Madison Campground, near [Yellowstone National Park](https://thedyrt.com/camping/wyoming/near/yellowstone-national-park), is a prime location for those looking to immerse themselves in the beauty of the park. This campground is popular for its proximity to stunning scenery, rivers, and abundant wildlife, including the occasional bison wandering through the area.

The campground offers a range of amenities, including clean restrooms and a small store for essentials like ice and firewood. Visitors appreciate the friendly staff and the well-maintained facilities, making it a comfortable place to stay. As one camper noted, “The campground and restrooms were super clean all the time.”

For outdoor activities, Madison Campground is a great base for hiking and fishing, with easy access to trails and the picturesque Madison River. The setting is beautiful, especially at sunset, and many campers enjoy the peaceful atmosphere despite the campground being quite busy. Just be prepared for close quarters with your neighbors, as the sites are fairly close together.

While there are no showers on-site, the campground does provide bear boxes for food storage and a designated dishwashing area. If you're looking for a spot to camp in Yellowstone, Madison Campground is a convenient choice that puts you right in the heart of the action.

Madison Campgroundelevation 6,800 feet (2073 m)sits about 14 miles east from the town of West Yellowstone and 16 miles north of Old Faithful. Nearby, the Gibbon and Firehole rivers join to form the Madison River. In early summer, meadows teem with wildflowers and bison. In September and October, you can often hear bugling elk. Yellowstone National Park Lodges provides reservations for this campground.

Madison Campground — Yellowstone National Park

Whether you're a tent camper, an RVer, or just passing through, West Yellowstone, MT has a lot to offer. There's so much to see and do, from exhilarating hikes or bike rides to exploring the local dining and shopping. Find the best campgrounds near West Yellowstone, MT. Read helpful reviews and tips to find the perfect camping option for you and your crew.

West Yellowstone

The Best Camping Near West Yellowstone, Montana

We ended up at this campground by mistake after a mix up with the park's reservation system. It was a pleasant surprise though, because the campground is great. Very quiet, nice, clean bathrooms, and a lovely lake closeby where you can swim. I'd recommend it.

Nice surprise

I have been to this campground twice and both times it was fantastic.  Very clean and well maintained.  Everyone was friendly and easy going.  Both times I went have been in early June/Late May, both times I got snowed on, but that is Yellowstone for you.  The section I was in had mostly RVs and I was the only tent.  Everyone was relatively pleasant, but the first time a RV group stole our firewood...which we needed to cook dinner.  Luckily enough another group was kind enough to let us have theirs since they were leaving.  It is close to everything with nice facilities.  Note that Yellowstone is wild so do be surprised if a Buffalo or elk wanders through.  My first time a buffalo went on a bit of a rampage, but no one was hurt.  Overall nothing can mar a trip to Yellowstone except maybe stupid people.  I would highly recommend this campground for anyone going to Yellowstone.  

Advice would be to bring a towel since the sinks only have air dryers.  Also bring some gloves for washing dishes since they do not have hot water outside of the washing hut.  There are no showers at this campground, but there are some pay showers on the other end of the park.  I personally like to stay on the outer loops since you don't have as many neighbors, but both sides of the road are very nice.  One of the main roads is very close to the campground so you will hear some road noise in the early evening.  That tails out the later it gets.  Also there are bear boxes, but the range had told us that if you keep all food/smelly things in a cooler or sealed container then you can keep it in your trunk.  We had no issues, but please clean up after.  The rangers check every night before sundown that everyone is putting away their food.  They can ticket you if you don't.

Great place to listen for wildlife at night.  I heard coyotes, frogs, and the resident wolf pack on multiple nights which was fantastic!  I can never get tired of going to Yellowstone and camping is the best way to really enjoy nature. Going in the off season is the best in my humble opinion.  Less crowded and no issues getting a spot to camp.  Also it means you might be the only person there watching Old Faithful or on a trail!

Fantastic Campground in the Off Season

Reserved a different campground on the other side of the park over the phone, then when I got there, found out they had overbooked and they found me a spot here. Drove back around and got a site. 

The site wasn't very level, and was in the RV section of the park. We set up on the only marginally flat part of the site, and tried to sleep. Unfortunately there were generators running all night, taking most of the pleasure out of camping for us. 

The next day there was a thunderstorm while we were across the park and the neighboring sites emptied into ours...putting our tent in about 9 inches of water. We checked out two days early, and the ranger there told us we should never have been given that site to tent in, as it's known to have drainage problems. She refunded our entire stay, which is why the campground gets 3 stars. 

Other than our site-specific problems, the sites are all really close together, though mostly wooded, and family-friendly. I'd try it again with a different site. 

Should have reserved online. 

Our family of four camped four nights and never ran out of things to do. Campgrounds were well maintained. Shared bear boxes were provided and pretty well respected by fellow campers. We had no bear encounters during our stay. No showers, but pay showers exist nearby. Our kiddos spent hours wading and playing in the shallow river that runs by the edge of the campground. They also enjoyed earning their Junior Ranger Badges. Ranger led  talks at night are worth your time. There is plenty to keep you busy within walking distance from this campground, and other Yellowstone attractions are just a drive away. 

Family Fun by River

I've been here a couple times and it it absolutely wonderful. This site is located in the west side of Yellowstone. It is a little expensive for 25 dollars. It was worth it for the views. Not too far from the site was Madison River which was shallow and was the main supply of water for campers. The down side is that the sites are really close together so you don't get much privacy. At night there are a lot of insects. for Firewood you just need to pick it up off the floor. You don't need to buy firewood because it is scattered all over the campground. at night it is very quiet and the sky lights up like a natural nightlight. This site is very popular and fills up very quickly so you should make  reservations. In the morning I recommend the drive to old faithful and watch the eruption. i also recommend going to Grand Prismatic Springs. This Campground is well worth the money.

So beautiful.

This campsite has no privacy! However I don't mind very much everyone around was super nice and people gave us free wood when they were leaving! I did like the campground, the bathrooms are very nice and nice place to wash dishes next to bathroom. Also there is a hot spring spot near the campground just a 5 minute walk and a nice river. 

Campground sites very close 

The campground is nicely arranged with each looped road designated for different sizes of tents and trailers/motor homes. I camped one night with a small tent. The sites are very big/spacious. Bathrooms are clean. 
Just behind the campground is the Madison River which is fed by hot springs. In the morning steam comes off the river.  There is also an amphitheater for nightly presentations about the park, such as geological history. 

Very Pleasant

We stayed here one night as the first stop after driving from Washington. We arrived around 9:30pm, and instead of checking in we had an envelope with directions to our campsite and instructions to check in the next morning. Pretty convenient!

The sites itself are pretty dismal: there are relatively few trees in this campground and the sites are pretty packed together without separation. We didn't have a distinct tent pad either, rather just a mostly flat area near the firepit and picnic table, and the ground was tough to drive stakes into. The facilities are fine, nothing fancy, and include a dishwashing alcove, which is a nice feature (made important by bears). There weren't any trash dumpsters near the campground, but further down the road and meant for dropping off on your way out.

The location is the best part of the campground. In addition to the beautiful scenery just steps away along the Madison river across from National Park Mountain, this campground is near all the major thermal areas of the park, just a short drive away from Norris, Fountain, and Old Faithful. It's also relatively close to "civilization" in West Yellowstone.

Zero separation between sites

This is another large site in Yellowstone, it's busy but nothing like the Grant Village.
I think you're actually much closer to all the "main" attractions and it's a great spot to head off to some wonderful hiking area.

You're just around the corner from grand prismatic and old faithful (but you really should do the geyser walking trails if you can as there are tons of geysers with little to no one else out there with you as they go off)

Facilities are nice and clean with running water and flush toilets.

Does have some excellent tree coverage to help separate out the sites and make you feel a little more secluded than you actually are.

Try and get a site not too close to the main road (although at night there really isn't much traffic)

Close to everything and less busy

Was there is middle of may . Place was full. Lots of generators running. Bathrooms were very clean.

Madison campground Yellowstone 

This campground accepts reservations, as well as, has first come, first served camp sites. There are toilets, and bear boxes, as this is bear country. This campground is really busy, but there are trees

Nice with trees

This campground is located on the west side of Yellowstone, north of Old Faithful. The campground staff was friendly and check in was fairly easy. We arrived late in the evening due to bison on the road as we traveled through the park and still managed to find our site and get set up with minimal trouble. The nearest bathroom was closed for maintenance, which meant we had to walk a significant distance compared to what we had expected. The campground was full and felt crowded, the sites are not large so it felt like we were very close with our neighbors. Everyone was very friendly and respectful of quiet hours and the crowded feel was just a minor concern. The site was beautiful and we saw wildlife in and around the campground, which was cool. I would consider this campground again if I travel back to Yellowstone in the future.

Comfortable but crowded

Madison is close to all the attractions and wildlife that West Yellowstone has to offer. Camping sites can be easily reserved early mornings and the areas are pretty close to bathrooms (really good ones, I must say, compared to other public restrooms within the park). No place for showering, though, and anti-bear storage boxes have to be shared with other sites, so it can be tricky if you have lots of food to store.

Great base to see West Yellowstone!

We camped here for one night in May.  We were out exploring Yellowstone all day on a Saturday in May. SInce it was still early in the summer season, this was one of the few campsites open in the park that still had availability. Fortunately for us, we got one of the last tent sites for Saturday night. The campground has lots of trees but as others have mentioned be prepared to see and meet your campground neighbors. It was rainy but the trees protected us. Also this was one of the coldest camping nights on our trip. The campground is at 6000 feet of elevation. We could see our breath while setting up camp in the evening. The toilets and running water were a nice amenity and the facilities were clean. There is also a separate dishwashing station with running water. The campground is in a great location right off the main road so after we packed up camp on the morning we headed out and continued exploring Yellowstone. 

Lucky Last Site

This was a large campground. Nothing particularly special about it but flush toilets and a close overnight to have easy access to the thermal region of the park. I mean it’s Yellowstone National Park so that in and of itself makes it an awesome place but the campground was just a typical campground. Don’t take this review as bad, I’ve just stayed in some really cool campgrounds!

A place to sleep

We have stayed at several Yellowstone campgrounds and this was one of the best.

Nice campground in the park

Definitely make a reservation before you come! Perfect location to explore an area of Yellowstone. If spending significant time in Yellowstone only stay here a day or so and then choose another campsite to get the most of area. Things in Yellowstone are pretty spread out, but don't fret they have gas stations inside the park

Popular site- Book in advance!

huge space, and dedicated areas for tents and rv's. they have shared bear boxes for food, bathrooms, and a dishes area. fly fishing only on the Madison River. check in can take over an hour tho.

Madison Campground - Yellowstone

We camped in the tent only section. There is a nice spot to swim in the river just across the road from the tent only area, as well as fields where we could see a few Elk grazing. This campground was kind of equidistant to many of the areas we wanted to visit. Real bathrooms nearby, but you have to go to a few select places in Yellowstone to buy a shower. But hey, it's Yellowstone, I didn't care too much about that. Can't wait to go back!

It's Yellowstone! 

The title might detract a bit from how nice this campground is, but, I've always been saved by Madison when the park is busy and I need a camping spot. It is one of the largest campgrounds, and has one of the longest seasons. It is centrally located and offers some pretty hikes after you've returned to camp for dinner. There are often elk and buffalo a short drive away in the evenings.

Old dependable

Madison is a fantastic campground in Yellowstone. Out of the 3 we stayed in, Madison had the most space between campers. There is a fly fishing spot right out of the campgrounds. They don’t have showers or laundry facilities, but we didn’t mind. There is an RV dump station as will as a water fill. Sites were pretty flat too. This is a great spot close to many of the park’s geysers. I would stay 2 nights here next time to allow time to explore more of that side of the park.

Beautiful Quiet Madison

Great campsite, if it only had showers! Great washroom for dishes and the ranger led program at night was great. Can hear the Madison pack of wolves at night too!

Spacious and solid wash room and bathrooms

No too much to say about this campground. No showers, no electrical. Small sites.

No electrical.  Small sites

We camped here the beginning of August. It was crowded but the bathrooms were clean which was great for camping multiple nights.

Clean bathrooms

The staff at check in were friendly and helpful. The camp sites are pretty close together and can accommodate tents, small and large camper trailers. There are bathrooms, dish washing area, picnic table and shared bear boxes available for food storage. There is an amphitheater a short hike away from the camp site where a commentary is given by park rangers at 9pm every night. A small store is on site stocked with bear spray, blankets, food items and first aid supplies. This is one of the only camp sites in Yellowstone Park that can be reserved in advance.

Campground by the mountain 

Madison is a nice campground.  Our tent site was kind of on an incline.  Only downside is its fairly busy, however I don’t think there is really anyway around this in Yellowstone.

Decent campground

This campground is located near the west entrance and is great for just getting into Yellowstone.  Its not my favorite but at least you can reserve it and have a place to lay your head.  I think because I enjoy the other campgrounds so much I have a hard time giving it a chance.  

A good start...

Great site with a great ampitheater and ranger program. Where are the showers? Why cant I pick my own site? Questions I have for Yellowstone

Great site in a great area but no showers

Yellowstone is always crowded, so we reserved in advance. We enjoyed our stay here – saw lots of elk and bison. Our site was fairly small, but provided what we needed – a place for our car, our tent, and the hammock!

Nice, Basic Campground in Yellowstone

Camped here for two nights, fishing access a short walk down the bank. Three bison lumbered through our camp shortly after dinner! It hailed on us in late May and rained pretty consistently but the campground was great! Friendly staff upfront.

Pretty and good chance of wildlife!

We had a herd of buffalo walk through our campsite while we were here which we were told is not an uncommon occurrence. The nearby river is beautiful and brings various critters as well. Campsites are located close enough to the main road yet does not feel that way. 

Wildlife magnet

One of the best places in the world. Hikes, driving, bison, elk. A place to camp, what else could campers want? We love the little drives that are less than 5 minutes away. We just slept in the car and parked in a visitor spot, but the campground is beautiful and very full. We were 3 months a little too late to get a spot. Make reservations! The drive we did is the loop that’s just around the corner and is absolutely beautiful. 

ITS YELLOWSTONE

What a fantastic campground. The large tent sites are open enough for kids to run around, and doesnt leave you feeing cramped. Wildlife, bears, bison, all nestled along the beautiful banks of the Madison River. Oh, also they have large bear boxes, which make food storage easy. I would live here if they let me!

Fantastic

Crowded, run down bathrooms, no showers, shitty air quality, and we were eaten alive by mosquitos in late June.  We did enjoy chatting with Oli the park ranger, at check-in and the camp store was good.

Madison Campground is a huge campground with 278 site, needless to say you will not be camping alone here, or with much privacy. The campground is set amongst lodge pole pines. While this is a large campground the sites are decently sized and not right on top of each other, but close. We had a quiet stay, but with the size of this campground your odds of that one loud group or family being near will be quiet high. Allow yourself plenty of time to check-in, as the process will be quite slow if numerous campers show up at the same time. The campground appears to have two heated restrooms per loop, with a dish washing station at them. You will not have to throw out much trash during your visit, the campground has a large recycling area, including compost. You can recycle type 1&amp; 2 plastic, cardboard, aluminum&amp; steel cans, glass bottles and camp stove fuel bottles. The campground roads are all paved as are the parking pads. Each site has a picnic table and metal fire ring. Bear food lockers are located through out the campground, but you might need to share with fellow campers as each site does not have their own. Of the 278 site, 62 are tent only and there are 3 group sites. Cost to camp is$28 per night. The price is a little steep, but this campground has the advantage of being fairly centrally located to most of the top attractions in the park, plus you are only 15 miles away from West Yellowstone where you can stock up on everything you might need.

Huge, crowded but centrally located 

Loved the location because we could easily access most sites of interests. a little scare at check-in when we were told we had different size campsites than we had reserved in spite of confirming our reservations just a few days before we arrived. I don't know where the glitch was but our three sites worked out well.  We were assigned sites nearby one another and the sites adequately accommodated our equipment (a 27 ft trailer with slide on #D153, a pop-up on #156 and two tents on 140).  Sites were roomy and backed up to a common area.   We pulled in backwards to D153 so our door faced picnic table. We learned that you must have printed tickets for all Xanterra reserved tours.  We were supposed to receive these tickets at check-in however we did not receive our tickets.  Happened to learn about this when trying to add to our reservations.  Near disaappointment luckily averted. Make sure you get your Xanterra tickets printed when you check-in!  Did not use bathrooms but plentiful and conveniently located. Great, spacious bear boxes. Nice dish washing stations.Two great rivers nearby for fishing and watching sunsets. Loved nearby Fire Canyon road, which offered good fishing and a swimming hole! Great evening ranger programs. Great place to do the Jr. Ranger program.  Ice, drinks, snacks available for sale at campground.  Good recycle program.

Great location for touring Yellowstone

Yellowstone is quite the hot ticket for camping and depending on what you are wanting to do there are several major campgrounds which might appeal to your needs.    When entering the Western most entrance one of the best locations to stop and unhitch or set up for your adventure is Madison Campground located just a few short miles inside the entrance.   

  

I stopped in here to check out the area and also enjoy a little rest and was very impressed by how large the campground was but how homey it really felt.   There are several loops in this campground which allow for hundreds of campers, but with all these campers it remained comfortable and not loud.   This campground does allow generators during certain hours, so it is very common to hear the low hum of these around camp, but the trees and placement of sites seems to make this site still very comfortable.   

  

The loops are all designed for one way traffic, which cuts down on much of the congestion but also on the chaos which could occur from so many options in each loop.    I found that unlike some campgrounds which can become a maze this one was very easy to navigate.

  

The campground has both a general store, which has some of the things which you might have left at home, and also both an ice machine and soda machine.   In addition there is a RV dump station and an amphitheater where they do nightly programs.

  

The bathrooms here have flush toilets and running water but no showers, still very convenient and if you do happen to want to shower after paying for entry you can visit some of the other area campgrounds.

  

The big negative to not only this campground but the park in general is that there is no cellular service or radio, so if you are needing to find out park information which is not listed in the brochure given to you at the gate you will want to do so before coming to the park or stop by one of the information desks located at various park checkpoints.

  

When settling into the campsites there are both pull through. and pull in sites.    I noticed that many of the larger rigs were easily able to fit into the pull through sites and tent campers were scattered throughout.     Bear boxes are provided alongside fire rings and picnic tables.    Fire warnings are always posted on the kiosk at the opening of the campground so make sure you check in and check this out.

  

During summer the rate for a single night is $26 which is around the middle of the price points for campgrounds around Yellowstone.    This is higher than the vault only style campgrounds which makes sense.     But because of the amenities offered this site also fills up quickly so I recommend booking online well in advance of your stay.

  

TIPS:

*   When staying at Madison make sure you take advantage of the river access for which the campground is named.    This area is absolutely beautiful and for those who enjoy fishing, this is an approved fishing area.
*   Make sure to use the dish washing stations located at each of the 14 restrooms, these are great convenient features since no sites have running water.
*   Closest showers are located just outside the park at West Yellowstone or at the Old Faithful Inn within the park.   These are pay showers but you can easily access them without issue.
*   Power Plugs are located in the restroom if you are needing a quick charge or one of the conveniences of home.

Beautiful shaded campground located at West Entrance

Easy to read the map to navigate, they have some pull offs that are hidden. They have restrooms at some pull offs that are easy to get to and even with lots of ppl the lines where not bad 

Best place

Nice campground but there are many sites here. No privacy from one site to another. Scenery is spectacular. Still, Yellowstone is a favorite place and no matter where you stay it’s a win!

A bit close

Drove our little 20ft trailer a long ways to get to this here but Yellowstone will always be worth it! Not many campgrounds to choose from when trailer camping in Yellowstone but we were happy with our choice. Had to book way in advance (as one might assume). We requested a couple spots when booking but did not lucky. We were placed smack dab in the middle of the campground. No privacy and minimal tree coverage. Although the host did place us near the other party we were with. 

This site is in good proximity to many big attractions in the park. We were gone from camp from dawn til dusk so it didn’t really matter what campsite we were in. No showers, bathrooms decently clean (especially for how many campers camp there). Located a short walk from the river. Word of advice; these park rangers and hosts don’t F around. Read the rules and regulations before booking and if you cannot manage to abide by ALL the rules, be prepared to be ticketed or just book campgrounds outside of the park. 

If you can, request the sites at the back of the campground nearest the river but don’t get your hopes up, it’s a gamble. 

Trailer camping in Yellowstone

Beautiful, clean, scenic. Rangers circle to make sure camp's are clean and that campers are not leaving things out that attract wildlife. There is a bear box at every campsite in the tent only section. Bathrooms are clean and close. Super close to most of the gems in yellowstone Fantastic place to camp.

Amazing 

Personally this campground was extremely packed and tightly spaced. There was also minimal tree coverage for shade during hot days. Aside from those few things, this campground is centrally located if you are trying to get to all the various attractions at Yellowstone including Ole Faithful (16mi), Grand Prismatic and Excelsior (10mi) as well as the canyon in north Yellowstone. Shower before arrival otherwise you’ll be traveling to North Yellowstone for showers. 

West Yellowstone Rooftop Camping

We stayed at Madison campground in July 2019. The location is amazing! The Madison and Firehole Rivers converge close to this campground and the views in the valley are stunning! Our campsite was within walking distance to the river. Our site sat in a grove of trees and we had no issues setting up our tent as the ground was level. The campsite was very quiet, we could hear a little road noise from time to time but it wasn’t bothersome.  We were very close to the restrooms as there are two in each loop. Restrooms have running water and a station for washing dishes but the restrooms were not cleaned daily so they could get a little messy. If you are a tent camper, showers inside the park are quite a drive from Madison - either Mammoth or Old Faithful. Camp showers are not allowed in the park. You can drive to West Yellowstone for pay showers in town. 


Beautiful Location 

We were lucky enough to snag a spot at this campground a couple of weeks before our trip when one opened up! It was a great central location and relatively quiet. The lights from the bathrooms were on all night and made sleep a little difficult. 

We only stayed one night because of our travel plans hopping from one place to the next. It was definitely nice having showers and an actual restroom though. Definitely not roughing it. 

The next morning we heard a pack of wolves howling from across the valley. This was pretty incredible! We felt very safe though with so many people, light, and noise. 

I didn't get any great pictures of the campground. But, we got tons of pictures surrounding it...here are just a few. 

Only got to stay one night

It's been 12 years since I stayed a week in Yellowstone and this place still stays in my heart. This will always be the most beautiful place on earth to me. You can stay for a month and still not see everything.

Favorite place.

We stayed here on Saturday and got site 191. 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 Saturday. Our site was huge and had a bear box, fire grate, and picnic table, but had ZERO shade and no trees we could use for hammocks. We were right next to the trail that leads you to the riverside which was nice. You do get a little foot traffic but I didn’t see any sites that really offered a lot of privacy as is typical in national parks.

We were close to the bathrooms which was nice, but not right next to them.

Avoid sites right next to the bathrooms. I think it was 160 or 162 that was absolutely TERRIBLE and had bright light and noise all night from the bathrooms being right next to them. I thought the site next to us #190 looked nice and they had shade.

There are dump sites and water fill ups near the entrance which is convenient. We had a 19 ft van and the pop up canopy, so we were stuck in the RV loop.

Note that third picture is of the river you can walk to from the trail right by our site!

Zero shade!

We stayed here during our visit to Yellowstone on 6/12/21. Right on the Madison River. Great for fishing and relaxing and wild life. Dry camping with dump station on site. We stayed in site A5. We would stay there again.

Beautiful Spot

What can you say? It's Yellowstone where the Fire Hole and Gibbon converge to make the mighty Madison River. Great campsites, clean facilities and easy access to all areas of the park. Fly fishing right outside your door and this is the birthplace of our National Park system. Camp host, employees and rangers are all so helpful and just great to talk to. This is the summertime camping experience. Can't wait to get back!

Camp on the headwater of the Madison!

Great place, we had a wonderfully quiet night here. Plots are spaced well apart so your neighbors don’t bother you. Friendly staff all around. $28 a night and $10 per firewood box. The proximity to the river was great and made for some nice river bathing. Recommended!

Great location close to the river 

Tenting inside Yellowstone was a real treat. Facilities all top notch. Wished our tent site had more tree coverage with the heat, hopefully the conservation efforts including keeping hammock ropes off direct contact help to keep the trees healthy. Hope to return again in the future!

Loved Tenting 

The site is well maintained with a registration area, trash/recycling center, and small supply store for the ground residents. A small lake and large river run alongside the back sites (G and H), but no more than a 10 min walk from any other  site in Madison. Tent set up locations in gravel pit, bear box, park bench style table, and fire pit provided on each site. Multiple bathrooms per loop with potable water, sinks and toilets only. Quiet hours from 10 pm to 6 am make the area lovely to sleep in. We arrived a little last, so the uploaded videos of the lake and site are dark (sorry!). 

Beautiful Lakeside Camping

I didn’t love our spot. It was expensive, over 30 dollars a night, and there wasn’t really any privacy or separation between campsites at all. Maybe if you could pick your site this would be a nice camp but we didn’t have a reservation so we didn’t pick our location 

Crowded

All Restrooms are cleaned. Campground is well-groomed and organized. Park rangers are very respectful 

Good place to camping 

First of all do not expect any internet connection.

After that enjoy good sites, clean bathrooms, and excellent fire pits.

This campground is 14 miles from West Yellowstone-- or "West". Generally in the park you will double the mileage given for time of travel. So, 14 miles away from West means it will take you 30 minutes unless there is a bison jam, etc.

Once you arrive (and if you think of it while making a reservation) you can request a loop. Tent campers prefer the G &amp; H loops while RV people gather in the others. It's worth trying to state a preference. The H loop is nearest the Madison River. Both G &amp; H are largely shaded although this is not true for 292, 272, 273, 274. 

276-286 are best in G loop. There really are no bad sites in Loops G &amp; H other than the four above.

For the past decade I have camped in Madison each June.

Wildlife tip: If you want to see wildlife in YNP visit the park in late May to mid June--- otherwise the mammals go up into the high country for the hot days of summer and effectively vanish for most visitors. In the Lamar Valley they'll stay through June.

Yellowstone camping at it's best - Madison

Just be cautious about gas, despite being the first Campground you see...no gas station. Otherwise a great place to stay 

Clean and shady

Huge Campground at Madison Junction in center of Yosemite Park.  Great home base for a few days exploring park.  Mammoth Area is ~1 hour north, Norris is ~20 mins north, and Old Faithful ~30 mins south.

Central Yellowstone Base

You can walk down to the river where we hung out with the Bison, and its close to the geyser basins. Less facilities than some of the other park campgrounds.

Yellowstone by the river

Call for reservations! We were struggling to find a spot this past weekend and secured the last pullthru spot by calling from weak service at Grants.  

  

Campground has no gas but the bathrooms are clean (and warm!), dishwashing station is great, water and dump station. It's alongside a gorgeous river valley for lovely walks and it's very quiet.

  

Quiet hours 8pm-8am. No hookups. Plentiful shade.

No gas but great location

Campground is large and busy but it has a great location.  We had a wooded site, which was nice.  The bathrooms were clean, large and heated, which was nice.  We walked our dogs around the campground since you can’t really have them on the park.  We enjoyed walking down to the river to see the elk (no dogs allowed there).  Campground has a great location to explore the park and Elk do frequent the grounds.

Great location

The location of this park is great!  There is a dump station at the entrance that is large enough to acomódate various rigs.  There are many sites and some are close together but the wooded grounds make it feel more private.  I can see how it can be noisy when is full in the summer.  We had a cold front and that kept people inside…. There is a way to go see the river and there was a group of elk doing their thing during Rut which was fun to watch.  Park is kept well.  Bathrooms are clean and heated.  Location is great to explore the park.  I would stay here again.

Great location inside YNP

Pulled into our site and were greeted by an elk waking through the grounds just behind us.  Nice start!  The tent site was perfect for our conversion van.  It had a fire pit, bear box, table and was spaced nicely from our neighbors.  The restrooms were clean and well appointed.  There is a room in that building with a sink to clean pots and pans.  Very nice grounds with lots of old growth trees.  One of the best things about this campground is its location.  It's right at Madison Junction, about halfway between Old Faithful and Mamouth Springs.  So one day you head north to see the wonders in that part of the park.  Next day you head south.  It made sightseeing a lot easier and more efficient. This park is huge, and can take a lot of time to get around, especially if there are beasts in view. Just getting into the park takes a long time. At this halfway point 15 miles  inside the gate we found we did less backtracking and had greater ease in laying out the day's adventures.  We were very pleased.

Location is Great to See the Park

This is one crowded campground, even in October with below freezing temperatures! Most sites are adequately sized but they definitely sort based on the size of your vehicle. Since I just had a small car, my parking space was TINY and at a very steep slope (made car camping quite uncomfortable). The sites are very close together and can be difficult to access in larger vehicles. They got an extra point for nice clean bathrooms with a heater. There is also recycling services and a small store. This campground could be very loud during the summer. No service with Verizon. 

Good location, not impressed 

Nice spot to camp. 

Cons:
- The campsites are very close to one another
- Can hear cars driving by

Pros:
- Clean bathrooms
- Good amount of space on lot
- Ease of registration and access to Yellowstone

Nice spot

Campground is full of lodgepole pines and you feel like you are in the forest with neighbors.   The spaces are mostly right on the narrow road you drive on. Many are pull through but the arc is very short.   On the plus side, the space next to your spot is wide open with a picnic table and fire pit.   The dump station/water fill has 3 lanes and is set up for hook ups on either side of your RV.  There is a small market on site.   There is no electric and no cell.   This campground is located on the west side of the park in the north/south center (middle of the figure 8).  It is the closest campground to Old Faithful, except of course for the Old Faithful campground.    We enjoyed our stay very much.

You are in the forest

This campground has some of the best trees for hanging a hammock!! Close to all the main sights to see in Yellowstone. Showers available at the old faithful lodge. Close to west yellowstone for restaurants and tourism.

Ample trees for hammocks

Centrally located on western ring road making it a good home base for visiting Mammoth, Norris, Old Faithful and West Thumb. 
Large but quiet campground. Each site on the loop I stayed was a pull through. Very flat parking. Large, well spaced sites. Simple but clean restrooms. No showers, but you can purchase a shower at Old Faithful Inn (a must see). Each restroom has a sink so you can keep all the food smells out of your campsite. No bear lockers. Small convenience store in a trailer onsite has cheap firewood and excellent kindling. Only complaint was that there was only one water spigot on each loop. Water should be more plentiful especially to put out campfires.

Even though this campground is large and busy, it was still wonderful! Our site was spacious so we weren't on top of our neighbors without any plants for screen. Unfortunately, there are not bear boxes for every site. Fortunately, the bears here won't rip off your doors, so you can keep your food locked and hidden in your car.

  

The bathrooms were nice - flushing toilets and running water. No showers. But there is a dishwashing station. 

  

You can walk to the nearby confluence of two rivers and swim. My kids had fun. There are some spots where the current is a little sketchy for younger ones, so be watchful. 

  

It rained every day that we were here. I recommend bringing a tarp or shelter for cooking/eating under or sitting outside. There was amazing fog that rolled through every morning. That was my entertainment while the kids slept, and I couldn't have asked for more.

Magical

My friend and I car camped here in early June while traveling from Grand Teton to Yellowstone. 

The campground is B very large and the sites are spaced relatively close together, but all that gives the campground a festive and active feel. 

We were on an inner site in loop E, but the sites closer to the main camp road and facing the Madison River looked to have spectacular views. 

For tent camping, there was no tent pad but the site was level. Facilities were clean, and the small camp store stocked the core essentials. 

We took advantage of a short walk to fly fish along a beautiful stretch of the Madison River, and drove under 15 minutes to fish some great areas of the Firehole River. 

Under 5 min away by car is the trailhead to Purple Mountain which provided some spectacular views back into the park and even over to the geyser basin. It was 6 miles round trip with some significant elevation but was very well worth it. 

All in this was an amazing campground for our activities but is not for folks looking for something more secluded. I would 100% stay here again.  

Amazing Yellowstone location

We love camping in the park - and this campground has the best location. Many campsites are more private than the one we were assigned but not much you can do when they are randomly assigned. Nice facilities/bathroom/dish washing station. The potable water on loop 1 was broken but Host shared they hoped it would be fixed soon. Walk down to the Madison is easy. Small campsite store was great. Flat campsites.

Great location in YNP

Madison Campground has a good location in the somewhat center of the park. Of the other campgrounds available, I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite, but we made a last minute booking so I cannot complain too terribly much. The sites are pretty close to each other, and the bathrooms were pretty gross, but there was running water and at least one working sink in the loop we stayed in (some facilities were out of order). No showers, and a little more than I would have liked to pay given the experience, but we were able to sleep in the park and get back to exploring early the next day. I would reccomend looking into some of the other campgrounds in the park before settling with Madison.

Good enough for a spot to stay in the park

Great campsite with walking access to gibbon river and an amazing valley for sunsets. 

Cozy little campsite with awesome views in walking distance 

This campground did not have as much functionalities has"Canyon CG" but was still quite nice and closer to"Old Faithful" and"Grand Prismatic Spring". Traveling with our electric car, the fact the campground was close(~15 miles) from Tesla West Yellowstone supercharger was a plus.

Great location to visit Yellowstone 

My campsite was a decent size. I booked in the tent only loop. Most spots have a designated gravel tent area, I have enough cushion so the gravel didn’t bother me. I was bummed they didn’t have showers onsite. The campground is very clean &amp; managed well. They have a very small store to get ice, wood, etc. This is a good place stay if you are first time camper &amp; don’t mind extra rules. I would recommend and stay again. NO CELL SERVICE FOR AT&amp;T 
PROS: very clean &amp; good sized campground with individual bear boxes. The restrooms had flushing toilets &amp; were clean. They had a designated dishwashing area that was maintained well. The river was a minute walk from my site which was a bonus. 
CONS: you can’t pick your site, they assign you a site when you checkin. Extra rules with regards to hanging hammock- no rope touching tree &amp; must have padded and trees have to be a certain size. No showers, closest showers are in Canyon area 30min drive from campground.

Nice & clean Campground 

For cyclists and hikers … don’t worry if it says ‘Campsite Full’ out on the road- it does have a hiker/biker campsite, with food storage, picnic tables, and fire pits. It’s right behind the reception building and they offered to charge up electrical items at no cost. An offer of coffee in the morning as well. Close to the road which is super busy in the day, but almost no traffic at all throughout the night. Very helpful staff in the reception building. Small camp store selling some basics. A day trip to Old Faithful is an option from this campsite 

Review for cyclists and hikers

Good amenities, nice rangers. One downside is it’s quite far from most of the main trails/attractions in Yellowstone. Don’t underestimate how big this place is and be prepared for a lot of driving! Had a herd of bison stroll through the campground which was a pretty amazing experience. 

Great Spot

Nice toilets close to our campspot, good location, fairly quiet, and possibility to do dumping in the camp. No showers, quite busy and a bit noisy 

Good location 

Tucked away, not super close to everyone. Nice little spot. 

Chill spot

This is a great location to explore the park, easily access hiking and fishing , and enjoy the wildlife which may even walk through the campground as did a family of Bison.  

  

You also need to be comfortable camping very close to your neighbors and willing to make any campsite assigned to you work.  Reservations need to be made way in advance.  

  

Staff was friendly, professional, and very busy. The campground and restrooms were super clean all the time. There is a small mercantile with ice, firewood, and the typical in case you forgot something selection of items.  They recycle everything including the small propane bottles.  

  

Beautiful in the park scenery and being at the confluence of two rivers would easily make for a 5 star rating.  Crowded sites, extra smoky campfires, and too many generators running for way too long was a negative.  Our closest restroom was out of commission for 2 days but they have enough nearby so it wasn't a big issue.  Depending on what site you get, you may hear road noise from the main road in and out of the west exit.   

  

If you tent camp you will have a great experience.  The tent only loops are awesome

  

We camp in a tear drop micro-camper which keeps us outside most of the time (its why we camp). 

  

This was our third trip to Yellowstone and we will stay here again.

Great location in the park, rivers, and wildlife makes Madison a good place

I’m just writing this review because I had to add this campground. I can’t believe I had to tell the dirt to add Madison Campground in Yellowstone National Park. The largest and most popular campground in the park. Bizarre.

Madison Campground

You definitely need to be comfortable being close to your neighbor as sights aren’t private &amp; close together. Restrooms ok and it was great having a dishwashing station. 

There are no showers here. Fires were allowed &amp; they provided a 5 gallon bucket near a spigot to put out fire.  
Each campsite had a large bear box.

Be comfortable with your neighbor! 

Lovely site, busy but great location and friendly.

Sites close together but not too close.

Facilities fantastic, clean and warm, dump station and shop.

Don't miss a sit at sunset with gin and nibbles by the river

Late September back in 24

Nice and quite site &amp; staff were very helpful. Good location to explore the park and not too far to head back to West Yellowstone for supplies. 

Great spot to start exploring 

Nice, clean facilities. Convenient camp store with coffees and hefty boxes of firewood (&amp; kindling!) for sale 👍🏻 sites aren’t too private or spacious, but they’re comfortable. Don’t miss the gorgeous river off the trails behind the recycling area! Great place for a sunrise/sunset stroll. 

Photos of Madison Campground — Yellowstone National Park

Real photos from real campers