roadtripper5560031

Drove a long way down a dirt road only to find a locked gate 4 miles from where the gps was taking us.

Heading from Moab to Denver & this was a super easy (30 seconds off the I-70 on a paved road) place to spend the night. Could hear the interstate, but it was more like a background noise than actual noise. Was a family of deers that spent most of the evening and next morning staring at us from a distance, but other than that we were alone. Just a open gravel space, so if it was busy you wouldn’t have privacy, but you would have to have about a dozen rigs for it to be busy & I don’t see that happening. Beautiful sunrise and sunset.

It’s a Walmart parking lot, but a lovely Walmart parking lot. Tons of RVs and vans. People had tables and lawn chairs out, and were cooking meals and having their morning coffees. All in all a better than average Walmart to sleep at.

Cheap spot to sleep overnight just outside Lake Louise. Bathroom in the main shuttle/parking lot. Nothing fancy, but it exactly what it claims to be... A dirt parking lot where you can sleep overnight for waaaaaayyy less than a campground or hotel in lake Louise or Banff.

After spending a month in Utah and Colorado it was amazing to go hiking and see only 3 other people. The park was beautiful, and Alice Lake Campground was only about half full and quiet. Deer wandered right through our site.

Showers and flush toilets at the building near the entrance, which was easily bikeable from the campground. Vault toilets at the campground. Water needs to be boiled.

Hole In The Rock Rd is a bit washboard, but you are only on it for like 1/4 mile. The roads inside the camping area have big ruts and dry washouts (could be creeks in heavy rains, but I’m not sure) so I wouldn’t recommend arriving in the dark unless you know where you are going. But they are easy to navigate in daylight & with decent vehicle clearance. That being said there was a newer muscle car in there when we left, they just parked in the first area. This place must be huge because we saw about 10 cars drive in and they were out of sight. A few big busses, so definitely big rig friendly.

We won the wave lottery & were told about this free campsite by the BLM volunteer. It is about 30minutes down a dirt road, that is apparently good in dry weather but impassable in rain or snow. Road was fine for our van, but I wouldn’t want to drive in and out multiple times. It is about 1/2 mile passed the Wirehead Pass trailhead, so it is the perfect spot if you are hiking the area.

The campsite itself is amazing. Vault toilets & every site has a covered picnic table & a fire pit.

Some of the sites have shade structures over the picnic tables and along the back many are treed and somewhat private. Bathrooms with flush toilets & dishwashing sinks in the campground. Pay showers were uneventful, and a few minute walk away at the store at the junction. We were about a 30min walk to the Canyon Hot Springs trailhead, which I highly recommend starting really early in the morning so the weather is still cooler to enjoy the hot springs.

We saw some big rigs in here, but the sites that would be acceptable are few and far between, so during busy season I would try reserving a spot that would be big enough or stay at the RV site just on the other side of the store.

We were planning to leave Yellowstone to free camp somewhere, but it would have been over 60 miles to drive out and then back into the location we were going to hike, so it was cheaper to just pay the $15 and stay in the park. We arrived as it was getting dark and there were not many van appropriate spots left. We found one in A loop and parked just as the rains started. Vault toilets throughout and dumpsters at the entrance. Didn’t explore much else. I think the max vehicles allowed is about 25” and honestly our 17ft van wouldn’t have fit in many of the left over spots.

We accidentally booked a walk in spot instead of a drive in and the ranger was super friendly in helping us change our site to a beautiful one with views of the river
Outdoor Cold shower/water tap and pit toilets. Big sites and a beautiful park.