Campground · Yellowstone National Park
A handy base near the river confluence and geyser basins.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yellowstone Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yellowstone National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Yellowstone audio tourRecorded for this place
Madison Information Station and Trailside Museum“You're approaching Madison Information Station and its historic trailside museum. I'd make this a short stop for the building and the meadow view. Beyond it, the Gibbon and Firehole rivers join to form the Madison.”
Plays as you drive up to Madison Campground in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“First time driving through a national park. We used the Yellowstone tour on grand loop Road and it’s just like having a tour guide in your car with you.”
Guide
Madison Campground is a developed campground at 6,800 feet, reached from the Grand Loop Road near the West Entrance road. It has hundreds of tent, RV, and group sites, with a mix of partly wooded and sunnier spots. The campground sits near the meeting of the Gibbon and Firehole rivers, where they form the Madison River. It’s a useful base if you want to camp in the park and keep the western geyser basins within reach: the campground is about 16 miles north of Old Faithful and 14 miles east of West Yellowstone.
Reservations run through the campground operator, and the campground operates seasonally, so check the current season dates before planning a stay. Each site has a picnic table and fire grate. There’s also a small store for snacks, camping basics, and souvenirs, but no restaurant at the campground.
There are no showers or utility hookups. Flush toilets and potable water are seasonal, and internet isn’t available; cell service is limited. Three accessible campsites are reservable. RV site sizes vary, and some sites may not be level, so confirm the allowed combined vehicle length for the exact site you’re booking.
Site spacing and quiet vary by loop. Some campers find neighbors close and notice noise or foot traffic; others describe roomy, quiet sites. Expect a developed campground rather than a secluded one.
A path leads from camp toward the Madison River, and several nearby rivers are used for fishing. In early summer the surrounding meadows bring wildflowers and bison; in September and October you may hear elk bugling. Wildlife can be part of the stay, but sightings and sounds aren’t guaranteed.
Wildlife
713 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
743 sightingsWolfMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
5,273 sightingsBisonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
3,258 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
397 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,494 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yellowstone. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingPurple Mountain Trail6.6 mi · 4 hr · 0.3 mi awayEleven switchbacks climb to views over the Gibbon and Madison valleys.
EasyTerrace Spring Trail0.2 mi · 15 min · 0.8 mi awayA short boardwalk loop to Yellowstone’s small thermal area.
EasyHarlequin Lake Trail1 mi · 45 min · 1.3 mi awayA quick walk through young pines to a quiet lake.
Visitor center · 0.2 mi awayMadison Information Station and Trailside MuseumA useful stop inside an original 1930 trailside museum.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayTerrace SpringA short boardwalk ends at a spring bubbling with carbon dioxide.
Sight · 1 mi awayFirehole FallsA 40-foot waterfall beside the one-way canyon drive.
Picnic area · 1.6 mi awayTuff Cliff Picnic AreaA roadside picnic beneath a cliff of welded volcanic ash.
Beach · 1.9 mi awayFirehole Canyon Swimming AreaA river dip that follows the snowmelt’s schedule.
Picnic area · 3.9 mi awayFirehole River Picnic AreaPause by the Firehole where geothermal water warms the river.
Picnic area · 4.3 mi awayGibbon Falls Picnic AreaA riverside lunch stop below Gibbon Falls.
Sight · 4.5 mi awayGibbon FallsA quick roadside stop beside an 84-foot caldera-rim waterfall.Parkwolf’s Yellowstone ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
