National park campgrounds provide the ultimate way to experience America’s most spectacular landscapes, allowing visitors to wake up surrounded by the same scenery that draws millions of people from around the world. The difference between staying inside park boundaries versus commuting from outside accommodations transforms a park visit from a day trip into an immersive wilderness experience where the adventure continues after other visitors head home.
Choosing the right campground can make or break a national park camping trip. Some offer stunning views and premium locations, while others provide basic facilities in less desirable settings. Here is a list of 18 best campgrounds in national parks that combine spectacular locations with practical amenities that enhance rather than detract from the wilderness experience.
Watchman Campground, Zion
This Zion National Park campground puts campers within walking distance of the park’s shuttle system while providing stunning views of the iconic red rock formations that define southern Utah. The Virgin River runs alongside the campground, creating a natural soundtrack that enhances the desert camping experience.
Modern facilities, including flush toilets and showers, make this accessible to families and camping newcomers, while the proximity to trailheads allows for early morning hikes before crowds arrive.
Mather Campground, Grand Canyon
Located on the South Rim, this Grand Canyon campground provides easy access to the park’s most famous viewpoints while offering a true forest camping experience among ponderosa pines. The campground operates year-round, making it possible to experience the canyon during quieter winter months when snow transforms the landscape.
Multiple loops accommodate different camping preferences, from RV sites with hookups to tent-only areas that provide more privacy and a wilderness atmosphere.
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Glacier Point Road Campgrounds, Yosemite
The three campgrounds along this scenic route — Bridalveil Creek, Wawona, and Hodgdon Meadow — provide different approaches to Yosemite camping, from high-elevation alpine experiences to meadow settings surrounded by giant sequoias. Bridalveil Creek sits at 7,200 feet elevation, offering cooler temperatures during summer and access to high-country hiking trails.
The elevation difference means these campgrounds provide refuge from valley floor crowds while maintaining access to Yosemite’s most famous attractions.
Jenny Lake Campground, Grand Teton
This small, tent-only campground provides the most coveted camping experience in Grand Teton National Park, with sites that offer direct views of the dramatic mountain range reflected in the pristine alpine lake. The campground’s size limits crowds, while its location provides immediate access to some of the park’s best hiking trails and boat shuttles across the lake.
Reservations fill quickly, but the payoff includes arguably the most spectacular camping views in the entire national park system.
Many Glacier Campground, Glacier
Situated in one of Glacier National Park’s most scenic valleys, this campground provides access to excellent hiking trails while offering dramatic mountain views directly from many campsites. The campground serves as a base camp for exploring the park’s northeast section, including trails that lead to pristine alpine lakes and high-elevation viewpoints.
Wildlife viewing opportunities abound, with mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and bears frequently spotted in the surrounding areas.
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Jumbo Rocks Campground, Joshua Tree
This desert campground showcases Joshua Tree National Park’s unique landscape, with massive boulder formations creating natural privacy screens between campsites and providing endless opportunities for exploration and photography. The rocks create microclimates that offer shelter from desert winds while providing dramatic backdrops for camping.
Clear desert skies make this one of the best campgrounds in the park system for stargazing and night photography.
Devil’s Garden Campground, Arches
Utah’s red rock country provides the setting for this unique campground, where sites are nestled among sandstone fins and arches that create natural architecture more impressive than any human construction. The campground’s location provides immediate access to Landscape Arch and other famous formations, while the elevated desert setting offers expansive views across the Colorado Plateau.
The high desert environment creates comfortable sleeping conditions even during the summer months.
Furnace Creek Campground, Death Valley
Despite Death Valley’s reputation for extreme conditions, this campground provides surprisingly comfortable desert camping experiences during cooler months, with palm trees and desert springs creating an oasis atmosphere. The campground operates as a base camp for exploring the park’s diverse landscapes, from below-sea-level salt flats to high-elevation mountain ranges.
Winter camping here provides warm, sunny days and cool, clear nights, perfect for exploring one of America’s remarkable national parks.
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Elkmont Campground, Great Smoky Mountains
This historic campground in Tennessee provides access to Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s most popular attractions while maintaining a sense of wilderness despite its proximity to Gatlinburg’s tourist activities. The campground sits among old-growth forests that showcase the park’s incredible biodiversity, while nearby trails lead to waterfalls, historic structures, and excellent wildlife viewing areas.
The elevation provides cooler temperatures than the surrounding valleys, making summer camping more comfortable.
Schoodic Woods Campground, Acadia
Located on the mainland portion of Acadia National Park, this newer campground provides a quieter alternative to the busy Mount Desert Island while offering excellent access to rugged coastline and forest hiking trails. The campground features modern facilities and well-designed sites that blend into the natural forest setting.
The location provides opportunities to explore Acadia’s less crowded areas while still accessing the park’s famous rocky coastline and lighthouse views.
Moraine Park Campground, Rocky Mountain
This expansive meadow setting in Rocky Mountain National Park provides stunning views of the Continental Divide while serving as a base camp for high-elevation hiking adventures. The campground’s location offers excellent wildlife viewing opportunities, particularly during dawn and dusk when elk frequently graze in the surrounding meadows.
Multiple loops accommodate different camping preferences, while the elevation provides cool mountain air even during summer months.
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Chisos Basin Campground, Big Bend
Nestled in the Chisos Mountains at 5,400 feet elevation, this campground provides relief from the desert heat while offering dramatic views across Big Bend’s vast Chihuahuan Desert landscape. The mountain setting creates a completely different ecosystem than the park’s desert floor, with cooler temperatures and different wildlife species.
The campground serves as the starting point for excellent hiking trails that lead to mountain peaks and desert overlooks.
Sunset Campground, Bryce Canyon
This high-elevation campground provides easy access to Bryce Canyon’s famous hoodoo formations while offering dramatic sunset views that give the campground its name. The 8,000-foot elevation creates cool mountain conditions even during summer, while winter camping provides opportunities to experience the park’s snow-covered landscape.
The campground’s location allows for easy walks to multiple viewpoints without dealing with parking challenges at popular overlooks.
Grant Grove Campground, Kings Canyon
Located among giant sequoias in Kings Canyon National Park, this campground provides the unique experience of camping beneath some of Earth’s largest living organisms. The grove setting creates a cathedral-like atmosphere, while the campground provides access to excellent hiking trails that showcase both sequoia forests and high-country wilderness areas.
The elevation provides comfortable summer temperatures while maintaining four-season accessibility.
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Signal Mountain Campground, Grand Teton
This lakefront campground on Jackson Lake provides water-based recreation opportunities combined with dramatic mountain views that encompass the entire Teton Range. The campground offers both tent and RV sites, many with direct lake access that allows for kayaking, fishing, and swimming.
The location provides excellent wildlife viewing opportunities, particularly for moose, elk, and various bird species that frequent the lake and surrounding wetlands.
Apgar Campground, Glacier
Located near Glacier National Park’s entrance, this campground sits on the shores of Lake McDonald, providing water recreation opportunities alongside mountain scenery. The campground offers easy access to the park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road while maintaining a peaceful lakefront setting.
Evening programs and ranger talks enhance the camping experience, while the lake provides opportunities for fishing, boating, and swimming during warmer months.
Indian Creek Campground, Canyonlands
This smaller campground in Canyonlands National Park provides access to excellent hiking and four-wheel-drive routes while offering a more intimate desert camping experience than larger facilities. The campground sits among pinyon and juniper trees that provide some shade and wind protection in the high desert environment.
The location serves as a base camp for exploring the Needles District’s spectacular red rock formations and ancient Ancestral Puebloan sites.
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Kolob Canyons Campground, Zion
Though small and primitive, this campground in Zion’s less-visited Kolob Canyons section provides access to excellent hiking trails and dramatic red rock scenery without the crowds that characterize the main park area. The campground’s location offers cooler temperatures than Zion Canyon while providing access to trails that lead to natural arches and towering sandstone cliffs.
The primitive facilities attract serious campers seeking solitude and wilderness experiences.
Wild Places Continue Drawing Tent Stakes
National park campgrounds provide the foundation for America’s most memorable outdoor adventures, transforming spectacular scenery from day-trip destinations into immersive wilderness experiences. These carefully selected locations prove that the best camping combines practical amenities with access to natural wonders, creating opportunities to wake up in landscapes that inspire lifelong connections to wild places.
The camping experience itself becomes part of the adventure, building an appreciation for the natural world that extends far beyond any single park visit.
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