Canyon Campground Yellowstone —elevation 7,900 feet (2408 m)—lies in a lodgepole pine forest at Canyon Village, south of the Washburn range and near the breath-taking Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. Canyon Village offers stores, restaurants, and lodging. Nearby hikes include Cascade Lake, Mount Washburn, and the Canyon Rim trails.

Canyon Campground — Yellowstone National Park

I was able to snag a spot at Canyon Campground for few days at the height of busy season. (I kept the campground reservation page open on my computer and would refresh every hour. I had one campground per tab. Finally got a cancelation at Canyon, so took it. But it can be done!!)  
  
Our spot was pretty small and right by a water spigot that everyone used, so that was a bit annoying. Lots of small pine trees make it feel more spaced out. Luckily, there was no one camped behind us (no spaces there), so that was nice. We were situated near a screaming kid, so that was not so nice. Not the campground's fault though. It is what it is.  
  
Big bear box to hold everything, but we were told it is also fine to lock stuff in your car. (The bears here allegedly don't break into cars like they do at Yosemite.) Nice picnic table and fire pit. Bathrooms have flushing toilets and a nice room for dishwashing.   
  

During COVID, the showers down at the shower room by where  you check in are closed. So no showers for us. (If this is important to you, check the Yellowstone NPS site to see if and when they reopen. Showers at all the campgrounds in the park were closed.) They did kick back a couple bucks per night for the lack of showers.  

  

We were able to find a flat enough area for two 2+ tents, but there's no official tent pad.  

  

My favorite part of this campground? You can hear the thundering Yosemite Falls in the distance. Best white noise ever!  

  

Least favorite part of the campground? The bathroom lights are always on, so if you are in a site near the bathrooms, you always have light shining into your site from that building.  

  

There's ice, firewood and a camp store down by the checkin. There's a place to drop off trash and recycling out front, as well.  

  

From our loop (E), the village was a long walk or short drive. I have Verizon and got an okay signal (one to two bars) in camp and a much better signal in the parking lot of the village. (As a professor, I did go down to the village parking lot a couple of evenings and used my phone to create a hot spot so I could do some grading for an online summer class.)   

  

In the village, the cafeteria seemed to be open until about 10pm. One night, I took a little drive around to Yosemite Falls (no crowds late in the day!) and came across a black bear by the road into the falls, which was cool.  

  

Note that all of this was during COVID times, so it wasn't a "normal" Yellowstone experience. At the time, only a handful of the park lodges were open and only 4 of the park's 12 campgrounds were open.

Lots of People, But Nice Place to Stay in Yellowstone

Yellowstone is just an amazing place to camp! Canyon campground was a nice place to be close to the center of the park. Nice amount of trees. We got to enjoy a nocturnal animal talk our first night. What was great is the amphitheater was a very short walk from our site. 

Great place for tent camping!

Campground was well maintained. We were able to shower and use the laundry facilities which were well maintained. Stayed in June and temperatures were down in the 30s, so it was a cold night. Close to canyon rim hike and a good stop for a second day in the park if coming from the east entrance. Well shaded with pine trees as well if you have a hot day (instead of cool like ours!)

Canyon Campground - Yellowstone NP

Keep It Wild!! Lots of camp spots in the area, modern, showers, running water. Scenic drive with lots of wild life to see on your way through the park!!

Wild Wyoming

If you are camping in Yellowstone, Canyon is the place to be with almost 300 sites.  Canyon campground is almost in the dead center of Yellowstone National Park.  By camping in Canyon you can easily visit every corner of the park and see all the major sites in a few days.  Spend more time and catch a few trails.

Canyon is in the middle of Bear country so you have to keep your food stored in your car or in secure Bear containers.  The campsites are not very big and there are a lot of campers.  We stayed in Loop B site 50 and we were basically camping on the side of a hill.  There were some heavy rains and our tent was flooded by the water running down hill.  Luckily there is a laundromat on site with large front loaders that allowed us to dry out our sleeping bags and clothes.

The showers and bathrooms are clean and in great condition.  Flushing toilets are located throughout the campground.  Nearby is the Canyon Village with a dining room, cafeteria, gift shop, visitor center and more.  

We were in camp for almost a week and never saw a Bear, but don't forget your Bear spray.

Camp in Bear Country, Canyon Campground is Awesome!!!

We stayed here two nights while exploring the north side of the park. The location is great for this: in addition to being steps away from the canyon, you're a short drive from the wildlife viewing opportunities of Lamar and Hayden valleys, and a bit further gets you to Yellowstone Lake or Norris geyser basin.

The campground itself spreads out the sites nicely and has plenty of trees to give some separation. Our tent area had a slight slope, but the ground was perfect for stakes, easy to put in but everything stayed tight. Our site happened to be right next to a bear-resistant food storage container and a bathroom, which was convenient, though it did mean some traffic. Overall, the campground was pretty quiet even while full.

The village nearby is full service, with gas, a general store, post office, a visitor center, and two restaurants. There was an unfortunately timed burn ban while we were there so we tried the cafeteria and it was terrible. We went to the Roosevelt lodge instead another night which was good, but meant a harrowing nighttime ascent of the mountain road back to Canyon....

Large but excellent base camp for Yellowstone

Great hiking and camping in the National Park.

Hot Springs, forest, lakes

When planning a summer trip to Yellowstone National Park, camping reservations are extremely helpful and less stressful than trying to jump on a first-come-first-serve campsite. We usually stay just outside the park in a National Forest campground, but some of these sites don't open until mid-June or later, so on our last trip at the end of May we started in Canyon campground with a reservation for one night. This allowed us to get our bearings and claim a non-reservable site the next morning (barely, by the way!).

We really enjoyed staying in Canyon. The sites are very private and scattered along several loops in the woods. We had plenty of space to relax and play, but do be aware that bears WILL wander through (as well as elk, bison, and other ungulates). With the rolling, forested hills around our site, we made sure our kids were always in view!  In late May, the snow is still in patches on the ground, and in fact it snowed a little bit overnight the night we stayed there. 

We liked how the campfire area and picnic table were a bit down from our campsite, but if you have accessibility issues, you may want to choose your site carefully. Our little guy with vision issues (5) tripped over roots and the "makeshift" steps they installed on the hillside a few times, but he was in general a good sport about it.

The welcome was a good experience. Although they were busy when we arrived, the rangers were very thorough in explaining the rules and making visitors bear-aware - every camper gets the talk! We were checked in within a matter of a few minutes.  In addition, campers get to use nice showers and they have a dump station (for RV's), as well as containers for recycle and garbage. You can purchase firewood, which we did, and it was reasonably dry. 

Of course staying in the park on a reserved site will cost you a little more money, but having a designated spot on your arrival day makes the few dollars more well worth the peace of mind! We would recommend Canyon to anyone who heads to Yellowstone in the summer time.

Great Stay, Great Location, Reservable!

 We stayed at Canyon Campground on our 3rd night in the park. It was great for being in the middle of busy Yellowstone! If you have been on a long journey and are a bit tired of using camp suds in a dry sack for laundry then you should swing by at least for the laundry services. There are over 250 sites available and some are available for reservations. There is a general store and restaurant near by as well. Not the place if you are looking to get away from it all but a nice welcome back to civilization after time in the backcountry. It is pricey for a campground coming in at over $25 per night, but cheaper than area hotels by far! Plus that includes 2 free showers each night. The nearby visitor center has a great exhibit about the volcano that will scare the pants off of you LOL It is a quick jump over to the upper and lower falls and the grand canyon of yellowstone. Great location for those looking to get around the are and see a lot while not always being completely stinky and eating dehydrated food out of baggies :)

Pay showers and laundry along with great views!

excellent view from your tent. Woke up to wildlife and asking through camp. Kids had a blast. Facilities were in great shape and staff was very helpful. Can’t wait to go back.

Absolutely Beautiful 

We truly enjoyed our stay at Canyon Village Campground! First and foremost, they have showers!!! And they're included in your nightly fee. After 5 days of traveling, hiking, and camping, we were very excited to take advantage of the amenities this campground offered.

The campground itself is very large, but the sites are well spaced and provide plenty of privacy nestled among the tall pines. Bathroom facilities were clean and had running water. Bear boxes were provided for each site as well.

We spent several days exploring the area and loved every minute of it! The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is a must see! Lots of wildlife in the area, which is also an added bonus!

Very nice facilities and lots of space!

This campground worked as it was the busy season but was not ideal. The sites were not on even ground but we made it work. It was in a good location for exploring the park.

Decent campground

Yellowstone is a huge national park, so it is to your advantage to be centrally located. Canyon campgrounds give you easy access to all parts of the park without having to change campsites. It is a large campground, with clean and handy laundry and shower facilities. The sites are wooded and spread across several loops. The highly informative visitor's center is in a complex of shops, restaurants, and post office. Everything you need is right there, and the employees of the park are helpful and friendly. From Canyon, you have easy access to both Hayden and Lamar Valleys, which are prime wildlife viewing areas. You can also easily get to the thermal areas, as well as the stunningly beautiful Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone waterfalls. There are countless hikes, long and short, throughout the park. Canyon is my go-to campground whenever I am at Yellowstone!

Ideally located within Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone is an enormously vast park. Exploring the many valleys, geysers, and sights can mean hours of driving. This was our second trip to Yellowstone; the first time we stayed in Grant Village. We found the location far more suitable as a single base camp for exploring Yellowstone to the north, south, east and west.

Canyin Village has a service station with gas, a cafeteria style restaurant, as well as a diner style restaurant, a visitor center, gift shops, and a small grocery store. The grocery provisions are minimal, and not too overly priced, considering... Campers probably won’t want to rely on the grocery and should come well stocked. Having said this, Yellowstone at large is one of the few locations where we tend to grab a bite out at least as often as we cook. This is mostly due to the vastness of the park and the unlikelihood of making back to camp at a reasonable time to cook. The early evening is also some of the best opportunities to see the otherwise crowded out destinations. The campground has a large laundromat and showers. 2 showers per site, per night come for free. Once admitted to the shower, there is no time limit. Ice and firewood are both available at the laundromat. Each campground loop has one or two plumbed bathrooms, and one of those bathrooms has a lovely dishwashing sink.

Like all the Yellowstone reservable campgrounds, campers are advised to reserve early and are not able to select their sites. The sites are assigned upon arrival. Yellowstone only guarantees space for a 12X12 tent for tent sites, but many sites can accommodate larger tents. We used a 10X14 without any problems. Some of the campsites are fairly crowded. The one assigned to us was directly behind the bathroom so we had the joy of hearing every flush and stall door open and close. I did find that cranking that bathroom windows shut helped a lot. Unfortunately, our neighbor across the way felt it was appropriate to march through our site in the middle of the night to make a faster trip to the bathroom. And the crowded nature meant we heard our other neighbor’s baby crying periodically throughout the night (I felt for them because they felt awful the noise but no one can tell a baby not to cry). Unless you luck out with a great perimeter site, or super quiet neighbors, the noise is just part of camping here. I would have liked to choose our site and would love for Xanterra to work this detail out for the campers. And yet it still beats the first-come first-serve campgrounds throughout the park that actually fill up by 8:30 on weekdays throughout July. And those campgrounds don’t have showers.

Oh, and we did have a bear visit us one morning. It left everyone alone and ambled onward and away. Follow those bear rules!

Centrally located base camp to explore Yellowstone

Great location, showers are here! Only problem is the the entire side of the grand canyon on the yellowstone.....not accessible. Kind of a bummer. We were right next to the bathrooms. They really should let you pick you site. Sites are assigned at random.

Great central location

Great central location and awesome that you can reserve these sites ahead of time.  I love Grant more because it’s on the lake but Canyon is a bit more central.  I try to split my time between them so I can take in each area around each campground.  You can buy internet at the lodge if needed and there is a great shop as well.

Camping in Wonderland

We stayed at quite a few and this might be the worst. People were leaving it was so bad. Why dont they let you pick your site?? Hot showers and close to all the action but that is about it. Too bad most of the canyon area hikes are closed do to the canyon collapsing in a bit. Still epic!

Might be the best in yellowstone

When you make a reservation at Canyon, you do so for a site which is then assigned to you by park staff. You are not told of your site number until 11 am of the day you are to arrive. It was explained to us that this is to prevent people from pushing out those in the site you wish to occupy too early. This campground is HUGE (275 sites in 10 loops)! Since we were assigned to Loop A, we never saw how big it actually was. We had a pleasant stay here for one night (could only make a reservation for one night ANY of the park campgrounds back in March). The bathrooms were clean. Every loop except ours had a dishwashing sink; we were instructed to walk to another loop by the person who checked us in but once in our loop, there was a sign telling us to dump dishwater in the toilet. Since I use very little water when washing dishes, this worked out fine. The one thing that this campground had that differs from every other national park campground we’ve been in is that they have showers (one per person) and laundry facilities. We wanted to get an early start the next morning, so we did not take advantage of either service, but it was good to know. What I appreciated most was the recycling program that included just about everything (except 3-7 plastics), including small propane canisters.

Central location within Yellowstone 

We enjoyed our two night tent stay. Facility was clean. Bathrooms nearby, shower and laundry at check in building. Crowded campground but plenty or room at our site. Nice place to stay inside Yellowstone National Park. 

Lovely spot 

Loved this campground--excellent location close to the stunning Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Showers, flush toilets, steps away from a camp store, visitor center and restaurant. Of all the awe-inspiring sights in Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon remains my favorite, and I'm glad I was staying close enough to run out and watch the sun set on the falls.

Lots of amenities

This campground was nice, had flush toilets, a place to wash dishes, and water. There was no tent pads, had picnic tables, and a bear box. As expected with a big park there are lots of camper around, luckily most people respected the quiet hours.

Clean, Close by others

I spend my 30th birthday here in July 2020. It had flush toilets, but the showers were not available due to Covid. While I’m happy I visited Yellowstone as a whole, I really prefer to have my privacy and that “in the wilderness” feeling. The area is very touristy! There’s a gas station right next to the campgrounds, as well as a restaurant, general store, and gifted area. Ideal for families with young children. Beautiful canyon views very close by with a stunning waterfall! There is sparse trees but enough for hammock people. 

A bit over developed for my tase, but amazing none the less! 

We stayed in the summer of 2020.  It rained almost the entire time at night but we stayed dry.  Was also in 30's overnight.  Make the trip it is worth it.  Recommend a screened tent structure for dinner eating on the provided picnic table.  Mosquitoes will carry you off.

Nice developed camp site.

Clean bathrooms, hot showers, laundry facilities and a dump station were all great during our fall stay. 

The central location is a great jumping off point for the rest of the park, though your neighbors are a little close as you would expect in a NP campground. 

Clean & Convenient!

Went horseback riding in the backlands. 

Yellowstone was awesome! Great views even from touristy spots not on a trail. So many animals/wildlife!

In. Credible. 

We stayed in two different sites here. I171 and our second one was K242. I would have done research and requested specific numbers looking back, as I think Yellowstone would have tried to get us the right sites. We had a campervan and pop up tent. We stayed here on a Friday and a Sunday. We thought it seemed like all sites had a lot of shade. 

I171 was a better site. We were less close to neighbors and had a bear box. The site was huge and clean. We had some people using generators outside of appropriate hours.

K242 did not have a bear box and we were really tight next to neighbors including a huge family who left a bunch of food and stuff out when they weren’t at the site. We got eaten ALIVE by mosquitos at this site (not a single bite at the other Canyon site, no idea why). It was so bad we put of the fire and spent the evening inside the van.

Besides the idiots you will encounter anywhere, staff was really nice and the facilities were well maintained. We did think we would get showers at the campsite because we booked really far in advance and they are currently closed (June 2021). Luckily we have an outdoor shower on the van, but this would have been a big deal if not. 

There is a dump site and water fill up as you exit which is really convenient.

Pro Tip: If you are going with a van or small RV and say you are not using a tent, they’ll likely put you in a really small, tight campsite in the inner ring. Instead, select the right vehicle length and say you are bringing a tent. We brought a pop-up canopy because we weren’t sure if our site would have shade and booked a tent/19 foot spot. We were given a bigger spot because of this I think.

Also note every day we checked in after 1PM there we’re walk in people who got sites which I have NO IDEA how. The sign outside the campground said “full.” I wouldn’t bank on this, but I was surprised.

Pictures from I171. 

Some sites better than others

We stayed at Canyon Campground in Yellowstone on 6/11/21 during our visit to Yellowstone. Great location next to Canyon Village and real close to Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Nice camp site. Dry camping with dump station on site. We stayed in J189. Would stay here again.

Perfect Location

Sites are good size and relatively private. Not totally level but that helped w runoff.  Showers were closed due to COVID but other facilities were well maintained. Canyon is good central location in the park and great for Hayden Valley and Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  

Good Campground

It’s a campground , but a nice one. Lots of kids running around but as you will see in the morning it’s quite and beautiful. 


Wake up to the wild 

**There is no walk-in reservation access this year for YNP camping. One must have advance reservations.**

Canyon has intermittent &amp; spotty cell connection. Canyon, like Old Faithful, is a prime location within the park and has amenities like showers  (not during Covid) &amp; access to a well operated cafeteria and visitor center.

If you are tenting, try to avoid loop A for certain--- and possible loop B.

For RV people you must reserve in advance the length of vehicle you are pulling.

For tent people, it is best to reserve a "large tent" space even if you do not have a large size tent. You will achieve a more versatile site.

Many sites are not level, but if you arrive early in the day the campground office personnel will work with you to achieve a better site if possible.

Most large tent sites will stand 2 tents. Reserve accordingly if you have 2 cars…and the length of your cars. They need details. Bathrooms are serviced often and are in good condition. 

**wifi hint**:  At Canyon campground the best wifi is located at the nearby gas station parking lot.

Canyon Village Campground- great location within YNP

Stayed 4 nights at Canyon Campground tent only loop B. We used it as a base to explore the park. Most other tent campers only stay 1 or 2 nights.  While this is definitely the cheapest way to stay inside the park there are some MAJOR cons. 
1. All the sites are right on top of each other and there is no privacy at all. 
2. Loop B (where they seem to stick single small-medium tents) is literally off the registration/laundry/shower/Recycling/garbage/dump station.  (Read more below about specific sights in loop B)
3. Because it’s Yellowstone all types come here—including people who have absolutely no clue about camp etiquette. (We were woken up two of the four nights because two different people in the loop behind us decided to use their car lights to set up or (no clue what the others were doing) their sites—we’re talking 1 am car lights shining directly into the tents or ignoring rules about locking all food related items (containers and grills) away when not in use. 
4. Related—Guests can check in whenever—like at 1 am
5. You’re right off the exit of North Rim Drive. (Some of the sights in loop b back up to the road). It is heavily traveled. Also there are rivets in the road to warn people to stop near by—at about 6 am you wake up to construction crews, workers, and guests driving over them. 

The positives: restrooms were clean, but by the first week of September half of them were closed despite the loop being full.  

LOOP B SITES to avoid: 31, 32, 33, 34.  These literally overlook the RV parking lot for the registration/garbage facilities. (Pics below)

Tent only loops—some major cons

Personal bear proof food box, dishwashing sink by the bathroom which had some recycling as well, clean bathroom, super close to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

In the Wood Feeling

The campground is large and very well maintained. Excellent restrooms, clean water, close the Canyon facilities. 

Beautifully forested large campground 

I loved this campground. The bathrooms are clean; there were 2 in my loop. There is a main shower house for the whole campground- most people drove to it, myself included- I was in the very last loop. I’m a tent camper who booked an RV site so the site wasn’t that level for a tent but I made it work. The campground staff were very nice and on top of things. Bear boxes for each site. 

Well run campground! 

This campsite was beautiful.

The sites are spread out and spread between the trees.  Even with every site full, you still have space.

Every site has a fire ring and a bear box.  Each loop has its own restrooms and dish wash station.  Each loop is farther back from the main road and the overall campground is large.

The check in building also has laundry and showers.  You get a punch card when you check in that gives you one free shower per person per day for your stay, and additional can be purchased.  This building also sells ice, firewood, and other essentials.  

Several gift shops, food options (gasp), and a gas station are just across or down the main road from checkin.

At checkin we were told there were less bear sightings as some of the other campgrounds in the park.  They still have a bear policy that says no scents outside of hard sided vehicles or bear box.  We were told the rangers are more likely to give you trouble for breaking the policy than the bears were, and while bear spray was recommended, it would not save you from a ticket from the rangers.   

Quiet hours begin at 8pm, after which rvs cannot run their generators.  The rangers actually drive around and enforce this, which is wonderful!  

I would recommend making sure you have enough gas to get you out of the park to the nearest town.  While there are several 24 hour pumps in the park including one right near the campground, the entire park lost power during our visit, and none of the gas pumps worked on the day we were leaving.

Also if you have T-mobile, there is coverage for emergency calls only in this part of the park.

Yellowstone

This is probably the nicest national park campground we have been too so far. Sites were large and with good tree coverage provided shade and some privacy. Each loop has restroom and dish was station and each site has its own bear box. The main building can be further away but has laundry and showers. This is the perfect place from where to visit the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" but it could also be use as your base to visit all or most of Yellowstone.

Perfect central location to visit Yellowstone

This place was great! Very peaceful and quiet. Not super private but a lot of trees for shade and privacy. Easy access to Lamar valley and Yellowstone Grand Canyon. 

Showers are included and are awesome. Very clean and hot water. Great laundry and you can buy a cup of coffee that has free refills. People who work at the campground are very nice and helpful. 