The Best Campgrounds Outside Yellowstone & The Tetons

Most travelers coming to Wyoming and Montana focus their time on the national parks, often trying to reserve campsites within park boundaries. What many people don’t know is that there are amazing campgrounds just outside Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. These incredibly scenic spots won’t add much driving time to your vacation and are often significantly less crowded. So get off the beaten track and into a gorgeous campsite at one of these fan favorites.

Campgrounds Outside Yellowstone

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North Yellowstone/Gardiner:

10 min from North Entrance

Eagle Creek Campground – ($30) A first-come first-served campground run by the forest service on the Yellowstone river. This beautiful site is also a great fishing hole, so don’t forget your rod.

Rocky Mountain RV Camp – ($79) If you are looking for a scenic campground with all the amenities, this is the spot for you. With elk and bison frequently passing through the campground, this is a great place to base as you explore the Upper Loop of Yellowstone.

West Yellowstone

20 minutes from West Entrance

KOA Campground – ($42) Located 6 miles from Yellowstone’s West Entrance. With added amenities such as mini golf, a hot tub, and WI-FI, this is camping at its most glamorous.

Rainbow Point Campground – ($20) This campground lies on the north shore of Hebgen Lake, just 20 minutes from Yellowstone’s West Entrance. Rainbow point also accepts advance reservations, so you can make your bookings early to be safe.

Lonesomehurst Campground – ($20) Located on the south shore of Hebgen Lake, only 20 minutes from Yellowstone’s west entrance. This campground also books in advance.

Cody

10-20 minutes from East Entrance

Buffalo Bill Campground – ($17) Located on the shores of the Buffalo Bill Reservoir, one hour from Yellowstone lake. This campground has both bookable and first-come first-served sites.

Newton Creek Campground – ($15) Located in the Shoshone National forest, this small 31 site campground is all first-come first-served and reserved for hard sided campers only.

Campgrounds Outside Grand Teton

North of Jackson

5-15 minutes from Park Entrance

Shadow Mountain – ($0) Located in the Gros Ventre mountain range, this is one of the best view of the Tetons you can get! All sites are first come first served, so you will want to get here early to get the best spots.

Hatchet Campground – ($12) 15 minutes from the northern Moran entrance this small 9 site campground offers primitive sites. All sites are first come first served.

South of Jackson

30-60 minutes from Park Entrance

Granite Hot Springs – ($0) Located 40 miles south of town, this gem is a well kept secret and often off the beaten track for most tours. All sites are first come, first served but rarely fill up. If they do, the campground is located in the National Forest, so you can park anywhere and camp for the night.

Hoback Campground – ($15) Located south of the town of Jackson Hole. This small campground is first come first served, and offers incredible fishing opportunities just steps from your campsite!

Snake River Cabins – ($55) This picture perfect campground lies along the bank of the Snake River just south of Jackson. 20 minutes from the town & 40-minutes from the Grand Teton National Park.

If you’re like us, when you go to a beautiful place you want to spend your time exploring it, not reading and researching it on your phone. This post is part of our local recommendations series, designed to save you some screen time and point you in the right directions, so you can leave the stress of decision making to us and lose yourself in places of wild scenic beauty. Because we’re keeping it simple, we had to leave out some truly incredible places and experiences and stick to the best of the best. If you are looking for something specific a little farther off the beaten path, contact our itineraries department for a custom trip designed just for you.