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A campground in the main boulder area on the Yellowstone District.
Camp sites: 8
Accessible Facilities: Toilet Trash Pickup: No Firewood: No No Reservations: This campground does not use a reservation system, it is managed on a first-come, first-served basis. Be aware the campground may fill up on weekends & holidays during the summer months and you should arrive in the early afternoon to ensure there is a space available for the night. Information: Livingston Office 5242 Hwy 89. Livingston, MT 59047 (406) 222-1892
Beyond the developed areas, Yellowstone offers a diverse, mountainous landscape that invites exploration by foot, pack stock, and boat. Hundreds of miles of trails facilitate travel throughout the park. Permits are required for all overnight stays.
When planning a backcountry trip, remember that many of Yellowstone’s trails are more than 7,000 feet above sea level. Most areas retain snow until late May or early June, and some (especially mountain passes) are snow-covered until late July. Also, many routes require fording rivers that can be 25 feet wide, 3 to 5 feet deep, extremely cold, and swiftly running during our late spring runoff.
Yellowstone maintains 293 designated backcountry campsites. Each designated campsite has a maximum limit for the number of people and stock allowed per night. The maximum stay per campsite varies from 1 to 3 nights per trip. Group size limits range from 4 to 12 people. With the exception of four campsites, we allow only one group at each campsite. If your group size exceeds the campsite limit, you’ll need to obtain a second permit and cook and sleep as separate groups. A food storage pole or box is provided at every campsite so that food and attractants may be secured from bears. You will need to provide your own rope (35 feet in length or greater) at sites with food poles.
$3 - $15 / night
The Shoshone National Forest allows dispersed camping along a mile or so of the Beartooth Highway in the Pilot Creek area. There is one large area on the south side of US 212 about 9 miles east of Cooke City which has multiple undeveloped campsites as well as a vault toilet. There are a number of additional potential campsites on both sides of the road for a mile or so. While most of these sites have “user-built” fire rings, there are no other amenities.
Camping is free in the remote areas of the Shoshone and is a great way to get away from it all.
Many people enjoy the solitude and primitive experience of camping away from developed campgrounds. Dispersed camping means there are no toilets, tables, or drinking water. Follow these guidelines to ensure these areas can be enjoyed by future generations.
Campsites must be 200 feet from trails, lakes, or wet meadows and 100 feet from streams or creeks. There is a 16 consecutive day stay limit. Any new location must be at least 5 miles from the previous location. Group size may be limited. Check with the local ranger district office for specifics in the area you want to go. Grizzly bear food storage regulations must be followed in designated grizzly bear use areas. See our Bear Safety page for more information. Dispersed camping or campfires are not allowed in the area commonly known as the North Fork Canyon and includes the area 1/2 mile on either side of the centerline of U. S. Highway 14/16/20 between the national forest boundary and the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Within this special recreation corridor, all camping and campfires must be within developed recreation sites. Some areas on the Shoshone are closed and signed as such to dispersed camping due to grizzly bear activity or resource protection. Be alert to signage. Check with the local ranger district office in the area you want to be for any seasonal restrictions that may apply. Please use Leave No Trace ethics so those coming behind you will have the same pristine experience as you.
ScoutBeautiful spot by the Yellowstone River. Train whistles woke us up four times.
ScoutNice and quiet, lots of room
Guide
We had our itinerary set to stay at this site and then the weather turned terrible and it started snowing. We only had a tent with us and the wind was whipping so we had to pack up and head to Red Lodge. I was SOO disappointed because I had been so excited to spend the night here. Unfortunately I couldn’t convince nature to cooperate. We already have plans to buy a camper van and return to this site next year because the view is worth the trip!
TravelerThere’s a spot down by the water that someone took with a tent who we let by us. We took a spot just above before you drive down to the water. I wasn’t sure if I could turn around my 20’ travel trailer down by the water. Very buggy.
Traveler
Just passed the Eagle Creek Campground on Jardine Road. Take a left and drive in 3 miles on National Forest Road to areas where camping is allowed. There are mile marker signs. These are mostly little pull offs along the side of the road with great views into Yellowstone/Mammoth Hot Springs. There are more than a dozen good spots, but it also seems popular as I saw at least 10 occupied sites on a Monday evening. No cellphone service. No amenities, just the view and personal space. My Honda fit made it up the road no problem.
GuideAwesome Spot close to Cody 360 Views are Amazing Plenty Room to Park Was the Only One
GuideWhat a Great Spot, Camping Right on the River Surrounded by gorgeous Mountains. Across is another Huge Spot for Camping And it’s Free
GuideRough camp. No amenities. Not large enough for motor home. But ok for pull camper. First come first serve. Looking for that free spot. Between the hotels and hassle.
TravelerPhotos from some other reviews do not match the coordinates. GPS took me 20 minutes out of the way to someone’s private drive. I ended up getting lucky when I turned around and saw a pull off before the sign that said no camping beyond this point. It’s less than half a mile from a sign that says “beware high grizzly activity in area.” I can’t imagine it would be comfortable to camp in a tent here (it’s literally just a pull off) and I wouldn’t want to with that sign either, but it worked for me to car camp for a night. Also, the review that says to turn just after Eagle River Campground makes absolutely no sense. The coordinates to this campsite are far from Eagle River and you absolutely do not make a left. wherever they went sure does look pretty but it’s not here. It works to stop for a night, but I would not come back here unless I was desperate. The road up isn’t bad - it has your typical washboard and a few potholes here and there. I did see an elk on the way up so that was neat. 
Traveler
We truly loved this place. It was so isolated and peaceful. The camp sites are scattered throughout the trails and are not close to each other. They are easy to spot and not to bad to get to.(if you use the right road on the way up) we were only planning to stay 1 night and ended up staying 3 nights. We couldn’t get enough. Also spotted lots of moose, they are everywhere up there.
GuideBeautiful spot. No cell service. Can stop at the bistro in town for food/wifi. Bathroom was very clean. Large open area available for camping.
Scout6 spots with a view. Take jardine road out of Gardiner until you get to eagle creek campground. Go just past the campground and take a left at the forest service road. Take that about 4 or 5 miles up the mountain. 6 spots with fire rings on top. Had AWD but probably would have been fine with 2wd if you absolutely had to.
Guide
We intended to stay on the other side of the road, (river side) but missed the turn. We stumbled on this trailhead/OHV site and ended up staying here for the night. There are multiple dispersed sites that back up to the Pilot Creek Trail. Plenty of spots in the grass for big rigs and trailers. We ended up near the horse coral/bathroom (vaulted toilet), not ideal but worked in a pinch. Lots of mosquitos. Some sites have bear boxes.
Guide-free -pet friendly -dispersed campsites -no water, toilets, amenities of any sort -just a fire ring at each site -some good trails -great phone service (Verizon)
TravelerLoved this boondocking area. Lots of spots up Eagle creek road. The road up is a little bumpy but no problem for us. The views are beyond beautiful. I highly recommend!
TravelerEasy to find. Close to north yellowstone entrance. Horseflys though ....
RangerWe stayed a few days to hike and relax. We were able to camp right next to a small creek. The trail head for a nice 6 mile round trip to a lake
TravelerThis was hands-down one of the best campsite areas I ever found. National forest so it was open and free to whoever. Several spots just off Beartooth highway from Joseph Highway west to the Montana boarder. Most turnoffs have places for three or four different groups to camp. Some with bear boxes and some without. Most are only a rocks throw from water. Crazy creek is a waterfall area across from crazy Creek Campground. Very worth the short hike. Yellowstone is only 10 or 15 miles to the west and the town of Cook City is there if you need any basic supplies.
GuideTurn left not right. The road is easy to miss, just a little dirt road off the left side of the road coming out of the NE entrance of Yellowstone 10 minutes passed Cooke city. No service but the bistro in Cooke city will give you WiFi if you eat there and that helped us get our navigation. This is my favorite place by far. The photos will show you why.
GuideFree Camping alongside the road overlooking Yellowstone and Mammoth Spring. After a few miles on this road, the no camping signs stop and it is free game! We scored a nice overlook and enjoyed the view. Way better than a campground on a busy summer day.
RangerSpent the night off of Jardin and the NF service road. Tons of little pull outs with fire rings. Most of them have a stunning view of Gardiner, Mammoth, and electric peak! A few little secret pots hidden just off of the roads. Keep your eyes peeled! The road is pretty decent, but gets worse the higher you go. Tons of stunning wildflowers as well.
RangerThis Forest Service road provides tons of neat pull offs and campsites! The view up the road is DROP DEAD GORGEOUS... you can see Mammoth Hot Springs in the distance! The road is pretty well maintained and windy. A lot of the pull offs have a fire ring pretty close to the road. No bathrooms or amenities. But this space is worth it. All free, gorgeous camping just outside of Gardiner and Yellowstone National Park!
Legend
Camp among wide meadows, lush forests, towering peaks and wildlife
Yellowstone National Park's back-country site 2S1 is definitely the most amazing back-country site our Venturing Crew has backpacked to this summer, and we have been to quiet a few. Back-country site 2S1 is located along Slough Creek in a beautiful valley where Sandhill Cranes calls fill the valley in the evening and early morning. It is a 4.3 mile hike along the Slough Creek Trail to the spur trail for site 2S1, then a.6 mile hike to the campsite. Being.6 miles from the trail would usually mean solitude, but this site appears to be a popular fishing location as well as their was always someone fishing in the area. But don't worry, the campsite is fairly hidden from the creek and those fishing were very considerate. The campsite has numerous flat locations to pitch a tent. Their is a pole suspended between two trees for handing your food, but you don't need to use it as a bear proof locker has been placed at the site. A rock fire ring is available for fires and has large logs on two sides to sit on. Plenty of firewood is available in the form of large trees that are scattered on the ground through out the area, just find one of the older ones that are rotting and pull them apart and in a few minutes you have a nice pile of wood that will start easy. You don't need much wood at any one time on the fire to have a nice hot fire as this dry rotted wood really burns hot. If you are planning on having a fire be sure to bring a container to bring water from the creek to put it out with, as you are at least 50 yards from the creek. The view is amazing from camp, a wondering creek going though a wide valley with steep mountains on each side. In the evening we were treated to the alpine glow on the mountain tops for a good 15 minutes. Do you want to see wildlife, well we say plenty on this backpack trip. Hundreds of bison on the drive to the trail head, watched a black bear munching on various vegetation 100 feet from the trail, a young fox walked right by us on the trail, squirrels, chipmunks, a badger, sandhill cranes and other song birds as well. To get to back-country site 2S1 start at Slough Creek Trail head(2K5) and hike the 4.3 miles to the spur trail to the campsite. You will have one hard climb right of the bat, the first.7 miles is a steep climb, after that it is a easy hike. A warning, don't be shocked when you see lots of tourist heading out on the trail completely unprepared. We are talking about hiking in flip flops, no water, no bear spray, and this on a steep trail to start where we spotted the bear along the trail edge.8 miles in.
Ranger review of the Morsel Spork XL
We have been using the Morsel XL spork with out Scouts on several backpacking trips this summer and the unanimous opinion is a big thumbs up. We have used our Morsels with MRE's, and they truly out perform compared to the plastic spoon those meals provide. With backpacking dehydrated meals we are able to get out every little bit out of the corners of the bag without getting our hands messy. Bowls, cups, and plates, no problem getting to all the food, which makes clean-up after a meal easier. The variety of colors is helpful as well, as we can give each scout a different color so no one confuses their Morsel with anyone else, and we can quickly figure out who dropped theirs or left it laying around. The Morsel Spork XL is now our go to utensil for our backpacking adventures.
GuideWe were driving into Yellowstone from Billings and wanted something that would give us early access to the park. This was perfect. A nice pull off with several options to park a van, tent, or small trailer or RV. We fell asleep to the sound of the river and were into the park within 20 minutes the next morning. We were able see moose and a bear because of the early access to Lamar Valley. Wish we could have seen the surrounding area in the daylight but we got in late and were out early. From what we saw we highly recommend it!! It is dispersed Forest Service camping so you will need to have all of your own supplies and be sure to leave no trace (including your poop)
GuideI stayed here last week for one night. I backed my van right up to the river with an amazing view of Pilot Peak in the background, and fell asleep to the sounds of the rushing water. It's an amazing spot to stay on your way into, or out of, the Beartooth Highway.
LegendWe arrived to the Yellowstone area in the evening, and since we had been traveling around the U.S. for almost a year, we were well-versed in finding alternative camping options near national parks.
Instead of camping somewhere in the park, we decided to drive through Gallatin National Forest, to the north of the park, until we found a good place to camp. We found a perfect overlook where we pitched our tent and watched the most gorgeous sunset. The best part? No people around for miles and miles.
Dispersed camping in the U.S. Forest Service land is almost always a win: the sites are free and remote; there are usually plenty of available spots; and you get a very unique camping experience. Just remember to look up regulations for the specific area you’re looking at, and don’t forget the toilet paper!
In Yellowstone, we worked our way from north to south, hitting the highlights. Many of the hiking trails were closed due to bear activity, so we stuck mostly to the close sights: driving through Lamar Valley, viewing Old Faithful & many other geysers, seeing Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and spotting wildlife everywhere we went.
You can read much more about our five days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Yellowstone)
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Nye, MT is Buffalo Jump Camp with a 5-star rating from 1 review.
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TheDyrt.com has all 23 dispersed camping locations near Nye, MT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
