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RV Lifestyle guide
Top 24 locations in Wyoming
byPhyllis Khare and
Michal Ben-Ari and
Mike Wendland and
Wendy Bowyer
Live update: Updated August 6, 2022Copy link
Copy link1. Yellowstone National Park
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:
Phyllis KhareYellowstone holds the planet’s most diverse and intact collection of geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles (the small openings where hot sulfurous gases are coming out).
The more than 300 geysers here make up two-thirds of all those found on earth.
Combine this with more than 10,000 thermal features comprised of brilliantly colored hot springs, bubbling mud pots, and steaming fumaroles, and you have a place like no other.
Yellowstone’s vast collection of thermal features provides a constant reminder of the park’s recent volcanic past.
To learn more about RVing through Yellowstone, head to our website:
https://rvlifestyle.com/yellowstone-geysers-and-thermals/
2. Madison Campground
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareTo learn all about RVing through Yellowstone, head to our website:
https://rvlifestyle.com/yellowstone-geysers-and-thermals/
3. Grand Prismatic Spring
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareFrom the Madison Campground, it’s about a 20 min drive to Midway Geyser Basin. This is a quick, compact boardwalk hike but it packs a punch in Grand Prismatic Spring.
If you’ve only seen one photo from Yellowstone it was probably Grand Prismatic Spring.
At 120 feet deep and 370 feet in diameter it is the largest hot spring in the US and the 3rd largest in the world.
Apart from its size, the Spring’s dramatic rainbow colors give it a surreal appearance.
To learn more about the spring, and all about RVing through Yellowstone, head to our website:
https://rvlifestyle.com/yellowstone-geysers-and-thermals/
4. Fairy Falls
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareLess than a mile down the road from the Midway Geyser Basin parking area is a parking area for Fairy Falls. While the actual out and back hike for Fairy Falls is about 5 miles, you can go partially up the trail for about half a mile to get to an observation point for Grand Prismatic Spring.
This is a really great lookout and there are usually less people than the Midway Geyser Basin boardwalk.
If you want to complete the full hike to Fairy Falls, you’ll be rewarded with views of Fairy Creek plunging 200 feet down over the edge of the plateau into a small grotto below.
To read more about RVing through Yellowstone, head to our website:
https://rvlifestyle.com/yellowstone-geysers-and-thermals/
5. Fairy Falls Trail Parking Lot
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareLess than a mile down the road from the Midway Geyser Basin parking area is a parking area for Fairy Falls. While the actual out and back hike for Fairy Falls is about 5 miles, you can go partially up the trail for about half a mile to get to an observation point for Grand Prismatic Spring.
This is a really great lookout and there are usually less people than the Midway Geyser Basin boardwalk.
If you want to complete the full hike to Fairy Falls, you’ll be rewarded with views of Fairy Creek plunging 200 feet down over the edge of the plateau into a small grotto below.
To learn more about RVing through Yellowstone, head to our website:
https://rvlifestyle.com/yellowstone-geysers-and-thermals/
6. Biscuit Basin Geyser
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareFurther down the road and just before Old Faithful, there are two short boardwalk hikes with beautiful
features, Black Sand Basin and Biscuit Basin.
At Biscuit Basin you can enjoy views of Black Opal Pool, Jewel Geyser, and several springs but the real beauty is the deep blue hue of Sapphire Pool.
When you’re on the Biscuit Basin boardwalk, you have the option to complete the loop or continue on the trail for about another mile.
If you do, you’ll enjoy the terrific views of Mystic Falls!
To learn more about RVing through Yellowstone, head to our website:
https://rvlifestyle.com/yellowstone-geysers-and-thermals/
7. Mystic Falls
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareWe highly recommend a hike to Mystic Falls.
The falls cascade majestically down 70-feet with two sections and over several steps. From the bottom of the falls you can also hike to an overlook where it feels like the entire Upper Geyser Basin is under your domain!
This hike is about 3.5 miles roundtrip. When we did it we were surprised by how winded we were. That’s because of the altitude.
To learn more about RVing through Yellowstone, head to our website:
https://rvlifestyle.com/yellowstone-geysers-and-thermals/
8. Black Sand Basin
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareAt Black Sand Basin you can view the Rainbow and Emerald Pools, as well as Sunset Lake.
The parking lots for these areas are quite small so you may have to park on the road or try to get in at non-peak times.
To read more about RVing through Yellowstone, head to our website here:
https://rvlifestyle.com/yellowstone-geysers-and-thermals/
9. Old Faithful
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareOld Faithful gets its name for its predictability, erupting on average 20 times a day which is every hour to hour-and-a-half.
When you show up, inside the Visitor Center you can find posted prediction times for when the next eruption will be so you don’t miss it!
There are thousands of visitors who come to see Old Faithful each day so if you aren’t a huge fan of crowds, try to come earlier in the day (before 10am) or later (after 6pm).
To learn more about RVing through Yellowstone, head to our website:
https://rvlifestyle.com/yellowstone-geysers-and-thermals/
10. Grant Village Campground
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareThere are 430 sites here, 300 pull throughs. Amenities include picnic tables, a fire pit with a grate, potable water, toilets, showers, a dump station, laundry, and firewood for sale.
Season: June 7 – Sept 15
Rates: $33 per night (Senior Pass holders receive a 50% discount)
To find more of our favorite campgrounds near Yellowstone Lake, head to our website: https://rvlifestyle.com/best-campgrounds-near-yellowstone-lake/
11. Lewis Lake Campground
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareThere are 85 sites here, all sites are rustic so you’re boondocking. The max RV length is 25 feet. It has picnic tables, potable water, and vault toilets but no generators allowed.
Season: June 15 – Nov 3
Rates: $20 per night (Senior Pass holders receive a 50% discount)
To discover more of our favorite campgrounds near Yellowstone Lake, head to our website: https://rvlifestyle.com/best-campgrounds-near-yellowstone-lake/
12. Bridge Bay Campground
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareThere are 432 sites here, 165 pull-throughs. All sites are rustic so you’re boondocking.
Amenities include potable water, flush toilets, a dump station, and ice/firewood for sale Generators are allowed from 8 am to 8 pm.
Season: May 15 – Sept 22
Rates: $28 per night (Senior Pass holders receive a 50% discount)
To find more of the best campgrounds around Yellowstone Lake, head to our website: https://rvlifestyle.com/best-campgrounds-near-yellowstone-lake/
13. Fishing Bridge RV Park
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareFishing Bridge is unique to Yellowstone as it is the only campground that is solely for RVs and offers water, sewer, and electrical hookups for RVs.
As such, it is the most expensive on this list.
There are 340 sites here. Amenities include potable water, flush toilets, a dump station, showers, laundry, and ice/firewood for sale.
Season: Closed for 2021 — plan ahead for this one!
Rates: $79 per night (Senior Pass holders receive a 50% discount)
To find more of our favorite campgrounds near Yellowstone lake, head to our website: https://rvlifestyle.com/best-campgrounds-near-yellowstone-lake/
14. West Thumb Geyser Basin Trail
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareWest Thumb got its name because Yellowstone Lake resembles the shape of a human hand. West Thumb is the large western bay that would be the thumb.
The most famous hydrothermal feature at West Thumb is a geyser on the lakeshore known as Fishing Cone. Early visitors used to joke that you could catch a fish in the lake and then dunk it directly in boiling water to make dinner.
Other interesting features include Big Cone, the deep turquoise blue Abyss Pool, and the Thumb Paint Pots.
The boardwalk is an easy 1/2-mile loop on the shores of Yellowstone Lake.
There are two short day hikes in West Thumb as well.
In the parking area, you can go to the left side of the geyser basin and pick up the trailhead for Duck Lake. It’s about 0.8 miles round-trip.
Across the road is another trailhead, this one for Lake Overlook. It’s about 1.5 miles roundtrip.
The Lake Overlook trail gains about 400 feet of elevation and gives you a commanding view of Yellowstone Lake and the distant snow-capped Absaroka Mountains.
To read more recommendations for Yellowstone, head to our website: https://rvlifestyle.com/best-campgrounds-near-yellowstone-lake/
15. Grant Visitor Center
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareJust south of West Thumb Geyser Basin is the Grant Visitor Center.
The visitor center and development are named for President Ulysses S. Grant, eighteenth President of the United States. If you didn't know, he signed the bill creating Yellowstone National Park in 1872.
The visitor center hosts exhibits that interpret fire's role in the environment of Yellowstone and how it helps rejuvenate the forests. You’ll learn about the massive fires of 1988 that burned over a third of the park.
From West Thumb, you can go south along the lake to Bridge Bay, Lake Village, and Fishing Bridge.
To read more recommendations in Yellowstone, head to our website: https://rvlifestyle.com/best-campgrounds-near-yellowstone-lake/
16. Natural Bridge Trailhead
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareIn Bridge Bay, a must-do hike is the Natural Bridge Trail. The trailhead is located in the Bridge Bay Marina parking lot near the Bridge Bay campground entrance road.
This trail is an easy 1.2 mile (2.4 miles round-trip) path that takes you through the woods back to a masterpiece of natural architecture.
The natural bridge is a 51-foot high intact arch of rock that has been carved out by the eroding forces of water.
To read more of our Yellowstone recommendations, head to our website: https://rvlifestyle.com/best-campgrounds-near-yellowstone-lake/
17. Fishing Bridge
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareFrom the natural bridge, head up to Fishing Bridge and go to its namesake, the Fishing Bridge. Funny enough, fishing is no longer allowed off the bridge because of the decline of the cutthroat trout population.
The Fishing Bridge was historically a tremendously popular place to fish because it is a major spawning area for cutthroat trout. Now it has become a popular place to observe fish from above.
To read more of our Yellowstone recommendations, head to our website: https://rvlifestyle.com/best-campgrounds-near-yellowstone-lake/
18. Hayden valley
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareHayden Valley, similar to Lamar Valley offers one of the most wildlife-rich areas of the park. In this gorgeous, broad valley you’ll be able to see:
herds of bison
roaming elk
occasional grizzly bear
many birds such as ducks, Canadian geese, and pelicans
The reason there are no trees here, as opposed to many other areas of the park, is that the Hayden Valley was once filled by an arm of Yellowstone Lake.
As a result, it contains fine-grained lake sediments that are now covered with glacial till left from the most recent glacial retreat 13,000 years ago. Because the glacial till contains many different rock sizes, including clay and a thin layer of lake sediments, water cannot percolate through the ground and retake this area as part of the lake.
To read more of our Yellowstone recommendations, head to our website: https://rvlifestyle.com/best-campgrounds-near-yellowstone-lake/
ALSO FEATURED IN:Top 50 Animals & Wildlife locations in United StatesTop 21 locations in Mammoth, Yellowstone National ParkTop 22 locations in Yellowstone National ParkTop 13 National Park locations in Mammoth, Yellowstone National ParkTop 20 Yellowstone locations in Mammoth, Yellowstone National Park
19. Grant Village Campground
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareThere are 430 sites here, 300 pull throughs. Amenities include picnic tables, a fire pit with a grate, potable water, toilets, showers, a dump station, laundry, and firewood for sale. See the other 3 best campgrounds around Yellowstone Lake: https://rvlifestyle.com/best-campgrounds-near-yellowstone-lake/
20. Fishing Bridge RV Park
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:Phyllis KhareFishing Bridge is unique to Yellowstone as it is the only campground that is solely for RVs and offers water, sewer, and electrical hookups for RVs. Discover more about this and other great campgrounds on Yellowstone Lake: https://rvlifestyle.com/best-campgrounds-near-yellowstone-lake/
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