Favorite Campgrounds in the National Parks

Which national park campground is the best? In this episode of Exploring the National Parks, we are doing a full-on WWE-style smackdown! We each picked our top five favorite campgrounds we’ve stayed in, and we are going to battle it out to see who came up with the best options.

We were full-time RVers for three years, so we are very familiar with the national park campgrounds, and we are excited to dive into it today!

Join us as we discuss:

The national monuments we both put on our lists
The things we love about each campground we chose
The most unique campgrounds we have stayed at
Some fun and elusive campgrounds you want to check out
Campgrounds you need to put on your bucket list

We hope you enjoy this National Park Campground Smackdown episode! Camping is one of the best ways to stay in the parks without spending a ton of money, so we highly recommend it!

Listen to the full episode to hear about our favorite campground dishwashing station! You’d be surprised how much a dishwashing station can make or break your vacation.

Listen to the Full Podcast Episode:

John’s #5 – Devil’s Tower National Monument – Belle Fourche River Campground

It may be the only campground within Devil’s Tower National Monument, but that doesn’t take away how amazing Belle Fourche River Campground is! Have you ever wanted to camp at the base of a spire rising into the sky? Devil’s Tower is the place to go.

Even if you don’t care about the fantastic location, Belle Fourche River Campground is spacious, clean, and comfortable. It’s the perfect place to watch the sun rise and set over the tower.
It gets better! You can drive to the nearby KOA to watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind with snacks.

Ash’s #5 – Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument – Twin Peaks Campground

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is located in Southern Arizona and is one of the quieter parks on our list of favorite campgrounds.

Twin Peaks Campground is big and well-laid out. Desert plants, including the Organ Pipe Cactus, surround the campsites. A hiking trail takes off right from the campground if you want to explore more of this National Monument.

At night, you can hear coyotes and watch the silhouettes of cacti as the sun sets. You absolutely cannot beat stargazing in the desert.

Ash and John’s #4 – Capitol Reef National Park – Fruita Campground

We agree this is one of the best campgrounds in Utah and the entire National Park System!

Fruita Campground is a competitive one to get into, but it’s so worth it. You’re surrounded by a bowl of red rocks smackdab in the middle of Capitol Reef. We loved the space for our kids to run around.

If you smell pie baking, you’re not dreaming. You can walk to the pie shop in Capitol Reef from Fruita Campground.

The early settlers of Capitol Reef planted fruit trees, hence the campground’s name. It’s made the area lush compared to the surrounding rocks and desert. It’s also created delicious pie you have to stop and try.

Ash and John’s #3 – Yellowstone National Park – Mammoth Campground

What makes Mammoth Campground unique isn’t necessarily its features, though we did appreciate having enough space to pull in our RV.

Mammoth Campground is for wildlife lovers. Its location close to Lamar Valley is ideal for spotting wildlife. Our favorite moment here was listening to a bull elk bugling right outside our trailer during the fall rut season.

Ash’s #2 – Olympic National Park – South Beach Campground

Okay, hear me out. South Beach Campground has almost no amenities – no running water, no flushing toilets, nada. But this still tops my list of favorite National Park campgrounds.

But can you beat falling asleep to the sound of the Pacific Ocean? Almost every campsite at South Beach Campground has a beautiful ocean view, and you can hear the water despite being up on a bluff.

It’s hard to get a spot here during peak season, but it’s worth the wait and lack of amenities. If first come, first served isn’t your style, the nearby Kalaloch Campground takes reservations and has its own great ocean views (just not as stunning as South Beach!).

John’s #2 – Grand Teton National Park – Gros Ventre Campground

The vibe of Gros Ventre Campground is hard to beat. You’re close to Jackson, it’s easier to get reservations here, you have room to spread out, and you still get beautiful views.

There are also a ton of moose in this area!

John’s #1 – Glacier National Park – St. Mary Campground

Sorry, everyone, we’re not going to share exactly where our favorite sites in St. Mary Campground are, but this is one of our favorite places to stay!

The views are unbeatable. Our favorite memory here is sitting by our trailer, drinking hot chocolate and wassail, and watching the mountains. The higher up in the loops you can go, the better your views will be *hint hint.*

Compared to other campgrounds in Glacier, this is one of the only places where you get good mountain views from your campsite. The East side of Glacier is also one of the best areas for trails and popular stops without dealing with the traffic and congestion of the West entrance.

Ash’s #1 – Lassen Volcanic National Park – Manzanita Lake Campground

Manzanita Lake Campground feels like going to summer camp all over again.

You can head down to the lake next to the campground to paddleboard, kayak, or canoe. The views of Lassen Peak from the lake are incredible.

Manzanita Lake has excellent RV spots, cabins, and campsites, so you can stay here precisely how you want. There’s a cute gift shop where you can get ice cream. The summer camp feel is very real!

—

Now, shifting our focus, let’s delve into some subcategories of our favorite campgrounds.

Most Unique Campgrounds We’ve Stayed At

There is a little-known trail from Desert View Campground in Grand Canyon, where you can have your very own private view of the Grand Canyon whenever you want.
Glacier Bay is tough to get to, and the campground here is equally exciting! Bartlett Cove Campground requires you to wheelbarrow your supplies into your campsite. Everything at this campground is communal; your campsite won’t have a fire ring. Instead, you can head down to the beach to make your fire. If you’re lucky, Humpback whales will serenade you as you sleep.

Most Elusive National Park Campground

We agree that we’d love to stay in Yosemite’s Lower, Upper, or North Pine Campgrounds, but we’ve never been able to get a reservation! No matter how many times we try, we just aren’t fast enough. Always have a backup if you plan to go to Yosemite.

Bucket List Campgrounds

There are several campgrounds we’ve never stayed in but are daydreaming about visiting someday.

Yellowstone – Pebble Creek Campground or Slough Creek Campground. Usually, fishermen take these spots before we can, but they are our dream spots to be close to the wildlife!
Yosemite – Lower, Upper, or North Pine Campgrounds. We may have to compromise and get a tent site instead of trying to snag one of the coveted RV spots.
Great Smoky Mountains – Elkmont Campground. Specifically, we’d love to stay here during the synchronous firefly season. Listen to Episode 48: Great Smoky Mountains Fun Facts to learn why we’re dreaming of seeing this phenomenon in person!
Kings Canyon – Cedar Grove Campgrounds. Each campground is in the valley of Kings Canyon, and each one has excellent views without having to drive back out of Kings Canyon.
Denali – Wonder Lake Campground. You’re only 26 miles from Denali in this campground, which means you’ll have incredible views (but we’re not looking forward to the mosquitoes!).
Mt. Rainier – Cougar Rock or White River Campgrounds. These aren’t hard to get, but we’re really excited to sleep in the shadow of Mt. Rainier.
Katmai – Brooks Camp Campground. Only 60 people can stay in Brooks Camp every night, and an electric fence surrounds you to keep the bears out. You’re within walking distance of the famous Brooks Falls, where you can watch Brown Bears fishing.

Don’t forget to complete your task for this week! Head over to our Facebook or Instagram @dirtinmyshoes, leave us a comment, and tell us about your favorite campground in the National Parks!

Links mentioned in this episode:

Are you hoping to visit all of the national parks? Sign up for your FREE NATIONAL PARKS CHECKLIST so you can easily see where you’ve been and where you still need to go!

Don’t Miss the Next Episode of the Exploring the National Parks Podcast

Join in the fun weekly! We are always sharing new stories and fun facts about the incredible national parks. Please subscribe on your favorite platform:

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
and more

If you enjoy the podcast, we would be so grateful if you could leave us a rating or review wherever you listen to the podcast!

Connect with Ash and John

YouTube
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest

Looking for more podcast episodes? Click here to browse all episodes of the Exploring the National Parks podcast.