Canyon Campground

Yellowstone National Park


This huge campground is the most densely forested in the park, but the 11 loops are also some of the most cramped, which makes staying here feel like being churned through a Pink Floyd–style tourism meat grinder. Still, thanks to its central location as a base for day trips to other parts of the park, it’s very popular.

There are showers and laundry on site (rates include two showers) and the restaurants and supplies of Canyon Village are nearby. Canyon also offers the most tent-only sites (four out of 11 loops) of any campground. Head to the amphitheater at 9pm or 9:30pm for the nightly campfire programs. Snow can linger here well into June.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Yellowstone National Park attractions

1. Canyon Visitor Education Center

0.18 MILES

This major center is well worth a visit for its innovative and interactive displays on Yellowstone’s geology. The highlight is a room-sized relief model…

2. Grandview Point

0.83 MILES

The one-way North Rim Dr leads to Grandview Point, which offers views north over the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone's colorful smoking walls, though not…

3. Glacial Boulder

0.85 MILES

Just before Inspiration Point is this huge granite boulder scooped up from the Beartooth Mountains, 15 miles away, by a glacier and deposited here 80,000…

4. Lookout Point

0.99 MILES

Popular Lookout Point, near Canyon Village, offers the best views of the Lower Falls. An adjacent 0.5-mile trail drops 500ft to Red Rock for even closer…

5. Artist Point

1.05 MILES

Artist Point is probably the most famous of the canyon’s viewpoints, offering a long overview of the Lower Falls and canyon. It was not, as many people…

6. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

1.06 MILES

Near Canyon Village, this is one of the park's true blockbuster sights. After its placid meanderings north from Yellowstone Lake, the Yellowstone River…

7. Inspiration Point

1.15 MILES

A side road branches off North Rim Dr to reach busy Inspiration Point, which offers an overview of the length of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and a…

8. Brink of the Lower Falls

1.23 MILES

The first of the North Rim viewpoints leads down a steep 0.75-mile trail, descending 600ft for exciting close-up views of the tumbling white water as the…