Any ideas on an inexpensive camping site that is near Yellowstone? Same for the Grand Canyon?
My family and I are going on vacation, but are wanting to camp most of the time. We want nice campgrounds that are inexpensive…like say $14 a night or maybe just slightly more. We need to find these campgrounds and reserve very quickly. We leave for vacation Sept. 4th. Does anyone have ANY ideas on where we could camp? Take into consideration that flushing toilets or shower facilities would be greatly appreciated.
If anyone who has ever camped in either of these two places, could help me out here, I would be grateful!!!
Thanks!
I can give you information about Yellowstone. You will not find anything with full hook ups in that price range. There are National Forest Camp Grounds around the park that are cheap, but no hook ups and pit toilets at most.
You can stay in the park for about $18.50 a night. No hook ups but there are nice restrooms with running water (cold, not hot) and flush toilets. There are also pay showers available at some of them. It’s about $3.50 a shower depending on if you need a towel.
Some of the campgroundsare starting to close. You should have no trouble finding a spot. We like Canyon Campground because it is centrally located in the park but it closes Sept. 7th. Others that take reservations are Grant Village, Bridge Bay (no showers), Madison (no showers), Fishing Bridge (Big RVs only), and Mammoth (no showers). Just dress warm because temps drop to the 30s and 40s at night.
The park is starting to slow down for the season, so some of the stores and facilities are closed or closing this week and next. You need to go to http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/open_closedates.htm#september and check on your dates. Might be best to go to Yellowstone first.
The best town for camping is West Yellowstone. It’s right at the West Entrance to the park. Check out some of their campgrounds at http://www.westyellowstonechamber.com/sleep/rv-campground/
They aren’t cheap 
Have a great time!
December 21st, 2008 at 4:29 am
I can give you information about Yellowstone. You will not find anything with full hook ups in that price range. There are National Forest Camp Grounds around the park that are cheap, but no hook ups and pit toilets at most.
You can stay in the park for about $18.50 a night. No hook ups but there are nice restrooms with running water (cold, not hot) and flush toilets. There are also pay showers available at some of them. It’s about $3.50 a shower depending on if you need a towel.
Some of the campgroundsare starting to close. You should have no trouble finding a spot. We like Canyon Campground because it is centrally located in the park but it closes Sept. 7th. Others that take reservations are Grant Village, Bridge Bay (no showers), Madison (no showers), Fishing Bridge (Big RVs only), and Mammoth (no showers). Just dress warm because temps drop to the 30s and 40s at night.
The park is starting to slow down for the season, so some of the stores and facilities are closed or closing this week and next. You need to go to http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/open_closedates.htm#september and check on your dates. Might be best to go to Yellowstone first.
The best town for camping is West Yellowstone. It’s right at the West Entrance to the park. Check out some of their campgrounds at http://www.westyellowstonechamber.com/sleep/rv-campground/
They aren’t cheap
Have a great time!
References :
http://www.travelyellowstone.com/ For campground reservations in YNP
http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/ Same company does Grand Canyon too.
December 21st, 2008 at 4:38 am
for the grand canyon, try the northern part of the canyon. North Kiabab
it’s not as busy, you can camp in the forest, and there are restrooms at
the north rim site or at Jacobs Lake
References :
December 21st, 2008 at 4:45 am
Actually camping in the park at an NPS campground in the Grand Canyon is not much more than your limit – $18 per night. At the Mather campground on the South Rim, there are flush toilets and showers nearby in Grand Canyon Village. There is also a LOT of Forest Service land surrounding the Park that one can camp on – see the links below for developed campgrounds.
At Yellowstone, NPS campgrounds vary in price from $12 to $18.50 per night. There is also a lot of Forest Service land around Yellowstone, too.
For the NPS campgrounds, you will need to reserve them ASAP.
There are also KOAs in West Yellowstone, MT and Williams, AZ (just south of the South Rim of "the GC"). But there are about twice ($30 per night for tent camping) than you want to pay.
References :
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/cg-sr.htm
http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/camping-in-yellowstone.htm
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/kai/recreation/campgrounds/
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/kai/recreation/campgrounds/TenX.shtml
December 21st, 2008 at 4:50 am
Last year California State camps were $18.00 a night for 1 car and a tent!
References :
December 21st, 2008 at 5:10 am
Since it is so late you might have a really hard time getting campgrounds but you can always try, there is nothing wrong with that but you may not find a ton of availability in the National Parks.
Try
http://www.reserveamerica.com or
http://recreation.gov
Either one of those sites will give you tons of information and campsites.
Best of luck and have fun!!
References :