National Park Services

[Belbein]

Am I right in remembering that most/all/many Natl Parks don't have water and electric? We camped Cades Cove several years ago and I seem to remember there was no elec. at least.

[Skooter]

In my experience, hookups are the exception, not the rule in most natl. parks. Big Bend is noted for its isolation but has one "campground" with hookups...which is essentially a parking lot. There are no hookups in GSMP, I don't believe.

To me the lack of hookups contributes to the intimate cozy feel of most national park campgrounds.

[hissilver]

You remember correctly...very few have and kind of services....two years ago we were in Zion Canyon and were pleased to find all the sties with 30 amp power....kept us cool at night.

[hissilver]

I meant to say "any" instead of and....sorry

[Rich W]

The ones here in Kentucky seem to have electric but not water or sewer hookups. Some don't have public showers but most do. You can go to the National Park service for reservations and it will tell you site by site what is available at each one. Kentucky state web site is similar to National.

[Bill M.]

usually no water and electric. usually a dump station and restrooms.

[John&Vicki]

Full hookups at Grand Canyon Village.

[TheOhioSean]

Generally, National Park Service campgrounds do not have hookups, though many have a dump station and restrooms. Some have showers, some do not. Some can't even fit trailers and motorhomes, or only permit very small ones. It is by no means universal, and some concessionaire-operated facilities within national parks do have hookups. In many cases, there will be commercial campgrounds near the park entrances that do have services.

Grand Canyon (south rim), Grand Teton, and Yellowstone all have concessionaire-operated campgrounds with hookups. Black Canyon of the Gunnison has electric hookups on one loop (but not the one that's open year round) at the south rim, but no dump station. Rocky Mountain, Glacier, Great Sand Dunes, Arches, and Canyonlands have no hookups (and no showers!). Mesa Verde has dump stations, showers, and a small number of sites with hookups. Wind Cave has no hookups, no dump station, and no showers. Zion has one campground with electrical hookups at about half the sites, and dump stations, but not showers.

[Len n Jeanne]

The Glacier NP Fish Creek CG near West Glacier has showers but no hookups. Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone has hookups, but the sites are so densely packed it looks like an RV parking lot. Around Lake Mead there are concessioner CGs not run by the park service that have full hook-ups. They are sort of like trailer parks. Death Valley, Furnace Creek, has some sites with electrical and sewer, but when we were there the electrical was shut off; apparently over some bureaucratic disagreement as to how much to charge for power.

[TheOhioSean]

Well, darn, I wish I'd known about the showers at Fish Creek in Glacier. I'd have grabbed a site there last year instead of a cabin in St. Mary if I'd known. (Showers were a definite necessity after doing the Highline Trail.)

[polarlyse]

I suppose the lesson learned here is to plan ahead. Facilities at any campground operated by the NPS are very varied in the services that may ( or may not ) be available. If you are prepared for dry camping you will be ready for whatever they throw at you. Then again if not prepared you might be disappointed. We have stayed at a few of the Corps. of Engineer sites along the Missouri River and very pleased both with the sites offered and the fact that they have electric on site. Water and dump nearby. So do your homework, plan ahead and be prepared and your trip will be a good time for all. Nat. Forest sites also have been very good to us.

[Rich W]

Just spent 2 nights at the Mammoth Cave National Park. It's a really great park and the caves are spectacular, lots to see. The campground is primitive. There are air conditioned restrooms and water is close but there are no hookups. The camp store has showers ($3 for 10 minutes) and a laundry. The dump station is outside the CG entrance.

We were there for Wednesday and Thursday. It was pretty quiet except for the guy in the SOB camper who spent most of Thursday splitting a 20" diameter ash log with a small hammer and hand axe. I read a recent review that said the weekends can be somewhat rowdy.

For anything other than the historic and dripstone tours I strongly suggest making an online reservation. Groups are small and they sell out quickly.