3 night and a 2 night opening,(2 different campgrounds) THAT THEY SAID WOULD FIT my equipment, so no surprises upon arrival.
I strongly recommend calling, not using the website.
and Yellowstone was great (only our 5th trip)...

You did not mention but I'm assuming the 2 different campgrounds you stayed at were Grant and Madison. Were your sites back in or pull through?

I did make reservations over the phone but the folks I talked with were at a reservation center and not at the campground and basically were repeating what they had been told about the campsites, i.e. 30 feet max.

If you remember the number where I could actually speak with someone at the Yellowstone campgrounds I would really appreciate.

Actually Grant Village and bridge Bay - talked to the reservation center, telling them the sizes of my 2 units (class c and crv), they gave me reservations based on that info. We had no problem at check in, and truthfully, no one looked at my unit before sending us to our site.
Both sites were fine, i.e., we fit.
Grant btw, comes with free showers.

The guy across the street from us in Bridge bay however had a major problem - his site was occupied by a buffalo who stayed the night, so for some odd reason the camper in question didn't.

We stayed in Madison in 2016 with a 26ft TT. It was a pull through. We could pull in, but not enough room to lull out because of close trees. No problem,I backed out. I do not remember seeing large motorhomes or large trailers while we were there. I think anything over 30 would have limited choices.

dryfly wrote:
Grant and Madison campgrounds say max of 30' for trailers in back-in sites. After making reservations in May, I just picked up my new 5th wheel and found it is 30'6".

I've looked at pictures of the campsites and can't imagine another 6" is going to be a deal breaker but if anyone has camped there I'd certainly appreciate opinions. I can't determine if 30' is the length of the site, or if it's a measurement with the trailer's wheels backed up to the log stop and the rear of the trailer hanging over.

I called the reservations center today and was assured they could work me in a spot, but I'd hate to drive for 3 days to find it's a no go.

Any help appreciated.

I must have missed the Measurement Police - https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/20346895/gotomsg/20361701.cfm#20361701

This was a while ago ----- but we loved it in our 42'+ in late October/November.

Go for it,

j3ff9ack wrote:
We stayed at Madison a few years ago in a pull-through site (our 5er measures just shy of 30') and we had enough room to fit in most of the sites. The pull-throughs probably give you some more options for positioning the RV for slides and awnings, but I doubt that you will have significant issues.

yep, Madison has a number of pull-thru sites that are big enough for larger RVs.
can't remember if Grant did though.

We stayed at Madison a few years ago in a pull-through site (our 5er measures just shy of 30') and we had enough room to fit in most of the sites. The pull-throughs probably give you some more options for positioning the RV for slides and awnings, but I doubt that you will have significant issues.

At Grant (not stayed in Madison) the few times I have been there not had a problem. You don't know what type of site you will get until you get there it may be pull through or back in. From what I recall 6 inches is not going to make a difference. The last two times I was at Grant I ended up with a pull through that could have accommodated a longer trailer with no problem. However I had to go in backwards due to the tree placement in the site for my slides to extend (which they dont care about as long as you have someone working the traffic as there is no space for passing around an oncoming vehicle, obviously the back in sites that will make no difference.

If I am unfamiliar with a campground and can't get good info on it and they have the availability I have no problem reserving the next size up.

In any case I don't think you will have an issue from what I can recall about the site sizes. They are not overly large at all but again I don't recall seeing anyone having a problem at least once they got in their site. Also I don't believe they are counting on your rear overhang going over the rear backstop as part of the measurement however there may be a tree right there as well.

If you don't have a login to Campendium, do it. It's free, then check out their pics and reviews

Madison Campground Yellowstone NP

Grant Campground Yellowstone NP

Just a note, we stayed at Bridge Bay and really liked it. The internal road are wider and the sites out in the open are spacious.

dryfly wrote:

agesilaus wrote:
There are no measurement police, no one will come around with a tape measure to see if your unit is 30' or 30" 6" or 35' for that matter. If your unit fits in the site then you are good to go so long as it does not stick out into the roadway. I have never seen a NPS cg where the tow vehicle did not have room to pull into the site. Maybe not enough room but close. I had the rangers at Yosemite tell me to park my truck sideways once.

Not that being said, if you cannot get into the site then you are out of luck, no refunds and they will not find you a different site.

I appreciate your reply, but it does not answer the question. I know they will not measure my trailer, and I know if a vehicle is in the road you will be asked to leave.

What I'm asking in my OP is if anyone has had experience with actually staying in these campgrounds, and if the sites will actually accommodate anything slightly over 30'.

We drove through to check out Madison. We have a 35' FW (well 35' 5"). No way would we go in there but others, and plenty do. To us, the road is narrow, tight, and back in, except if you get an end site, would be a long process. If you are good, really good, at this type of situation, then go for it.

What I was trying to get across with my post is this: if a 30 ft unit fits then adding 6 inches won't make any difference. You are worrying over a problem that does not exist. When they rate a site as 30' that is approximate not exact.