San Diego to Yellowstone by RV

Our San Diego to Yellowstone RV route including where we stayed along the way to visit: Great Basin National Park, Craters of the Moon, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone National Park. Boondocking near Yellowstone and which Yellowstone RV park we stayed at. Don’t have time to read this now?

Leg 1: San Diego to Idaho Route

• San Diego, CA:
  • How did we get here? Check out our Utah to San Diego, CA by RV route.
• Corona, CA: Corona Water Reclamation Facility - FREE Dump
• Baker, CA: Mad Greek Truck & RV Parking - FREE overnight parking
  • Great food across the street at Los Dos Toritos.
• Pioche, NV: Eagle Valley Resort & RV Park
  • Inexpensive full hookups with Passport America ($13.25).
• Baker, NV: Whispering Elms Campground
  • Pricey but convenient spot to explore the Great Basin National Park.
  • What did we do at this FREE national park? Info in our Top 2 Things to Do in Great Basin National Park Nevada article.
• Wells, NV: Welcome Station RV Park
  • Inexpensive partial hookups (W+E) with Passport America ($15.90).
  • Cute, small RV park. Recommended.
• Twin Falls, ID: Costco
  • Costco parking lot was very small, so we parked behind the McDonald’s and in front of Everise | C3. It was Sunday so their parking lot was empty.
• Jerome, ID: Walmart - FREE overnight parking
• Jerome, ID: Premier Truck Group of Twin Falls - Motorhome maintenance
  • Specifics about our 60k Freightliner Chassis Service are in our Repair Log article.
  • Tinkerbell and Nacho survived seven hours of being cooped up in the Jeep with us during this service. They are troopers!

Leg 2: Idaho to Yellowstone Route

• Blaine County, ID: Sawtooth National Forest - FREE boondocking
  • Our favorite boondocking spot. Get all the details in our Boondocking in Sawtooth National Forest article.
• Arco, ID: Honeys Park - FREE boondocking
  • Details at his website. He is also a Boondockers Welcome host.
  • Great spot to explore Craters of the Moon National Park.
  • We love exploring the caves at Craters of the Moon, but don’t make the same mistake we did. Read about it in our Craters of the Moon article.
• Idaho Falls, ID: Batteries Plus Bulbs
  • Installing new motorhome house batteries.
• Irwin, ID: Below the Dam - FREE boondocking
• Kelly, WY: Gros Ventre Campground
  • Close to Grand Teton National Park.
  • We share all our animal encounters (videos) along with other information in our Grand Teton National Park (Camping, Hikes, Photos) article.
  • No hookups but water and dump on site.
  • Generators only allowed in certain loops.
• Moran, WY: Colter Bay Campground
  • Base camp to explore the northern part of Grand Teton National Park and southern part of Yellowstone National Park.
  • Check out our photos and read about our adventure in our Yellowstone National Park article.
  • No hookups but water and dump on site.
  • Generators only allowed in certain loops.
• Moran, WY: US Forest Service Camp Site - FREE boondocking
  • Boondocking near Yellowstone: US Forest Service Camp Site off Ashton-Flagg Ranch Road near the Flagg Ranch Information Station about 12 miles south from the Yellowstone South Entrance.
  • We checked it out in the Jeep and there were a few sites in the first loop that we could fit our rig, but none of the sites further down the road would work.
  • We didn’t get a chance to stay here since we were already booked at the campground.
  • Unhook at the Flagg Ranch Information Station and then go check which sites are open and the road conditions as they could be rough after a storm.
  • There is no boondocking in Yellowstone.
• West Yellowstone, MT: Buffalo Crossing RV Park
  • NOTE: We drove through Yellowstone National Park from Colter Bay Campground to get to West Yellowstone.
  • If you launch open this map during the winter some of the roads through Yellowstone are closed so Google Maps changes the route to go around the park. That is not the route we took.
  • West Yellowstone RV park close to the Yellowstone West Entrance
  • Full hookups but expensive
  • Our only option due to limited availability in Yellowstone campgrounds for motorhomes our size
  • Good Sam discount
  • Where did we go next? Check out our Yellowstone to Port Angeles, WA By RV route