West Yellowstone KOA (West Gate Holiday) Review – Montana

I’ve stayed at the West Yellowstone KOA in their one room / no bathroom camping cabins so many times over the last few years, I’ve lost count. This is one of my go-to places to stay when I visit Yellowstone National Park as the location is convenient, the cabins are clean, and I always enjoy my stay here! So let’s get into the review!

West Yellowstone West Gate KOA – Quick Overview:

Season: May 19 – October 1
Types of lodging: Tent sites, RV sites, camping cabins (with and without bathrooms), deluxe cabins
Check in time: 3pm
Dump station
Picnic tables and fire rings at each site
Dogs are allowed

Address of the West Gate KOA:

3305 Targhee Pass Highway,
West Yellowstone, MT 59758

West Yellowstone West Gate KOA – Location

If you’re looking for KOAs near West Yellowstone, you’ll actually find two – there’s the West Gate KOA Holiday (which is the KOA I’m reviewing) and the Mountainside Yellowstone Park KOA Journey. So if you’re booking a stay at West Yellowstone KOA it’s important to know which one you booked.

Here is a map of the two KOAs – if you’re arriving from Yellowstone National Park, the West Gate KOA Holiday will be the first KOA you’ll pass on the highway. Luckily, the two KOAs are only about 2 miles apart so it’s not a huge deal if you go to the wrong one.

I’ve only stayed at the West Yellowstone West Gate KOA. The Mountainside KOA does not have camping cabins – it only has the more bougie fully-furnished cabins that are quite expensive.

The West Gate KOA is about 6 miles from West Yellowstone and the gate of Yellowstone National Park – so it’s not within walking distance to any restaurants or shops. This is a very convenient location to stay when you’re visiting Yellowstone National Park – it’s only 36 miles to Old Faithful / 46 miles to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone – decent spot for Yellowstone’s main attractions, knowing that there isn’t any one “perfect” place to stay to be convenient for everything, since the park is so huge.

West Yellowstone West Gate KOA Holiday Amenities

This well-maintained campground has pretty much everything you’ll need:

• Camp store: The camp store is half gift shop/half grocery store & camp/RV supplies and it’s pretty big. I always love checking out the gift shop – you can actually find some good deals here – some of the stuff they sell is the same stuff sold in the park, except it’s cheaper at the KOA. There’s also a fudge counter where you can get all kinds of different flavored fudge – it’s pretty good!
• Indoor swimming pool and hot tub: I haven’t used this myself, but it looked very nice.
• Breakfast and dinner served in the pavilion: I’ve only tried the dinner and it was so damn good. It was also cheap! However, food is only served during the height of tourist season (mid-June until August 31) – outside of that, you’ll have to forage for food on your own.
• Bathrooms and showers: They have two buildings for showers and bathrooms – one at the camp store and the other near the camping cabins and tent sites. The bathrooms and showers get serviced by staff twice a day (this is pretty standard for KOAs across the board) – for the most part, they’re pretty clean, but can get a little rough by the end of the night.
• Laundry: Laundry is always super busy. I always have to wait on a machine here no matter what time I attempt to do laundry.
• Playground
• Espresso kiosk: I think the service is very slow – if you’re just ordering a black coffee, you can get it from the pavilion – it’s a lot faster than waiting for the barista to make everyone’s mochas.

Staying in the Camping Cabins (No bathroom) at the West Yellowstone KOA

Like I’ve mentioned before, I’ve stayed at this KOA many times, always in a camping cabin. The camping cabins are pretty standard when compared to other KOAs around the country. You have your one double bed, and two bunk beds – no linens are provided so you will need to bring your own. There’s a porch with a swing, and at your site, you’ll have a fire ring and a picnic table.

There are a few electrical outlets inside the cabin for charging your devices. The cabin has a small heater – I’ve had to use this a few times when I’ve stayed here, even in the middle of summer! I stayed here once in July and there was one day when the high temp was 45! That heater sure came in handy! There is no a/c in the cabins, but you never need it, as the nights get pretty cool, even in the summer. There’s also a small desk with chair, and a nightstand table near the beds.

Another thing to mention is the key – if you stay in a cabin, you’ll get a keycard. At most KOA’s, you’ll get a regular key for your cabin. I’m not sure how I felt about this – on one hand, it’s nice in that you don’t have to haul around an obnoxiously large KOA keychain with you, but on the other hand, you can very easily lock yourself out of the cabin if you’re not careful. Which would not be fun if you have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and forget your card in your cabin. I’m always mindful of this when staying here and this hasn’t happened to me yet *knock on wood*.

Wifi here is ok – it gets overloaded at night to the point where no one can use it, since all the campers are back from the park and want to get online at the same time. I was able to use my Verizon 4G signal with no issues, so I was always connected that way.

The downside to the cabins is that I felt that they were really close to each other, unless you’re staying at one of the cabins near the highway – those seem to have more room. But all the other campers were very respectful of quiet hours (10pm-7am), so I’ve never had an issue with noise.

West Yellowstone West Gate KOA Holiday – Final Thoughts

I love staying here. The nightly rate for a cabin is pricey but it’s still much cheaper than the cheapest hotel room in West Yellowstone. This is a busy campground so you absolutely do need to make your reservation in advance. I love the delicious BBQ dinner served here every night (and I imagine that breakfast is good too). Location to Yellowstone National Park is fantastic and the town of West Yellowstone is a quick drive away for any shopping or restaurants. I’ll definitely be back!