Yellowstone site length for 25' Flying Cloud

[1StreamDream]

Hi, I have been trying to scout out locations to stay next year in and around Yellowstone, late Aug/early Sept, and by the strictest interpretation, I need a 40' site, and even exceed that, and there are very few 40' sites to be had. My primary question is for a 25' Flying Cloud, has anyone selected a 30' site, and been ok with the parking arrangements once there ? The warnings on the National Park website indicate you will be refused if you select a site too small for your equipment. I will be towing with a standard size F-250 (148" wheelbase). Do all of you that camp in Yellowstone select a 40' site when making reservations ? If I can select a 30' site I have more options and I prefer to have more options (more flexibility). Thanks in advance

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

We just stayed at Rocky Mountain RV Park in Gardiner at the north entrance. They were very accommodating and full hook ups. The drive into the park is quick as the entrance 1 mile from the RV park. It is a drive to get to the south end of the park from the north entrance though.

Sorry this doesn’t answer your specific question about staying inside the park. Just sharing a different option for camping in that area.

[mojo]

If you can get a reservation in the campground you want, you can often park parallel in front. You can hang your tail over the back if there are no big boulders. Some of the pull-throughs can be tight. Mammoth CG is first come, and I have simply showed up very early and found a spot. Try looking on satellite maps for your desired spot

[azflycaster]

Yellowstone can be difficult as many of the campgrounds were built during the truck camper and tent era. We like Madison, but getting into sites and around the trees can be a challenge. Bridge Bay is a more open campground and we have had better luck with sites there.

Fishing Bridge was renovated recently and is supposed to accommodate larger rigs. It is privately run and has full hookups and a price to match.

[TinPeddler]

Generally when making reservations they ask the length of your equipment, they list different lengths for the trailer and for a motorhome. Sequoia as an example list max trailer length +- 25' and motorhomes +-35'. the difference is you disconnect your tow vehicle and park it across the front of the trailer and the motorhome takes up most of the space. So when making plans use your trailer length as your focus. Safe travels.

[Bcc75]

Aug/Sept is still very busy at Yellowstone. This year they broke new records. I guess there is a romantic aspect of camping within the park itself but there are plenty of ‘offsite’ options nearby. Ennis RV village in Ennis, MT is a neat, clean place with full hookups(Good Sam Park). Ennis is a cool little town with plenty of fishing access to the Madison River if you’re into that. Not as ‘touristy’ as the town of West Yellowstone and about an hour’s beautiful drive from the West Gate of the park.

[JonDNC]

When we called to make reservations they wanted the total length of the combined rig. In our case that was 50ft. 27 for the trailer and 22 for the truck.

[JonDNC]

Originally Posted by JonDNC

When we called to make reservations they wanted the total length of the combined rig. In our case that was 50ft. 27 for the trailer and 22 for the truck.

One other thought, there are larger sites that are only available via a phone call. They don’t show up online. We learned this by accident.

[AgBullet]

We stayed three nights at Fishing Bridge two years ago (before renovations) in a 25' Safari towed by an F-150. No problem, though we did park parallel to the rig.

[Luke Grisott]

We have camped at fishing bridge campground inside Yellowstone. We have a 25 FT International serenity with our Dodge Durango Citadel Never any problem regarding length . The couple we traveled with had a 26 FT and a truck no problems regarding length.
Hope to go back soon. We love traveling Airstream style. safe travels. Merry Christmas ��

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Fishing Bridge ( post renovation ) is about the only thing you can be *sure* of fitting into. The rest of the campgrounds have a mix of might fit / do fit / will not fit / would have fit .. but ... sort of sites.

The "easy" answer is to stay outside the park and drive in each day. There are a number of RV parks in the West Yellowstone area that work out pretty well. Some are right in town (so walking distance to shops and restaurants) others are a bit out of town (so less traffic). There are also forest service campgrounds outside the park that have somewhat bigger sites (and are cheaper ...).

Bob

[GammaDog]

We stayed at Grant with our 25’ AS and Tundra (overall we are 49’ from grill to bumper box). I believe we were in site 310. Regardless, we didn’t have to unhitch and still had room to open the hatch on the EB.

I’ll ditto JonDNC above and suggest a phone call to Xanterra.

[prostar]

I was in the Madison CG this past summer. I have a FC 27. First they had me 225 loop F. It was a pull through C shaped that unfortunately had trees in the middle of the C. I could get in but would have to back out with no room to spare. I went back down to the check in desk and they found another site 54 in the B loop. It also was a pull through but without trees in the center. The lesson learned is tell them your trailer is bigger and see if a spot is available.

[albret]

Madison Campgrounds only has about 3 - 4 sites that will fit your trailer/truck. They combine BOTH the trailer and TV to determine the length. A few sites are that length in Mammoth Campground, but it is first come sites (arrive after 8 am, you will be out of luck). West Yellowstone and Gardner campgrounds are expensive because they know they can get to your wallet. Best location is in Island Park area (about 15 miles south of the west park entrance). We use Flat Rock Campground. Six sites are available via reservation and about 15 are first come and are normally available. Find Flat Rock Campground on Recreation.gov to reserve a site (which has electricity). Buffalo Campground is 10 miles south of Flat Rock and also has many sites on first come basis with some via reservation on Recreation.gov. Flat Rock Campground will support your trailer and TV in nearly ever site. Upper Coffee Pot Campground is 3 miles from Flat Rock and would support your trailer, BUT reservations are nearly always necessary there because it fills up within 1 hour after Recreation.gov allows you to reserve sites (six months in advance). Upper Coffee Pot is right on the Buffalo River and quiet making it an extremely popular location.

All of these 3 campgrounds are within 20 minutes of West Yellowstone park entrance. The fees are about $20 - $25 per night with electric sites and $15 without electric. Golden Age Passport gives you 50% off on the site (excluding the electric up-charge of electric fee - making those site about $18 per night).

Ennis, Montana is too far from the park to use that campground. There is another Forrest campground about 10 miles north of West Yellowstone off the main highway (east side of the road). Can't remember the name, which is large with many sites....some electric site. It is a first come campground as well.

Indian Creek Campground, within the Park, is nice but you are TOO BIG. 35 foot MAX with combined trailer and truck. I had a 18 foot trailer, and with the trailer and truck, I maxed out at 35 foot.

Good luck on your camping, but recommend NOT trying to fine a site in the Park.

[HoffmanP]

You may want to consider camping on the Shoshone National Forest east of Yellowstone. Wapiti Campground has electric hookups. Water is there for the hauling. There is a dump station. It is 20 miles from the East Entrance, an extremely scenic drive. The campground is much less crowded, more camper friendly, and you are only about 30 miles from Cody, which has everything you need plus the world-class Buffalo Bill Center of the West (5 outstanding museums under one roof)!

[n2916s]

In Yellowstone, there are three types of campgrounds.

1. The Fishing Bridge RV park which is managed by Xanterra, just updated and should be open for the 2021 season. It is a mite pricey but pretty well located at the north end of Lake Yellowstone. Not particularly scenic itself but full hookups and can accommodate any rig. You can walk to the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center for programs and the beach (swimming/fishing).

2. The Xanterra managed campgrounds (Grant, Bridge Bay, Canyon and Madison). Xanterra is pretty rigid about length and most sites were never intended for larger RV’s. The best way to get a site that will work for you is to call. Canyon and Grant have showers (for a fee), at Bridge Bay you can drive over to Fishing Bridge to shower ($).

3. The NPS managed campgrounds (Norris, Lewis Lake, Mammoth, Pebble Creek, Slough Creek and Tower Falls) are all FCFS. Lewis and Tower will not accept vehicles greater than 25’. Norris is beautiful and centrally located but has only a handful of large enough sites for your rig. Pebble and Slough sometimes open late sue to bear activity.

As noted, you can stay outside of the park in any direction but, be warned, the wait to get in, especially the South and West gates can be terrible.

If it was me, and I had driven all that way, I’d do whatever I could to stay inside the park.

[drlangc]

We had no problem last July with our 30' AS staying in a pull-through site at the Yellowstone KOA, Mountainside Journey campground. (Most KOA's have large pull-through options) Whatever location you choose, just be sure to book a site as early as possible. I was lucky to get one of the very last sites at this KOA when I booked it almost a month in advance.

[Antique Pedaler]

Originally Posted by 1StreamDream

Hi, I have been trying to scout out locations to stay next year in and around Yellowstone, late Aug/early Sept, and by the strictest interpretation, I need a 40' site, and even exceed that, and there are very few 40' sites to be had. My primary question is for a 25' Flying Cloud, has anyone selected a 30' site, and been ok with the parking arrangements once there ? The warnings on the National Park website indicate you will be refused if you select a site too small for your equipment. I will be towing with a standard size F-250 (148" wheelbase). Do all of you that camp in Yellowstone select a 40' site when making reservations ? If I can select a 30' site I have more options and I prefer to have more options (more flexibility). Thanks in advance

That size info limits the trailer only. It doesn’t include the TV. You are good to go with a 25’ trailer.

[Piggy Bank]

We have stayed at Madison several times with our 22 plus tent, our 25, and our 27.

Definitely you need to call and reserve on the phone to get the proper site. Their website is just too vague. Their phone staff is super helpful.

Another great tip--from LoLoHo website --is to BACK INTO your pull thru site, especially when there are a lot of tress. Why? This way you know 100% for sure you can pull out of the site without the trees scraping your trailer, which is of course a bit wider and taller than your vehicle. Then you just park your vehicle behind your rig until you leave. We now do this a lot of places.

AND at Yellowstone, since there are no hookups in the campground you can even choose to enter the site the "wrong way" if it's a better placement for your doors and awnings.

[Mikebrady62]

Originally Posted by HoffmanP

You may want to consider camping on the Shoshone National Forest east of Yellowstone. Wapiti Campground has electric hookups. Water is there for the hauling. There is a dump station. It is 20 miles from the East Entrance, an extremely scenic drive. The campground is much less crowded, more camper friendly, and you are only about 30 miles from Cody, which has everything you need plus the world-class Buffalo Bill Center of the West (5 outstanding museums under one roof)!

There are also many boondocking spots between Cody and the east entrance that are beautiful and right on the river.
But Wapiti Campground is perfect if you want to use your A/C.