TP Trails

Each National Park has its own nuances with regards to obtaining front country campsites and backcountry permits. Since we didn’t reserve campsites in advance (front country or backcountry), the information provided below is more focused on our experiences as walk-ins or with first come first serve camping options. We’ve listed it by National Park that we visited from July to October 2019 (note, Parks may update their protocols/procedures). Please comment if you’ve had different experiences or additional advice to give!

Acadia National Park

RESERVATIONS IN PEAK SEASON A MUST! $30.00 PER NIGHT. We visited July 19-26, 2019. 

Fortunately, we had reserved our campsites in Acadia in advance (about a month ahead of our stay). We stayed at the Schoodic Woods Campground for two nights at site H4 (hike-in site). The hike was approximately 0.2 miles from the parking area. This campground opened in 2015 to help attract more visitors to this side of the National Park, so the facilities are relatively new (especially compared to facilities at the campgrounds on Mount Desert Island). Sites were spaced closely to each other, but the hike-in sites provided complete privacy (hardly able to hear other sites in the distance). The Schoodic Woods Peninsula is located about an hour drive from Mount Desert Island. While there are many fewer people on this side, there is also less to do. Although, it appeared that this area attracts bicyclists as there are several bike trails. In order to avoid carrying all of our food/cooking gear back to our hike-in campsite, we cooked our meals at the Frazer Point picnic area, which also offered great views!

There are two main campgrounds on the Mount Desert Island side of Acadia – Blackwoods Campground and Seawall Campground. We stayed at the former (closer to Bar Harbor and many popular hikes) for four nights. Both campgrounds were 100% full, so we were glad we reserved ahead. The sites at this campground are spaced relatively close together and each campground offers hundreds of campsites. While there are toilets, sinks, water spigots, and an area to dump cooking/cleaning water, note that there are no showers in all Acadia National Park campgrounds. The Park also does not offer any first come first serve campgrounds.

However, there are a number of private campgrounds surrounding the park. In fact, we wanted to extend our stay in Acadia by one night, but all Acadia campgrounds were full, so we ended up at Bass Harbor Campground located near Seawall campground on the “quiet side of the island” near Southwest Harbor. This campground had a pool and showers! We picked site #105 (multiple available) because it had an elevated wood platform for the tent (none of the other sites had this!). This campground also had showers! Prices were equivalent to those in Acadia National Park.

Arches National Park

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED MARCH THROUGH OCTOBER. $25.00 PER NIGHT. We visited October 10-16, 2019.

Devils Garden campground is the only campground in Arches National Park and is typically full during the busy season, so reservations are required if you want to camp in the park.

For those who don’t plan ahead (like us), there are many options nearby in/around Moab, Utah, including many great sites along the Colorado River. Many of these campsites are first come first serve and seemed to fill by lunch time. The first night, we arrived late, so we found an RV park/campground in town for the night called Slickrock. The RV and tent sites are very close together, but the tent pads are covered, which helped keep us warmer during the night. There are also clean bathrooms and showers, all for the price of $20/night. The next morning, we started our campground search along US128 heading east. There are several first come first serve campgrounds along the Colorado River, each with only 10-20 campsites. We drove until we found an open site that we liked at Big Bend Campground, site #19. It’s adjacent to site #18, so a little less privacy than some of the other sites we passed, but the view of the river was worth it. Our campground had pit toilets (all we saw had them) and allows RVs.

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Badlands National Park

RESERVATIONS NOT REQUIRED. FREE. We visited August 7-8, 2019. 

Badlands National Park has two campgrounds – Cedar Pass Campground and Sage Creek Campground. Cedar Pass Campground is reservable in advance and offers more facilities (e.g., sinks, flush toilets), but was full when we arrived in the early afternoon. So, we continued to the Sage Creek Campground, which is first come first serve. When we arrived around 5 pm (it’s about an hour drive from Cedar Pass if you don’t stop at the many beautiful overlooks), there were still a few spots open (FREE). We picked site #24. I wouldn’t say there are better or worse sites at this campground, maybe just based on location to the pit toilets at either end of the loop – they are all very close together, with no privacy, since you are just on the plains. You may also be sharing your site with a prairie dog! Once you identify a vacant spot, leave something at that site and sign in at the logbook near campsite #1. There are two pit toilets, but no running water (so come prepared!).

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Banff National Park (Canada)

FRONT COUNTRY RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. PRICES FROM $17.00-$38.00 PER NIGHT. We visited August 23-31, 2019.

Banff was one of the few places that we did reserve in advance because we had heard from others that it can be very competitive. The online reservation system was easy to navigate to make our initial reservations (note that making any changes proved difficult and the visitor centers cannot access any of the campgrounds’ systems, which are all separately operated). And we were very glad we did. Of our eight nights in Banff, we spent four in the front country – two nights at Two Jack Main campground (near Banff) and two nights at Lake Louise campground (near Lake Louise). Both campgrounds were completely booked the nights that we were there. Two Jack Main did not have showers (although the neighboring Two Jack Lakeside campground did if you can snag a spot there), while Lake Louise campground did have showers. Both campgrounds had flush toilets and running water.

BACKCOUNTRY RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED/REQUIRED.

Banff National Park also has an easy-to-navigate backcountry reservation website. We were able to login, select our backpacking campsites/routes, and book the sites immediately. All you have to do is print out your itinerary and go! There are no requirements to check in at the visitor’s center, although we highly recommend doing this anyways to learn about trail conditions and water availability. We booked two nights backcountry along the Skoki Loop (Baker Lake and Merlin Meadows campgrounds). Both backcountry campgrounds were full when we visited.

Lake O’Hara is a very competitive spot to get, but we had heard from others that if you’re lucky enough to get it, the experience is amazing. We called in advance as described on the website and struck out on the first day (only received a busy tone and never got through to the park reservations). Since our schedule was flexible, we called again the next day and got through after 45 minutes of calling! While I would say reservations for Lake O’Hara are required, there was a group of three women that were able to snag one night from a cancellation (from what the ranger said, this is very rare). Also note that they could not get shuttle reservations, so had to walk the 7-mile hike to the campground and back to the parking lot.

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Bryce Canyon National Park

FRONT COUNTRY RESERVATIONS NOT AVAILABLE; BOTH CAMPGROUNDS ARE FIRST COME FIRST SERVE. $20.00 PER NIGHT ($30.00 FOR RVS). We visited October 9-10, 2019.

There are two campgrounds in Bryce (North and Sunset), both first come first serve. North campground was closed when we visited and by the time we arrived (around 4 pm), Sunset campground was full for the night. Sunset campground closes for the winter months. We ended up at the Bryce Canyon Pines campground, which is located behind the Chevron gas station about 10 miles from the park. Really nothing special, but a place to stay.

Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky)

FRONT COUNTRY RESERVATIONS NOT AVAILABLE; CAMPGROUND IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE. $15.00 PER NIGHT. We visited October 10-16, 2019.

The Island in the Sky Campground (Willow Flat) has 12 first come first serve campsites and is open year-round. This campground was full when we visited, so we did not stay here. There are also first come first serve campgrounds (Horsethief and Cowboy Camp, see brochure map) located on US313, the road leading into Canyonlands National Park. Dead Horse Point State Park, which is about 20 minutes from Island in the Sky, also offers reservable camping for $35.00 per night.

For those looking for a central campground to the Moab, Arches, Canyonlands area, there are many options nearby in/around Moab, including many great sites along the Colorado River. Many of these campsites are first come first serve and seemed to fill by lunch time. The first night, we arrived late, so we found an RV park/campground in town for the night called Slickrock. The RV and tent sites are very close together, but the tent pads are covered, which helped keep us warmer during the night. There are also clean bathrooms and showers, all for the price of $20/night. The next morning, we started our campground search along US128 heading east. There are several first come first serve campgrounds along the Colorado River, each with only 10-20 campsites. We drove until we found an open site that we liked at Big Bend Campground, site #19. It’s adjacent to site #18, so a little less privacy than some of the other sites we passed, but the view of the river was worth it. Our campground had pit toilets (all we saw had them) and allows RVs.

BACKCOUNTRY PERMITS NOT REQUIRED. $30.00 FLAT FEE.

There is an online reservation system for those that want to plan and reserve their permits ahead of time. Otherwise, you can get walk-up permits for that night or the following night. Note that not all campsites/itineraries are available for reservation on the online system, including Murphy’s Point, which is what we ended up doing. There were other sites/itineraries available as well that we could have chosen, so reservations are definitely not required.

Capitol Reef National Park

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. $20.00 PER NIGHT. We visited October 10, 2019.

There is one developed campground (Fruita) in Capitol Reef with 71 sites, reservable up to 6 months in advance from March through October (first come first serve from November through February). This campground was full when we visited. There are also two primitive campgrounds in the park, Cedar Mesa and Cathedral Valley with five and six sites, respectively. Both have pit toilets but no water and requires driving on dirt roads to reach. The Capitol Reef National Park website provides good information for camping alternatives around the park in the event that the three campgrounds above do not work out. We did not end up camping in this National Park.

Death Valley National Park

FRONT COUNTRY RESERVATIONS NOT REQUIRED, RESERVATIONS ONLY AVAILABLE AT ONE CAMPGROUND DURING PEAK SEASON (OCTOBER THROUGH APRIL). PRICES FROM FREE TO $15.00 PER NIGHT. We visited September 27-28, 2019.

There are 9 campgrounds in Death Valley National Park, all first come first serve. Furnace Creek campground can be reserved from October to April (peak season). However, the campgrounds in Death Valley rarely fill completely (often space available at Sunset and Stovepipe Wells with 270 and 190 sites, respectively). We arrived at the Emigrant Campground (first come first serve and FREE) around 5 pm and there were only two other groups there (although it did fill by around 10 pm). We decided to stay there for the night as it was somewhat centrally located (Death Valley is very, very large) between Wildrose (where we had heard we should hike) and Furnace Creek (visitor center). There are 10 tent-only sites here with flush toilets, sinks, and potable water spigot.  

Glacier National Park

FRONT COUNTRY CAMPGROUNDS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF FOUR). PRICES FROM $10.00-$23.00 PER NIGHT. We visited from August 20-23, 2019.

We picked Avalanche Campground because it seemed to be a bit more central within Glacier and had been filling up in the early afternoon the last few days (Glacier National Park website is great and tells you the time that campsites fill up each day, which is very helpful). When we arrived around 10 am, several sites were available, so we had our pick. We selected site #A31, which was a great spot! It was located on the outside loop, so there was no one behind us, and close, but not too close to the bathrooms. Note that we only paid for one night because there are no refunds, but you can easily renew before checkout the next day. Since our schedule (depending on backcountry) was up in the air, we ended up paying one night at a time.

One day we did the Cracker Lake hike – the trailhead is located near the Many Glacier campground. Many Glacier appeared to be the most competitive campground in the park. When we arrived at the trailhead, there was already a line of cars onto the main road for the campground. We were glad we decided to just stay at Avalanche Campground for our time there because we figured our chances of getting a site at Many Glacier would have been low.

COMPETITVE BACKCOUNTRY (WALK-UP AND ADVANCED APPLICATIONS)

We attempted to reserve a backcountry reservation in advance, but we were a little bit late on our application (didn’t submit the day that reservations opened). We made the mistake of checking the “will accept any itinerary box” so were given a trip that we unfortunately couldn’t do and couldn’t get a refund. In addition, we attempted to get a permit as a walk-up. The Apgar backcountry office is apparently the most popular and the park had to impose restrictions on when walk-up lines could start (4 am and doors open at 7 am). So, we went to the St. Mary backcountry office at 7 am and were second in line. Unfortunately, we were not able to get the one-night trip we were looking at, so we ultimately passed on backcountry and stuck with day hikes instead!

Grand Canyon National Park

FRONT COUNTRY RESERVATIONS REQUIRED FOR MATHER CAMPGROUND ON THE SOUTH RIM. $18.00 PER NIGHT. We visited October 1-5, 2019.

There are two campgrounds at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Mather campground is in the Grand Canyon Village near the Bright Angel, South Kaibob, and Hermit trailheads and requires reservations from March to November (first come first serve from December to February). We booked this campsite for the nights before and after our backcountry trip down into the canyon. It appeared that most of the campsites were similar so we had selected #282 on the Pine Loop. The campground has flush toilets, sinks, and water spigots, plus pay showers available adjacent to the campground. The second campground, Desert View campground, is located about 26 miles east of the Grand Canyon Village and is first come first serve but closed in the winter months.

BACKCOUNTRY RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. $8.00 PER PERSON PER NIGHT PLUS $10.00 FLAT FEE FOR RESERVATION IN ADVANCE.

Reservations are required for the more popular routes along main corridor (Bright Angel, South Kaibob, and North Kaibob trails). We were lucky to get our route, which we did apply for in advance. I think it helped that we selected a less traveled route from Hermits Rest to Tonto Trail to the Bright Angel trail and only needed one campsite on the main corridor. In fact, we were even able to switch our campsite for the first night from Hermits Creek campground to Monument Creek campground at the backcountry office the day before our trip started. However, we met others in the canyon that had applied for their itinerary along the main corridor multiple times over multiple years before finally getting it. When planning your trip, keep in mind that the main corridor is much more heavily traveled (day hikers, larger campgrounds for backpackers, horse trails) but the trails are much more maintained. Hermits trail and the Tonto trail were much less trafficked; only one permit is issued for many of the campgrounds along the Tonto trail. We used these trail maps to help determine our route.

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Grand Teton National Park

FRONT COUNTRY RESERVATIONS NOT POSSIBLE. $32.00 PER NIGHT. We visited August 9-13, 2019.

We had hopes of getting a walk-in campsite at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park. Patrick had stayed at this campsite before – it sits on Jenny Lake, so nice views and a good central location, plus is a tent-only campground. We arrived around 8:30 am but were told the campsite was already sold out. Apparently, cars start lining up around 6 am; when we tried to get a site, we were told that the line of cars was all the way out to the main road and only 13 sites were available (of the 59 total). Needless to say, we were not even close to getting a campsite there.

So, we continued up to Colter Bay Village to try our luck there. We waited for about 45 minutes but were successful (it was around 11 am by this time)! This campground has over 300 sites and they are packed in closely, so it is not ideal if you’re looking for privacy. There are flush toilets and running sinks. Showers are located near the general store just outside the campgrounds. Colter Bay hosts RVs and tents, all mixed in (tent/RV sites with no hookups for $32.00/night). We reserved our site for one night and then renewed the next morning before checkout time (can always extend, but no refunds if you leave early). One great perk about the Colter Bay Village is that there is a backcountry office here, so we could get in line early to try to get backcountry permits.

1/3 BACKCOUNTRY PERMITS RESERVABLE IN ADVANCE, REST ARE FIRST COME FIRST SERVE. $35.00 PER RESERVATION

We were in line around 7:15 am at the backcountry office the morning before we wanted to start our trip (can book trips starting the night of or the following night) and there were two groups ahead of us. In speaking with the rangers the day before, we were told that they rarely run out of backcountry opportunities (they reserve 2/3 of all permits for walk-ups). While there are some very competitive itineraries (e.g., Paintbrush canyon), if you aren’t picky (which we weren’t), there are many great options that don’t fill up (e.g., Death Canyon). In Grand Teton, you can be in the backcountry 30 days out of the year. Therefore, the backcountry office will issue permits for up to 30 consecutive nights (2 nights at each camping zone), regardless whether the sites are on continuous trails, and for a price of $35.00 total (doesn’t matter how many nights). So, we booked one night in Death Canyon and a second night at Leigh Lake (required us to drive to different trailheads from when we hiked out of Death Canyon and hiked into Leigh Lake). Leigh Lake is typically very competitive since sites are accessible via canoe (which is a draw for many people). However, since we were able to book two days before our Leigh Lake night, there were a few sites available (good way to get a popular site!).

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Indiana Dunes National Park

RESERVATIONS SUGGESTED. $25.00 PER NIGHT. We visited August 4-5, 2019.

We reserved a night at the Dunewoods Campground, site #24. It appeared that walking up was an option, although the campground host mentioned that they had been and would be full for the next few weeks. The campgrounds were wooded, with large campsites and privacy/distance from other sites. Our site was a reasonable distance from the bathrooms (there are only one per loop, so take note if this is important to you), but right across the from the trash dumpster (good and bad). The campground showers were not the nicest I’ve seen, but at least they have them! The campground is not located within walking distance of the dunes and Lake Erie beaches, and parking at these areas was difficult (small parking lots, with many visitors).

Mt. Rainier National Park

RESERVATIONS NOT REQUIRED BUT RECOMMENDED FOR 2/4 CAMPGROUNDS. $20.00 PER NIGHT. We visited September 1-3, 2019.

There are only four campgrounds in the park; one is located on the northwest side, difficult to access, and hike-in sites only (Mowich Lake). Two others are located on the southeast (Ohanapecosh) and southwest (Cougar Rock) sides of the park and are reservable in advance. The last one, White River campground, is located on the northeast side and is first come first serve, so this is where we headed. It took us about an hour to get into the northeast entrance to the park (sitting in traffic). We arrived in the early afternoon on Sunday of Labor Day weekend and there were plenty of available sites. After evaluating all of the campsite loops, we settled on site #D36. It’s a bit tucked away but is close to the day-use parking lot. We didn’t have any issues with this since we weren’t at the site that much during the day. Loop D has some nice sites that front the White River. These were unfortunately already taken, otherwise we would have selected one of these!

Olympic National Park

FRONT COUNTRY RESERVATIONS NOT REQUIRED (ONLY 2 OF THE CAMPGROUNDS ACCEPT RESERVATIONS). PRICES FROM $15.00-$20.00 PER NIGHT. We visited from September 5-10, 2019.

There are several front country campgrounds at Olympic National Park. Getting around Olympic takes time as there are no direct routes through the park and requires driving around the perimeter to visit the different sections. So, campground selection should depend on what you want to do/see while in the park. We were coming from the north, so we stayed in the NE side of the park the first night near Hurricane Ridge and Port Angeles, WA at Heart O’ the Hills campground. This campground is located near one of the only backcountry offices in the park (other located at Quinault on the SW side of the park), so it was convenient for us. Our visit to Olympic was technically in the offseason (after Labor Day weekend), so we didn’t have trouble getting campsites as walk-ups (arrived around 6 pm and plenty of sites were available).

The second night we stayed at Mora Campground, about 5 minutes up the road from the Chilean Beach trailhead (at Rialto Beach), which is where we were starting our backcountry trip from, so it was very convenient! Again, no issue finding a campsite here, so we selected a site close to the bathroom with a large tent pad area. After our backcountry trip, we spent another night in the front country at Kalaloch campground. This campground is reservable in the peak season but was first come first serve when we visited. We arrived around 5 pm and there were several available sites to choose from. A few sites that face the beach/Pacific Ocean which would be amazing if you’re lucky enough to grab one. The D through F loops have fewer sites, so would probably be quieter. We took one of the interior sites near the bathroom (#A38) – nothing special.

BACKCOUNTRY RESERVATIONS NOT REQUIRED. $8 PER NIGHT PER PERSON PLUS $6 FLAT FEE (IF RESERVED ONLINE IN ADVANCE). FOR AREAS WITH QUOTA LIMITS, 50% ARE SAVED FOR WALK-UP RESRVATIONS.

We found that it was very easy to reserve backcountry permits as a walk-up. We went to the Port Angeles backcountry office (one of two open during the offseason). Olympic backcountry booking rules were similar to that of Grand Teton – you could get a permit for up to 14 consecutive days for trips starting that night or the next night, even if you weren’t on consecutive trails. In addition, there are many areas in Olympic that have no limits to the number of permits issued (so you can always get a walk-up permit for these areas). We took advantage of this system in order to get permits for the Seven Lakes Basin Loop (very popular). Our first night was at Chilean Beach (no quota limits) and then we could book the following three nights on the Seven Lakes Basin Loop (quota limits), technically a day earlier than those nights would be released for walk-ups. Our transition day was busy, but very feasible – we had to hike out of Chilean Beach, drive to the Seven Lakes Basin Loop, and hike into our first site on that loop (Canyon Creek #3). It was only a bit tricky due to tidal hiking restrictions out of Chilean Beach, so we arrived later at the Canyon Creek site than would normally would have otherwise.

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Yellowstone National Park

FRONT COUNTRY RESERVATIONS AVAILABLE AT 5/12 CAMPGROUNDS, BUT ALL OFFER FIRST COME FIRST SERVE. PRICES FROM $15.00 TO $31.00. We visited August 13-16, 2019.

Deciding where to camp in Yellowstone National Park is tricky because the park is so large and it takes so long to drive around to all of the sights. The Yellowstone National Park website provides times that the campgrounds filled the previous day and updated when they filled that day. If you can get cell service, this is a great tool! Since we didn’t have service, we utilized the campsite status board at the park entrance. We arrived just after lunch, driving up from Grand Teton to the south and checked the campsite board for status – all were full except Lewis Lake (12 miles from the south entrance) and Slough Creek (85 miles from the south entrance) out of 12 campsites total. That made our decision easy, Lewis Lake it was for the night (first come first serve only, $15.00 per night). We got one of the last 3 campsites available (site #W2) and the campground filled about 5 minutes after we arrived! The system at Lewis Lake is typical to what we saw across the country – you drive around to find an open site (one without a slip on the site tag) and then claim it with an item and pay for it using an envelope at the front of the campground. The ranger then circles around at some point (or points) during the day to officially register you. There is only a pit toilet at this campsite, if that’s an issue for you. Overall, Lewis Lake is not a bad campground, it’s just far from most things in the park. Overall, Lewis Lake is not a bad campground, it’s just far from most things in the park.

Due to the location of Lewis Lake, we decided to move campsites the next morning and headed north to Norris Campground around 6:45 am to try to secure a campsite here. There are two main loops to the park – a northern and southern loop. Norris sits on the NW of the southern loop and the SW of the northern loops, so is more centrally located which would help shorten some of our driving. Plus, it’s first come first serve only, so we figured we had a good chance of getting a site. It took about 1.5 hours to get to Norris from Lewis Lake and there was already a large line at the campground when we arrived. We were probably around 25-30 groups back. You have to wait at the front office until people leave the campsite for the day before they hand out sites to newcomers since existing campers have until checkout to extend their stay. We waited until around 10 am to get a site, but we were happy to get one ($20.00 per night)! We ended up with site #C81 (the rangers make the site selection, just based on who leaves and where you are in line), which was great – we didn’t back up into anyone and wasn’t too far from the bathrooms. Norris Campground has flush toilets and running water, but no showers. We stayed here for the remainder of our time in Yellowstone.

BACKCOUNTRY PERMITS AVAILABLE FIRST COME FIRST SERVE

While we didn’t have the time to backpack in Yellowstone, we did speak with the backcountry rangers to see if we could fit something in. Based on our conversations with them, they never run out of backcountry permits, so you can always get something if you walk-up.

Yosemite National Park

FRONT COUNTRY RESERVATIONS REQUIRED (ACCEPTED AT 7 OF 13 CAMPGROUNDS). FIRST COME FIRST SERVE CAMPGROUNDS FILL IN THE EARLY MORNING. PRICES FROM $12.00-$26.00 PER NIGHT. CANNOT LEAVE FOOD OR SCENTED ITEMS IN YOUR CAR OVERNIGHT. We visited September 21-27, 2019.

When we arrived at the Big Oak entrance on US120 around 11 am, we were informed that all the campsites were full. While we knew camping at Yosemite would be competitive, we were surprised they were full so early in the morning (before 11 am) even during the offseason. One way around this is if you are planning a backcountry trip you are permitted to camp within the park at backpacker’s campsites one night before and one night after your backpacking trip for a fee of $10 each night. This would have been perfect for us had we been able to backcountry camp. One very important thing to know about Yosemite is that you cannot leave food or scented items in your car overnight. Unfortunately, our cooler would not fit in the bear boxes at the trailheads/campgrounds, so we couldn’t camp in the park at all (bears have been known to rip cars open, fines are up to $5,000).

There are many camping options just outside the park as well for those that cannot secure a campground inside Yosemite. We ended up dispersed camping along Evergreen Road for the first 3 nights, which is about a mile west of the Big Oak entrance, where the food storage regulation did not apply. It did not make much sense to us that we could store our food in our car here, but not in the park, but so be it. We had even checked one campsite down the road (prohibitively expensive at $55/night), and they also indicated no food storage regulations because bears weren’t an issue near the campsite. Dispersed camping along Evergreen (road to Hetch Hetchy Valley) ended up working out very well! We found a turn out about ¼ mile passed Diamond O’ Campground which appeared to have a few previously used campsites along the dirt road. The sign at the turnout says the road is open from April through December. In addition, there is a picnic area (Middle Fork) about a ½ mile down the road from the turnout with a pit toilet, which we used to cook our breakfast and dinner. Evergreen Lodge is about ½ mile further down the road from the turnout, where you can get food and drinks (and wifi!).

Tioga Lake campground sits just outside the east park entrance along US 120. We pulled in here to see if the bear regulations applied at this campground. After speaking with the campsite host, it was clear that we would be fine if we just covered our cooler and food in the car, similar to what we did when dispersed camping. Fortunately, there were a few available campsites, and we selected campsite #3. The campground has 13 sites, including one for the host. All sites have lake front views excepts #s 1-3; however, campsite #3 still has an unobstructed lake view, but is set back off to the side. In fact, we ended up loving campsite #3 because it offers a little privacy from the rest of the campsites and shade. Each site has a picnic table, fire ring, bear box, and flat, gravel tent pad. The bear boxes at this campground did fit our cooler, and we did our best to remove our food and scented items from the car (although I’m certain we didn’t get everything). We stayed at this campground for 3 nights as well and it was one of our favorites of the entire 3-month trip!

BACKCOUNTRY RESERVATIONS NOT REQUIRED. FREE.

Yosemite administers backcountry permits based on entry trailhead and nothing more (no designated campsites). You can stay backcountry for as long as you’d like! There are a lot of backcountry options and the ranger walked us through his recommendations (very helpful!). If you hike on top of the valley, note that there is a radius from the rim that you can’t camp in (for safety). And the best part is that backpacking in Yosemite as a walk-up is FREE! As stated above, if you are planning a backcountry trip you are permitted to camp within the park at backpacker’s campsites one night before and one night after your backpacking trip for a fee of $10 each night.

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Zion National Park

FRONT COUNTRY RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. $20.00 PER NIGHT ($30.00 FOR HOOKUPS). We visited October 7-9, 2019.

There are three campgrounds in Zion National Park, but only two in Zion Canyon (Watchman and South campgrounds). These two campgrounds are reservable in advance and are very often full every night. Reservations for South and Watchman campgrounds can be made two weeks and six months ahead of your stay, respectively. Unfortunately, both campgrounds were completely full during our stay, so we could not camp in Zion. There is a third campground, Lava Point campground, which is located at Lava Point, about an hour drive from Zion Canyon. There are six sites here, all first come first serve. This campground isn’t as convenient as the other two since it is so far from the canyon. There are also many campgrounds in Springdale, but some did say they were full when we drove by, so reservations are recommended at these places as well. We did not end up camping in/around Zion, but instead stayed in St. George, Utah (about an hour drive from Zion).

BACKCOUNTRY RESERVATIONS NOT REQUIRED.

While we did not backcountry camp in Zion due to our time limitations, there are many opportunities to do so. Based on our conversations with the rangers, there was also plenty of availability for walk-up permits if we had decided to do it. The rangers did mention that there is typically a short line (5 groups or so) about 30 minutes before they open for the morning.