Canyon Campground — Attraction in West Yellowstone

I am hesitant to leave this review, but I haven't seen this information literally anywhere else: Be forewarned that you must be at the site well before closing to get a spot, even with a reservation.

Other times I have booked campsites through NPS, I got to select which type of site I wanted and then select from remaining available spots. We did this for both Yosemite and Grand Canyon just a week prior. Yellowstone was our last stop on a 2 week road trip, and I guess I wasn't paying attention when I booked it, but I assumed that would be how this would work. Somehow I got lucky and reserved a site for July 3 only 2 weeks before. Hooray! Once in a lifetime opportunity to camp at Yellowstone.

The morning of we are getting ready to head out, entering Grand Teton where I wouldn't have cell service when I thought to look up my details just in case. I was surprised to see no listed site. Hmm, that's odd... I looked at the email, looked at the reservation site, nothing. My heart sank as I realized that the wording can be interpreted that you pay a "deposit" for the night and then when you actually show up is when you get assigned a spot and pay the remaining balance. I decided to heck with it, we wouldn't change our day's plans just because of this. Our plan was to arrive around 9:45, and I noticed the reservation office closed at 10pm. Well the best laid plans go to waste, and we rolled in at 10:05.

There was a sign that said "late reservations check in" pointing to the office. Okay, holding onto hope... But then the first thing that made me realize I was in trouble was when I pulled on the locked door, and the gal inside looked up, scowled at me, and went back to doing her closing procedures. I get it, I have worked plenty of jobs where customers show right at even after closing and they become public enemy number 1. My girlfriend is more optimistic than me, so she actually waved and tried to say hello and was ignored. I got back into the car to wait and see if maybe we could catch them on the way out. Another couple pulled up and mentioned they too had realized they hadn't planned on arriving before "close" and said they had called ahead and were told they should be there by 9 or even 8pm. Finally the two people manning the site came outside and blatantly ignored the 4 of us standing there, merely wanting any kind of answer for what had happened, got in a van and left.

But here's the thing: If this had been made explicitly clear to me I would have planned my day around arriving early to check in, and then going back out to see more sites. Nowhere, and I mean absolutely NOWHERE that I can tell does Xanterra say that you must check in by 8/9/10pm. Not on the website, not on the booking page, not in the dozen or so marketing emails I received, not in the confirmation email. Screwing up is my own dumb fault and I can accept that; what I cannot accept is the lack of any kind of transparency and the apparent lack of care simply because we were 5 minutes after "close."

We went back the next day just to see what we missed, and had we gotten to stay, I would have chuckled to myself what a very average camping experience at Yellowstone is. Sites were crowded together, on the smaller side and I saw several tents and campers cramped next to each other. It seems like services were somewhat spread out. It was nice that trash cans were everywhere I guess. I didn't use any of the amenities (obviously) but I heard complaints about the showers from people on the trail who had gotten to stay. Why am I not surprised to learn that Yellowstone accommodations aren't even provisioned by NPS but rather a private company.

I don't see any additional charges on my credit card, but I am out the $50 or so the reservation cost and had a terrible night sleeping in the driver seat of...

Location in the park is very convenient. That is the only positive for me, really. Xanterra has no business operating in our National Parks — corporate greed is rampant. They need to spend their profit money on much needed updates and supporting the parks they operate in. ||If you are a city slicker renting a fancy camper van/RV for your first big camping excursion, then this place is for you! A majority of people who camp here seem to have zero camping etiquette— if you want people cutting through your campsite to get to the bathroom quicker all while having to listen to generators roaring, dogs barking and kids screaming/crying at all hours of the night then this place should suffice. Staff members do not enforce any rules here. This campground is awful for tent campers especially. You do not get to pick your site when booking, it is up to staff to assign you once you check in. I’ll never do that again! There is absolutely no privacy here. None. You might as well invite your neighbor in your tent. You are packed in this campground like sardines in a tin can. ||The shower stalls provide very little privacy, especially for short people like myself. There is nothing to stop the water from getting everything in the tiny changing area of your shower stall from getting soaking wet. The gaps between the doors allow people to see right in, so I hung my towel and clothes up to block them. I did appreciate that the water was hot and they do not time you. ||Whoever designed the bathrooms located all across Yellowstone needs to go back to school and pay attention. The stalls are too short, so it forces you to have to either straddle the toilet or wedge yourself between the toilet and wall in order to open the stall door. So gross! ||I will never camp here again. I will drive farther out of my way to camp somewhere more private where I can pick my site.|| J195 was our...

Nice campground but the reservation system is flawed and the manager on duty wasnt helpful. I reserved a site online and entered my tent dimensions as 10x10. When we showed up we got assigned a site with no logical spot for our tent. We went back to the office and told then about our problem and the lady said that they must not noticed my tent dimensions (she checked her binder and our site could only accommodate a 6x7 tent) and that they would simply switch me with someone else. After five minutes the manager comes from his office and tells me that nothing could be done. Note: we arrived around 1 PM and about half of the campsites were still unoccupied. I told him "cant you switch me with someone who hasn't arrived" (since people dont know what site they are assigned until they arrive anyways). Manager says "that wouldn't be fair to those campers." (Those campers would even know that they were switched with someone else). Manager told me to make do with the site or he could give us a refund. Except where would we stay. We stuck with our site and placed our tent on a sloped area (we slept as if we laying at a 15-20 degree angle). We went about our day and when we returned around 7pm, 36 sites still remained empty in 4 loops that we drove through. 36 sites which couldn't be switched with ours. I read other reviews that mention problems with their sites and them being switched with someone who hadn't arrived. Before the manager came out from the office, the clerk said that they make changes all the time. The solution is simple, let people reserve their own campsite. I've stayed in other national parks, state parks, and national forests that let you choose your own site based on the descriptions provided. I don't understand how a park like Yellowstone can be struck in...