Yellowstone Camping Question

[IlVagabondo]

Greetings,

Not a backcountry question per se, but I plan to spend June and early July living in Powell, WY, making frequent trips into Yellowstone: day hikes, backpacks, and some car camping.

My question for now is about the non-reservable tent camping sites. I would prefer to stay in one of those than, say Canyon or one of the other big reservable ones. But I also don't want to show up on the day and find out they're all full. So, what has been your experience with showing up and trying to snag one of these unreserved sites?

Related, how much does day of the week matter? I have a flexible schedule but probably tend to work weekend days. Also, if you show up first thing in the morning, how does that work grabbing a site if somebody is in it but leaving later?

Please feel free to answer any other questions I didn't think to ask. And yes, I am aware I'm hitting prime mosquito season, but it can't be helped.

Thanks!
Paul

 

[Yvonne]

you can check real-time when the campsites fill up each day by checking the Yellowstone app. They post each day when sites fill up. Last year most filled up by 7 am. I always reserve in advance, so I do not have to worry about it and get out on my hike early and then go to my campsite and set up camp. Or if I use a campground as a base camp, I head out early each day and day hike in the backcountry.
I go every year for a prolonged time and camp in the park

 

[swmalone]

I agree with @Yvonne. I checked the website and seeing how early the first come first serve campsites filled up I went with the reservable campsites. I have a long drive and a limited time to visit the park and don't want to worry about not getting a campsite. If you are comfortable with the risk and can get to the site you want early enough in the morning it does provide you with a few more camping options.

 

[IlVagabondo]

Thanks @Yvonne and @swmalone! Sounds like reserving ahead of time is worth the peace of mind, even if it means a bigger campground.

 

[swmalone]

Thanks @Yvonne and @swmalone! Sounds like reserving ahead of time is worth the peace of mind, even if it means a bigger campground.

We stayed in one for the first time this past August at Grant Village. Even though it is bigger and full it didn't seem overly crowded. I would recommend that if you plan to tent camp to try to get the tent only site as opposed to the tent/rv shared area. The tent only areas seemed to be a bit quieter. I also found out that if you call you can actually request specific sites and they will do their best to get you the site you want or very close to it.

 

[Yvonne]

Thanks @Yvonne and @swmalone! Sounds like reserving ahead of time is worth the peace of mind, even if it means a bigger campground.

I didn't mind the bigger campground. I just sleep there, that's all.
I was out all day hiking the backcountry.
But it was really nice to know I do not have to search for hours for a campsite and just pull in after a day of hiking and set up camp

 

[tennistime99]

My favorite time is the week after Labor Day. Crowds have died out and the elk are bugling all night. Just have to be more attentive to your gas situation as parts of the park amenities are closed for the season. I haven't had much luck in the brunt of the tourist season.

When in luck I like Indian Creek Campground which is pretty centrally located and on the occasions I've been there has a bison that walks circles around the campground.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

 

[Pringles]

I live in Powell, and go to the park a lot. I don’t care to go super early only to try to get a campsite, so if I want to camp in the front country, I get a reservation at one of the bigger, reservable campgrounds. There are a number of forest service campgrounds on the South Fork, on the way, if you’re headed in the Cody entrance. As you get closer to the park, they require hard sided campers. There are some forest service campgrounds near Cooke City, too, if you intend to go in the NE entrance. There are also some campgrounds outside the park on the Gardiner side. I assume West Yellowstone and beyond have some campgrounds that don’t equine reservations. Honestly, if I’m going to see things in the park, I just drive to the park and come home at the end of the day. I do get a fair number of walk in backpacking permits, though. I have a list of places I’d Ike to stay, and put them in order, and most of the time I get the first one I ask for. Once, I got the 12th site, though, so it pays to have a long list and a flexible attitude. (Welcome to Powell.)

 

[Rockskipper]

I've been cruising the reservation lists for both the Tetons and Ystone for over a week, looking for sites for a relative who's too busy to do so (work). It's pretty crazy trying to find anything, actually, almost impossible unless you're looking in Aug. and Sept. and even that's sketchy. This is on all the sites - recreation.gov and also those sites run by the parks themselves. The first camp site I could get was in Mammoth in late-August. Even the sites around the park are getting full. I have a feeling it's going to be full-on crazy this summer. And just for fun, I checked what the rooms in the lodges are going for - you can book a room in the Yellowstone Hotel for almost a grand, though there are a few still in the upper $600 range.

 

[Jackson]

I've been cruising the reservation lists for both the Tetons and Ystone for over a week, looking for sites for a relative who's too busy to do so (work). It's pretty crazy trying to find anything, actually, almost impossible unless you're looking in Aug. and Sept. and even that's sketchy. This is on all the sites - recreation.gov and also those sites run by the parks themselves. The first camp site I could get was in Mammoth in late-August. Even the sites around the park are getting full. I have a feeling it's going to be full-on crazy this summer. And just for fun, I checked what the rooms in the lodges are going for - you can book a room in the Yellowstone Hotel for almost a grand, though there are a few still in the upper $600 range.

May be worth it just to roll up on a week day to a campground that doesn't do reservations. That's how my grandparents always do it around Yellowstone and they've got a pretty good track record.

It is insane how quickly the campgrounds in Yellowstone have filled up this year.

 

[swmalone]

May be worth it just to roll up on a week day to a campground that doesn't do reservations. That's how my grandparents always do it around Yellowstone and they've got a pretty good track record.

It is insane how quickly the campgrounds in Yellowstone have filled up this year.

The problem with doing that is that at some point after I made my reservations in January they changed Mammoth and most of Slough and Pebble creek to reservations as well. The number of first come first serve sites are decreasing pretty quickly. Since we are always on a time crunch with our trips I prefer to get a reservation but it is getting so that is fairly difficult. I tried to grab a March reservation for The Needles district on the day they opened and completely missed out.

 

[Jackson]

The problem with doing that is that at some point after I made my reservations in January they changed Mammoth and most of Slough and Pebble creek to reservations as well. The number of first come first serve sites are decreasing pretty quickly. Since we are always on a time crunch with our trips I prefer to get a reservation but it is getting so that is fairly difficult. I tried to grab a March reservation for The Needles district on the day they opened and completely missed out.

Oh I'm talking about campgrounds outside on the periphery of the park. Not quite as convenient as being inside the park, but quieter and less crowded.

I should have written that more specifically.

 

[Rockskipper]

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[ImNotDedYet]

I've found a number of spots outside the park(s) with fairly relative ease - even in late afternoon. If you don't mind that without having to deal w/ reservations or getting there before the sun rises. The three spots I've found near W Yellowstone, Cooke City and east of Grand Teton are all very short drives into one of the parks.