No reservation is risky
Before you plan on camping in Yellowstone without a reservation, know that this comes with some risk. We knew that by taking this chance, we might not find a spot.
But we hoped for the best…
Hundreds of people visit Yellowstone National Park each day and need a place to stay. Its beauty and stunning views attract many people from all over the world.
When we arrived in the park, we found camping without booking ahead of time. We came during the peak summer season…
And got lucky!
This may or may not happen for you, but sharing my story might help you find a place to stay.
You can check out my blog post, in which I share tips on how to find camping in Yellowstone.
Why not make a reservation?
We took a road trip from the West to the Midwest in our camper van that lasted two weeks.
The map showed that we’d pass right by Yellowstone, so we decided to visit the park.
We didn’t know which day we’d end up at Yellowstone. When we checked online, there were no openings. People can book lodging in Yellowstone 13 months in advance.
Wow!
Some people can plan that far ahead, but I like spontaneity. I don’t know what I will do next week, let alone 60 weeks from now.
A lot of our road trips, we just fly by the seat of our pants. Yup.
Traveling by van, we felt some sense of security. If all else failed, we’d still have a roof over our heads.
Did we worry?
A little… from the reviews I read online, I feared we would not find camping in Yellowstone. Legal camping… not trying to get a ticket, you know…
Camping outside of Yellowstone
Depending on which entrance you use to enter Yellowstone, you may find camping outside the park—50 to 100 miles away.
On the way in, we found a place outside Yellowstone in Ten Sleep, Wyoming. Coming from the East on I-16, we traveled through the beautiful Longhorn National Forest.
We didn’t want to arrive at the park too late and still had many miles to travel, so we got a first-come, first-serve spot at Lakeview Campground.
Luckily, we grabbed the last spot at 7 p.m. People had already taken the other ones.
The whole campground only had a few sites. After we parked, hopeful campers drove through, searching for openings.
The next morning, we continued our drive through Cody, Wyoming. This city, about 50 miles from the East Entrance, had many campgrounds, hotels, and restaurants.
They may have vacancies at the campgrounds and hotels here. We even passed a Walmart, but I’m unsure if they allow overnight parking.
After visiting Yellowstone, we drove through the South Entrance via the Grand Tetons. We had trouble finding camping there.
And guess what…?
All the campgrounds had no vacancies! We ended up sleeping in a city very far away.
A lady at a lodge in Flag Ranch gave us a tip about free camping further south. She probably meant dispersed camping, but we never found it.
Campground sign with vacancies
The day we entered Yellowstone National Park, the sun rose high in the afternoon sky.
A big wooden sign listed the campgrounds and vacancies. Half the sites showed ‘full’ or ‘closed.’
Not good news… but that didn’t surprise us.
We came to the park with low hopes of camping in Yellowstone.
Before our trip, my neighbor visited Yellowstone. She didn’t have a place to stay and wanted to camp in her car. She called the places listed on the sign at the entrance and asked about openings.
By doing this, she found a camping spot in Yellowstone. But we didn’t try that.
Rangers at the visitor centers
The visitor centers in Yellowstone have lots of information about the national park. I knew the rangers there would know how to find a camping spot.
So we went to the first visitor center we came across and asked a ranger if he could help us find any openings at the campgrounds.
He grabbed his laptop, but he could not access the Internet. He warned us about the spotty service in Yellowstone.
True—and our phones had no signal.
Who runs the campgrounds?
He told us to go to one of the Yellowstone National Park Lodges, and they would help us there.
He explained that they run some of the campgrounds in Yellowstone while the National Park Service runs the others.
When we went to the hotel, the man at the desk seemed confused about helping us. He knew nothing about the camping situation, but he did call around for us.
Surprise, surprise—no openings.
He let us use their computer lab free of charge. We went upstairs to it, but the Internet signal was poor. The web pages wouldn’t even load when we clicked on them.
Last resort—hotel room
Luckily, we had Starlink, and it worked very well in Yellowstone! We set it up in the hotel parking lot.
Then, we searched online for a camping spot. The hotels had some vacancies, but we refused to pay the high prices.
Our last resort was to stay in a hotel or cabin, but they charged over $500 a night!
Whoa…
Although Yellowstone has amazing landscapes and unbelievable beauty, the hotels hiked the prices up way too high.
Plus, our camper van had a nice bathroom, shower, and bed. We had all the amenities we needed and didn’t want to give up on finding a campsite.
By this time, the sun had begun to dip behind the tallest mountains, and we needed somewhere to park for the night. We either had to find a place in Yellowstone or plan to exit the park.
Reservations available!
I searched the Yellowstone National Park Lodges and the National Park Service websites. And… Yellowstone National Park Lodges had openings!
The website showed three available campsites, but when I clicked on them, they showed ‘unavailable.’
Strange… but I kept trying…
I finally booked a spot at Madison Campground, grabbing the only one left. My info went through, and we got a confirmation number but no campsite number.
The small print told us to register at the campsite upon arrival. I was hoping this wasn’t a glitch.
Whew!
We no longer had to worry about finding a place to stay. So, we took our sweet time driving around, amazed at all the bison and steaming geysers.
By the time we arrived at Madison Campground, the sun had sunk further behind the trees. We checked in with smiles on our faces. What a relief!
Finding a camping spot in the park wore us out like old rags. I asked the lady at the booth for tips and shared them in this blog post.
Maybe they’ll save you a headache and help you snag a spot too!
Did you end up finding camping in Yellowstone? Let me know how you did it!
Updated: November 19, 2024
