Slough Creek Campground

Sloth creek campsite is directly in the Lamar valley. We really wanted to stay in the valley to minimize the drive each morning in the hope of seeing wolf and bear. We had a two day drive to Yellowstone. Thus we didn't arrive until all the sights were full. We were advised by the nice host to be in the queue by 6am the next morning. We went off and slept in our car that night. We were in the queue by 5:30 am. We were he second car! We had a space by 8am in the morning.

There are only 16 spaces at the end of a. 2.5 mile untarmaced road. The sites have a picnic bench, fire pit, tent pitch and bear food safe/ cupboard. The toilets are drop toilets with plenty of paper and hand gel (not water). These were the cleanest pit toilets I have ever seen. Well done Tower Maintenance team.

The water comes from a pump. We found this to be a two person job to get the water out of the pump bit not a problem.

Why did we like. Is site? The price was reasonable. We have a micro tent and we're delighted with the price. There are no large RVS etc thus no loud generators. There is plenty of space to give you privacy from your neighbours. Clean loos. Close to the wildlife hot spot. Nice location beside the creek. We even had intermittent AT&T reception!

We stayed in mid/late June. If you are interested in seeing wildlife, this seems like the best place in the park to camp (Lamar District of Yellowstone).

Some sites are definitely only sized for tent or van only, but some can take trailers, though the 25' length is about max. Vault toilets are fantastic, camp hosts great, and everyone here seems to know that this is a special place to be able to camp in Yellowstone.

This campground is great for solar. No generators allowed. Some sites get shade part of the day, but it is not heavily wooded.

Getting a site is the trick. It is all first come, first serve. They usually know in the afternoon how many spaces will be available the next day, and write it on a board at the entrance if any will be available. I understand that people will get in line as early as 5:30 am, though 6:00/6:30 seems more the norm. We happened to luck into a space, as we got a spot at Soda Butte CG in the morning (just east of Cook City and NE Entrance to park), and came into Yellowstone to do a short hike and scope out Pebble Creek and Slough Creek Campgrounds to get the skinny for next time we come though. It just happened that someone left unexpectedly early, and so at 3:30 pm we were offered a spot, which we took in a heartbeat. Paid, retrieved our trailer, and have been here 6 nights.

Online and at Visitors Centers, I saw digital displays of what time the various campgrounds filled up the day before, and what their current status is.

Oh yeah, there's even 1-2 bars Verizon here most of the time. I'm told this may be the only first come first serve CG with cell service.

We've talked to campground hosts at a few different CGs during this trip, and the enforcement of max length is CG by CG. Apparently each of the 9 districts has a director, and they set the tone/standards for how much the max combined length restrictions are enforced. It can also vary camp host to camp host. One guy at Norris CG said he helped get a 30' rig + big truck into a pull through site there, but other hosts have tape measures and if you're a 1/2" over, your outta luck. At the time of writing this, I forget what the stated max length combined is, but I want to say 40'. We are at 43' total, and it was no problem whatsoever for us.

A bison was mowing the grass in front of our trailer this afternoon.

We happened over to this side of the park when I noticed the nps site said available. And we LUCKED out and got site number 1. The host was wonderful and said they had just been open 2 days. Site 1 has amazing views even though day campers walk right by on the trail, they were all friendly. All sites are worth a stay here but #1 and #11 stand out to me as really good.
I doubt we will get this site again but we might try every year !
No hookups and only a hand faucet for water. Pit toilets were VERY Clean!

This is an amazing site; once we arrived and got settled in we realized how lucky we were to get a spot here. The big negative thing I can say about this experience is that Site 9 has zero shade if you are tent camping. We were there in June 2021 when it was hot - it touched 90 degrees and no clouds every day.

The other negative is that they need bigger and better signage that the campground is for campers only. We saw probably 15 cars drive into the campground and turn around and gawk at us one afternoon. It should be posted more clearly that it’s for campground users only, and that there is no outlet. Because it was so hot and dry this extra traffic kicked up a ton of dust.

Site 9 has what appears to be an obvious nearby tent pad, but it was unclear if we were supposed to use it. It did not look level and was weedy. It seems almost like there used to be a lot more sites in the campground and that this pad was leftover from another site. Otherwise there is room for a 4p tent closer to the fork of the creek under the tall pines behind the picnic table.

Positives: bathrooms were immaculate, camp host was warm and welcoming, QUIET - all you can hear at night is the creek (and not generators like some other CGs in Yellowstone), we saw a bison and a pronghorn in camp and there was a black bear with cubs supposedly around, excellent water, stargazing, there’s a fox den just down the road, the Slough Creek Trailhead is walkable. I will definitely camp here again if I can get a reservation.

It is definitely on the basic end of a campground, and it’s far from the Yellowstone tourist spots (another plus for me), but if that’s what you want this is your spot.

Spent 3 nights here. Rustic and quiet. Sites are gravel and level. Hosts are friendly and helpful. Pit toilets are clean. Husband did a lot of fishing. Lots of fish in the creek, but they are picky. Lots of bison came through. Also saw a beaver and a bear. Sites 1-7 have direct/close creek access.

Slough Creek is a small, primitive campground with 29 single-family sites and is located 2.5 miles down a dirt road about 5 miles east of Tower Junction on the banks of Slough Creek. There are both wooded and open campsites and most are best sited for tents and small RVs. Generators are not allowed at this campground. Each campsite has a table, fire ring and grill.Season: Mid June to late September.Slough Creek Campground Best Campsites: 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13.