West Yellowstone, MT – The perfect campground for exploring the west side of Yellowstone National Park and its environs. Wide spaces, plenty of maneuvering room for the biggest of rigs, and conveniently located in town. We walked to restaurants. The only downside is the high price, which is de rigueur for visiting Yellowstone. Other privately run campgrounds have similar prices. The price fluctuates with the seasons, with the highest prices in summer’s peak season. It is a bit of a drive into the park, but if you have a big rig and want full hook-ups you have little choice. The campgrounds inside the national park have few spaces that are both sufficiently long and sufficiently wide to support a motorhome and toad. If you plan to spend most of the your time in Lamar Valley you may wish to stay at Rocky Mountain RV Park in Gardiner as it’s considerably closer to that prime big animal viewing habitat. If you want cheaper camping and do not need full hook-ups, there are some National Forest campgrounds on the north of town.
We often split our time between here and Gardiner to decrease driving time into various parts of the park. I think it works well. We love visiting Yellowstone for day hiking. We’ve written two posts about hiking in Yellowstone: Day Hiking in Yellowstone National Park and Yellowstone Day Hiking Part 2. For those wishing to view and photograph animals we’ve numerous posts which can be accessed through Yellowstone Wildlife Viewing and Photography. From West Yellowstone we rented ATV’s and rode some trails in the Gallatin National Forest. We also visited West Yellowstone’s Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center.
This campground is very close to the West entrance and provides access to Madison, Norris Geyser Basin (north onto the Grand Loop), and the southern loop- with Upper, Middle and Lower Basins (including old Faithful) being a short drive south on the loop road. There are almost always anglers fishing the Madison River during season, along the drive to Madison Junction from the west entrance. For animal watchers, the drive in from the West entrance to Madison junction showcases Bison and Elk with their newborns during their spring migration back along the Madison River into the park. Additionally, we’ve seen Bald eagles, marmots and an occasional bear. There is an area that has had Trumpeter Swans also.
Bison migrating into Yellowstone NP along the road from the west entrance to Madison Junction
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Campground website: Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park
