US-20, A Long-Long Road, Coast to Coast!
Public campgrounds along US-20, which runs from the west coast in Oregon out to Boston, Massachusetts, are plentiful. Unless otherwise noted, all campgrounds are within 20 miles of the highway, one way. Some campgrounds may not be listed; please inquire locally.
OR:
South Beach State Park, Newport
Mary's Peak Campground, Suislaw National Forest
Waterloo County Park Campground, Waterloo
Trout Creek Campground, Willamette NF, Cascadia
Lost Prairie Campground, Willamette NF, along US-20
Note: This is really a group campground. But if the place is not reserved by a group, the individual sites are up for renting. Managed by Linn County.
Suttle Lake, Sisters
Note: The Three Sisters area is gorgeous. But be advised that some of the campgrounds that show up on Rand McNally's maps are walk-in only, and it's a good hike to get to them. They're backpacker's campsites. But this link takes you to two campgrounds that are car campgrounds.
Allen Springs Campground, Camp Sherman
Note: Though it looks a bit far on some maps, it's just 12 miles from Santiam Pass.
Tumalo State Park, Tumalo
ID:
Note: The first few miles take US-20 concurrently and/or parallel to I-84. Please see those listings through Mountain Home.
Craters of the Moon National Monument, Arco
Warm River Campground, Caribou-Targhee NF, Ashton
Grandview Campground, Caribou-Targhee NF, Ashton
Henry's Lake State Park, Island Park
MT:
Lonesomehurst Campground, Custer-Gallatin NF, West Yellowstone
Cherry Creek Campground, Custer-Gallatin NF, West Yellowstone
Baker's Hole Campground, Custer-Gallatin NF, West Yellowstone
Beaver Creek Campground, Custer-Gallatin NF, West Yellowstone
Note: 14 miles north of US-20, but total mileage from YNP is 24 miles.
WY:
Yellowstone National Park Campgrounds near US-20, which goes through the park:
Note: Madison Campground, Norris Campground, Canyon Campground, Fishing Bridge RV & Campround.
Rex Hale Campground, Shoshone NF
Note: About 18 miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone.
Clearwater Campground, Shoshone NF
Note: About 21 miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone.
Elk Fork Campground, Shoshone NF
Note: No water! About 25 miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone
Big Game Campground, Shoshone NF
Note: About 25 miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone.
Wapiti Campground, Shoshone NF
Note: About 25 miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone.
Buffalo Bill State Park, Cody
Note: Two campgrounds.
Boysen State Park, Shoshoni
Riverside Park, City of Douglas, Douglas
NE:
Toadstool Geological Park and Campground, Nebraska NF
Fort Robinson State Park, Crawford
Chadron State Park, Chadron
Red Cloud Campground, Nebraska NF, Chadron
Note: No water.
Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area, Valentine
Note: 26 miles south of Valentine, and 34 miles from Nenzel.
Smith Falls State Park, Valentine
Note: 19 miles from US-20.
Wood Lake City Park, Wood Lake
Note: This is one where you should inquire locally. Several websites mention its location, and this one is reliable, but there is no website for the park itself. It is a very tiny town (population under 100).
Long Pine State Recreation Area, Long Pine
Atkinson Lake State Recreation Area, Atkinson
Carney City Park, O'Neill
Note: no direct website, only this one. For more information, inquire locally.
Bruce Park Campground, Creighton
Note: This is another where you should inquire locally. Several websites mention its location, and this is the most reliable one, but there is no website for the park itself. It is about 10 miles from Plainview on US-20
Willow Creek Recreation Area, Pierce
Scenic Park Campground, City of South Sioux City
To be continued in the next post....
US-93, Arizona to the Canadian Border
Public campgrounds along US-93, which runs from Wickenburg, AZ to the Canadian border in MT, do exist, though it may mean some trekking down a dirt road. All campgrounds are within 20 miles of the highway, one way, unless noted. Other campsites may exist; inquire locally.
AZ:
Lake Mead Camping
NV:
Valley of Fire State Park, Overton
Note: Visitors should note that this is in the desert. It gets HOT in summer! It's also a little more than 20 miles from US-93.
Donna's experiences at Valley of Fire, 2015
This is a personal log of a day at VoF SP in July, 2015. Yes, it was HOT!
Cathedral Gorge State Park, Panaca
Spring Valley State Park, Pioche
Great Basin National Park
Note: Included because it may be a destination. It's not particularly close to US-93.
Cave Lake State Park, Ely
Timber Creek Campground, Humboldt-Toiyabe NF
Bird Creek Campground, Humboldt-Toiyabe NF
East Creek Campground, Humboldt-Toiyabe NF
Angel Lake Campground, Humboldt-Toiyabe NF, Wells
ID:
Craters of the Moon National Monument, Arco
Mill Creek Campground, Salmon-Challis NF, Challis
Mosquito Flat Reservoir Campground, S-CNF, Challis
Note: 17 miles down a dirt road. Nothing longer than 32 ft total length. BYO Water!
MT:
Indian Trees CG Bitterroot NF, Sula
Alta Campground, Bitterroot NF, Darby
Lake Como Campground, Bitterroot NF, Darby
Black Bear Campground, Bitterroot NF, Hamilton
Charles Waters Campground, Bitterroot NF, Stevensville
Finley Point State Park, Flathead Lake, Polson
Big Arm State Park, Flathead Lake, Big Arm
Wayfarers State Park, Flathead Lake, Big Fork
Glacier National Park
Note: Campgrounds on the western side of the park are Apgar, Fish Creek, Sprague Creek, Logging Creek, Quartz Creek, Bowman Lake, and Kintla Lake. Bear in mind that if you are towing, and wish to camp on the eastern side of the park, you will need to utilize US-2 for the purpose. Large rigs are not authorized on Going to the Sun Road.
Whitefish Lake State Park, Whitefish
Les Mason State Park, Whitefish
Tally Lake Campground, Flathead NF, Whitefish
North Dickey Lake Campground, Kootenai NF, Libby
Rexford Bench Campground, Kootenai NF, Rexford
You have reached the Canadian border!
I need to look before I leap!
Whoops--my bad. As usual, Donna, you were way ahead of me! Thanks again for putting this together. I'd really love to try some of these on for size, the further north, the better! Here's hoping that next year will be a better year for road trips in general, and camping trips in particular!
Rick
aka: Stir-Crazy in Phoenix!, (where, on top of the pandemic, we're having the hottest, driest summer in our history, with no relief in sight)!
