National Park RV Campground Fee Index 2026
We compiled posted nightly fees for 38 RV-eligible campground or campsite types across seven major U.S. national parks to answer a simple question: what does a national-park RV campsite actually cost in 2026?
per night across the 38-site sample.
including Yellowstone's full-hookup Fishing Bridge outlier.
from primitive/non-hookup sites to full-hookup RV service.
What the sample says
The middle of the sample is tightly clustered around the low-to-mid $30s: the median is $35 per night. The overall mean is $34.47, but that average is pulled upward by Yellowstone's Fishing Bridge RV Park at $94 plus taxes. Remove that single full-hookup entry and the remaining sample averages about $32.86 per night.
Service level matters. Most federal park sites in the sample are non-hookup campsites. Electric or water-equipped sites generally sit above the basic-site price, while full-hookup service can be dramatically more expensive.
Park-by-park averages in this sample
Yellowstone
$40.6 average across 8 entries. Excluding Fishing Bridge full hookups: about $33.0.
Yosemite
$34.0 average across 10 RV-eligible campground entries.
Great Smoky Mountains
$31.2 average across 5 entries.
Acadia
$34.0 average across 4 RV-related site types.
Joshua Tree
$33.0 average across 5 campgrounds.
Olympic
$24.0 average across Hoh and Kalaloch.
Zion
$35.0 average across 4 posted campsite types.
Full dataset
| Park | Campground / site type | Nightly fee | Service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellowstone | Bridge Bay | $38 | Non-hookup |
| Yellowstone | Canyon | $45 | Non-hookup |
| Yellowstone | Fishing Bridge RV Park | $94 | Full hookup |
| Yellowstone | Grant Village | $45 | Non-hookup |
| Yellowstone | Madison | $38 | Non-hookup |
| Yellowstone | Indian Creek | $20 | Non-hookup |
| Yellowstone | Lewis Lake | $20 | Non-hookup |
| Yellowstone | Mammoth | $25 | Non-hookup |
| Yosemite | Upper Pines | $36 | Non-hookup |
| Yosemite | Lower Pines | $36 | Non-hookup |
| Yosemite | North Pines | $36 | Non-hookup |
| Yosemite | Wawona | $36 | Non-hookup |
| Yosemite | Bridalveil Creek | $36 | Non-hookup |
| Yosemite | Hodgdon Meadow | $36 | Non-hookup |
| Yosemite | Crane Flat | $36 | Non-hookup |
| Yosemite | White Wolf | $28 | Non-hookup |
| Yosemite | Porcupine Flat | $24 | Non-hookup |
| Yosemite | Tuolumne Meadows | $36 | Non-hookup |
| Great Smoky Mountains | Cades Cove | $30 | Non-hookup |
| Great Smoky Mountains | Elkmont | $30 | Non-hookup |
| Great Smoky Mountains | Smokemont | $30 | Non-hookup |
| Great Smoky Mountains | Look Rock Standard | $30 | Non-hookup |
| Great Smoky Mountains | Look Rock Electric | $36 | Electric |
| Acadia | Blackwoods RV | $30 | Non-hookup |
| Acadia | Schoodic Drive-up Small RV | $30 | Electric 20A |
| Acadia | Schoodic RV Electric | $36 | Electric |
| Acadia | Schoodic RV Electric + Water | $40 | Electric + water |
| Joshua Tree | Black Rock | $35 | Non-hookup |
| Joshua Tree | Cottonwood | $35 | Non-hookup |
| Joshua Tree | Indian Cove | $35 | Non-hookup |
| Joshua Tree | Jumbo Rocks | $30 | Non-hookup |
| Joshua Tree | Ryan | $30 | Non-hookup |
| Olympic | Hoh | $24 | Non-hookup |
| Olympic | Kalaloch | $24 | Non-hookup |
| Zion | Watchman Electric | $45 | Electric |
| Zion | Watchman Non-electric | $35 | Non-hookup |
| Zion | South | $35 | Non-hookup |
| Zion | Lava Point | $25 | Non-hookup |
Methodology
We used publicly posted National Park Service campground and fee pages. The unit of analysis is an RV-eligible campground or campsite type with a clear nightly fee. Tent-only sites and group-only sites were excluded. Where a park lists multiple RV service levels separately, those are separate rows because they represent different purchase choices.
This is a transparent convenience sample, not a census of every U.S. national-park campground. It is designed to give RV travelers a sourced benchmark and to make the underlying data reusable. Entrance fees, reservation fees, taxes, dump fees and optional services may be separate. Yellowstone lodge-operated campground prices are listed by NPS as plus taxes. Zion rows use the park's published fee schedule effective in 2024; users should verify the live booking price before travel.
Primary sources
- Yellowstone — National Park Service
- Yosemite — National Park Service
- Great Smoky Mountains — National Park Service
- Acadia Blackwoods — National Park Service
- Acadia Schoodic Woods — National Park Service
- Joshua Tree — National Park Service
- Olympic — National Park Service
- Zion — National Park Service
Use the benchmark in a real trip budget
A $35 median campsite sounds small until it is multiplied across a multi-week trip. Twenty paid nights at the sample median is $700 before fuel, entrance passes, food or maintenance. Use the RV Trip Cost Calculator to combine campground nights with fuel and route expenses, or compare discount-membership economics with the Campground Membership Break-Even Calculator.