Whether you are camping for the first time or a seasoned pro, car camping is the best way to get outside and to have an adventure. There are no places better than the national parks that are filled with beautiful places for car camping. You can pack the car with the sleeping system, fill the cooler, and spend a great time with your friends and family. Car camping is not meant for sleeping in your car. It means that you can load up the materials needed for camping into your car and sleeping in your car or just moving your vehicle to the campsite, setting up a tent, and enjoying your sleep in a tent.
Most of the national parks don’t allow cars. So you will have to drive across and you will have to check out the parks which offer car camping. Here are some of the amazing national parks for car camping.
Big Bend National Park
If you are looking for car camping sites in the national park, the Big Bend National Park is the perfect one. Big Bend was called a dark-sky park named by the Dark-Sky Association. This place is one of the best places in the United States which is completely free from artificial light pollution. Big Bend offers great views of the Milky Way, planets, stars, shooting stars, satellites, and the glowing clouds of distant nebulae.
Big Bend National Park is open year-round and it is perfect for camping in the winter months. There are three well-known campgrounds in this park that offer a unique perspective.
Best Campgrounds in Big Bend National Park
- Rio Grande Village
- Cottonwood Campground
- Chisos Basin Campground
Rio Grande Village offers a large area with almost 100 campsites covered in a cottonwood grove and it is close to the Rio Grande River. Cottonwood Campground is very small with 25 sites and those are like a first-come-first-serve area which is in the shady retreat in the desert. Chisos Basin Campground is almost 5000 feet with 60 campsites. Bring your family or friends to enjoy the car camping.
Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is located in southern California, east of Los Angeles. This park is made of so much creativity and it is worth visiting the park. The best campground here is the Jumbo Rocks Campground where you can see the cartoonish rock formations and it comes with the silhouettes of the Joshua trees. The Jumbo Rocks Campground is one of the most popular campgrounds where you have to wake up early to claim the campsite. As we all know, this park is a rock climbing destination and they offer many activities.
There are two different desert ecosystems, the Mojave and Colorado. There are many varieties of plants and animals that make their homes in a land which is created by strong winds and torrents of rain. The perfect season to visit this park is opposite to all the other parks. Most of the visitors come during winter and spring and they avoid summer. Come and explore the best campsite with your loved ones.
Best Campgrounds in Joshua Tree National Park
- Jumbo Rocks Campground
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited and popular national park that is located in the Tennessee- North California border in the southeastern United States. This park preserves some of the gorgeous forest lands in the East.
There are many beautiful campsites throughout this park. One of the best campgrounds for car camping is at Cades Cove. It is one of the popular places in the park and so it will be crowded especially in the summer months. But then a trip to this place will be amazing where we can take a look into the history of the Appalachian culture and it provides a basecamp for the hiking trips in the park. You can also explore some of the most famous park locations from the campsite. Those locations are the Rocky Top, Abrams Falls, and Cades Cove Loop.
Best Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is the most famous national park located in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extends into Montano and Idaho. Camping in this park is like a frightening experience but they are worth it. There are almost 12 established campgrounds in Yellowstone National Park where 5 of the campgrounds allow reservations and 7 of the campgrounds are like first come first serve.
Mammoth Hot Springs Campground is one of the best destinations to set up a tent near to the namesake calcified, odiferous hot springs. If you are coming from the northern side of the park in Montana. The Norris Campground is located in the center of the park near the Norris Basin and it is home to many hot springs and geothermal features. If you want to go to the lake area, Bridge Bay is a perfect choice. And the Madison Campground is the closest destination which is near to the Old Faithful. Check out the Grand Village Campground, if you want to visit the southern end of the park and the West Thumb Geyser Basin.
Best Campgrounds in Yellowstone National Park
- Mammoth Hot Springs Campground
- Norris Campground
- Madison Campground
- Grand Village Campground
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park is a beautiful national park located in northwestern Montana. This park is almost 1 million acre land which is composed of sparkling lakes, soaring peaks, abundant wildlife, and many other recreational opportunities with almost 700 miles of trails throughout the park. And there are almost 13 campgrounds. The park is too big and many people would love to explore and spend time in this park during their vacation.
The Many Glacier Campground is the most popular campground in the Glacier National Park. The Many Glacier is the heart of this national park and you will feel so good and see the breathtaking views. Like the other parks, the scenery is really good to see, but there is also a chance to see the glacier before it gets melted. Explore this national park with your friends and family.
Best Campgrounds in Glacier National Park
- Apgar
- Avalanche Creek
- Bowman Lake
- Fish Creek
- Kintla Lake
- Logging Creek
- Many Glacier
- Quartz Creek
- Sprague Creek
- Two Medicine