Eagle Creek Campground

 Eagle Creek is a USFS campground just about 5 miles outside of the eastern entrance of Yellowstone. It’s a first come first served campground, and we were easily able to get a spot on a Friday afternoon. It’s $15/night, self pay. 

It’s quiet and peaceful, and though the sites are close together, they are configured in a way that you feel like you have some privacy, at least we felt that in #9.

#9 also has a little walkway to the river with your own tiny private beach. There is road noise, but it’s not bothersome, maybe because of the dense trees and the sound of the river. The campground is split into two separate loops, with #1-10 to the right as you enter, and #11-21 to the left. On the left side loop there is also a paved walkway along the riverbed that might be suitable for wheelchairs. 

Host on site, unisex handicap accessible vault toilets, and dumpsters. Hand pumped water. Each site has a bear box, fire pit, and picnic table. 

No tent camping allowed here due to bear activity. Hard sided campers only. Keep your food and anything that smells like food inside!!

 16 day stay limit. There’s a day use area, appears to be free. There is hiking across the highway, appears to be frequently used for horses. No cell service.

When it comes to Yellowstone camping can be difficult unless you plan far in advance and prices can soar in the summer months.   For those wanting a little better price points and convenient access to the northern most entrance visiting the Gallatin National Forest is a great option for finding that perfect location and still maintaining access.

I visited this area and was very impressed with the campground and the spacing it provided.   But more importantly I was happy to see that unlike the Yellowstone campgrounds which lack cell signal, at this location I was able to utilize my services through AT&T.    Sure that might not be something everyone considers when traveling, but when you work remotely being able to access the internet through my cell phone is very important.  I had been in the park for several days so stopping here was a good catch up opportunity.

The sites were each well spaced and offered a soft grassy pad for my tent when staying, unlike the darkened dry grassy lands around.   It was almost as though this location was an oasis, despite having no services.

Each sight provides a bear box, picnic table and fire ring, overall very standard for this area.    Additionally there were basic vault toilets which were very well maintained.  One person at the campground actually joked about that being a great hiding place should a bear enter camp...lol

Camping at this location has a 16 night limit and sites are only $7 per night, which is $20 less expensive than the closest Yellowstone campground.  Similar rules apply to this campground as others in the area.   There are no trash services so you have to pack in and out all of your trash.   Generators can be use throughout the camp during certain hours and there are fire restrictions during certain conditions and times (posted on the entry kiosk).   This is an honor system campground with a pay box at the entry, however I did notice it was patrolled at least once nightly by area Forest Service, unlike the pull off sites just beyond camp.

TIPS:

• If you need anything you can stop off just before turning onto the road at any number of stores, shops or restaurants in the low laying community.
• If you need high speed WIFI Subway in the local community has the best access for free.
• West Entrance allows you to split to to east which is where you will spot more wildlife versus the Western side of the park where you will find more of the geothermal features.

A small, clean campground. Just a few minutes up the hill from Gardiner. 15+ campspots. Vault toilets, fire rings, picnic tables. Many spots on grass for comfy tent camping and some with big spots that will fit RVs. Upper part of the campground was very open. It was full of campers with their horse trailers as there are several trails around the campground. Eagle Creek runs along one side of the campground providing the only trees in the campground. 2 campspots tucked in the trees, the rest in the open. $7 per night as of May 2018.

We stopped there after a week of Yellowstone action arriving the Friday morning of the Memorial Day weekend with plans to resupply our little trailer, do some laundry, and get a proper shower just down the hill in Gardiner. A few spots were open. By early afternoon the camp was full. We spent Friday afternoon relaxing, reading, and watching the ridgeline above the campground for the occasional Bison that would pop up. Friday evening was a bit chaotic with the steady stream of vehicles pulling through the grounds looking for a place to camp. We spent part of Saturday resupplying at the grocery store and doing laundry in town. The laundrymat had 3 pay showers. $5 for 10min. While that may seem like a lot of money. When you have a weeks worth of camp stink on you, it’s totally worth it.

While the campground itself is not much to write home about, it’s proximity to Gardiner and the North entrance to Yellowstone made it a great place to stop for a resupply. If we find ourselves back in Gardiner, I would stay there again.

Campground review: This is a small, clean campground very close to Gardiner, MT. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table, and sites are level and grassy so tent camping is comfortable. The campground is open and free of snow quite early in the spring, providing a camping option about a 15 minute drive from the north entrance to Yellowstone Park. The campground is up an all-weather gravel road just outside Gardiner, MT, which offers a grocery store, Yellowstone Forever Educational store (which sells bear spray), and cold beer. Be aware that every time I've camped at Eagle Creek CG, there have been several bison that wander through camp as they graze and rub their heads on the picnic tables. Give them room; they can be dangerous animals. They do usually leave around sundown.

Product review: As a Ranger, I was offered the chance to test the Women's Rogue Hoodie made by Showers Pass. Opinions and delight expressed are strictly my own! I absolutely love this jacket; it's amazingly well engineered in the small details (the zipper pull is easy to use while riding with its rough texture, the hood fits over a helmet but can be cinched to fit well without, and the zipper color has just enough contrast to look sharp). This weatherproof, breathable jacket is ideal for cycling as it's cut longer in the back and includes a back pocket. There are wrist gaiters with thumb loops for cool weather riding, and the sleeves were long enough when leaning over handlebars, but can be snapped to keep them wrist length for street wear. The reflective trim increased visibility tremendously. I chose the chili pepper red jacket for maximum visibility when riding shoulder-less roads in Wyoming; the jacket is also available in black and dark indigo. I highly recommend the Rogue Hoodie for cycling, hiking, and street wear.

My buddies and I stayed here in the summer of 2015. My friends hadn't done much camping, so I decided to bring them here. We enjoyed hanging by the fire, and swimming in the lake. We got some pretty cool pictures from my go pro at night by the water. They do have some cabins you can stay in, but this trip was a little last minute so we chose to use the tent only campsites. The campsite was great, had a fire pit and a picnic table. We had plenty of room between our site and our neighbors site which was appreciated. We got up early one morning and did some hiking and then we fished in the lake in the evening. We didn't catch anything, but still enjoyed our time. Nearby there is North Fork river and is really close to Yellowstone park (which is where we did our hiking). The rangers at the park were extremely nice and helpful. They directed us to our campsite and gave us recommendations on hikes nearby. They also warned us about bears and other wildlife. Make sure if you are camping to lock away your food. We left our food in the car so bears or other animals would rummage through it. Overall, we had a great time and they had a good camping experience. I recommend coming here because there is a lot of great outdoor activities for everyone!