Campgrounds inside Grand Tetons

[Mikebrady62]

For some absolutely beautiful and FREE camping, check out Shadow Mountain area. This is boondocking but the spaces are large with fantastic views. There is camping at the bottom of the mountain where anyone can get to. Then for the more adventurous, the sites get better and better the higher up you go.

If you open the picture it will orient right side up. This was July 4th. You could see the fireworks display from Jackson.

[QE2]

Get reservations for next year. It looks like a ton of people are looking to camp next summer due to COVID I wouldn’t go anywhere without reservations

[Dick tracy]

have gone several times in the last decade. All the sites recommended are great in my opinion.
We always stay at the Virginian in Jackson, just there last August. Love that little town, lots to do and great food. Biking everywhere and GT is only 30 minutes away.
But as said, make reservations early

[Titus]

We boondocked in Bridger Teton NF on Hwy 26 just E of Moran then got up early to find a site at Colter Bay. Then after staying in Teton NP we got up very early to find a CG in Yellowstone. But that was several years ago...

[GMFL]

All Camp Grounds in the Grand Teton park are going Reservations only starting January 1st. The recreation.gov site should be live by then for these camp grounds.
(Inside info)

[Wanna EB]

Originally Posted by GMFL

All Camp Grounds in the Grand Teton park are going Reservations only starting January 1st. The recreation.gov site should be live by then for these camp grounds.
(Inside info)

Oh my goodness, this is a really big deal. Are you sure? We have been planning for some to to show up on opening day (May 29). What a disappointment it would have been to learn that they are full of reservations.
Do you know if the plan is to release the sites on the normal rolling 6 months schedule.
Thanks for the heads up.

[Mikebrady62]

Originally Posted by Dick tracy

have gone several times in the last decade. All the sites recommended are great in my opinion.
We always stay at the Virginian in Jackson, just there last August. Love that little town, lots to do and great food. Biking everywhere and GT is only 30 minutes away.
But as said, make reservations early

I never thought I would do this but when we were in Las Vegas a few months back we couldn't resist staying at our favorite hotel, The Encore. There is just something about this hotel we love and can't pass up. We booked 3 night there but ended up missing our camper and only stayed 2. Gave us an extra night in Flagstaff though. I'm sure we will do it again too.

[drmox]

I just spoke with a park representative today about this, and she said they have been kicking around this idea, but nothing is decided upon as of yet. She asked me where I heard it, because she's been getting phone calls to that effect, and would like to set the rumor mill straight. They will meet again in mid-January to discuss this possibility.
The idea behind this was the reality that 2020 has been such a busy year with travelers, that they had a host of folks stranded with nowhere to camp because of full campgrounds that were normally easy to get a site in years past.
So we should expect the status quo for the foreseeable future, and as we transition back to some semblance of normalcy with vaccines, this idea may never come to fruition.

Originally Posted by GMFL

All Camp Grounds in the Grand Teton park are going Reservations only starting January 1st. The recreation.gov site should be live by then for these camp grounds.
(Inside info)

[n2916s]

I have a contrarian view. I think that a lot of folks that broke out their trailers for major trips this year, or bought new ones to set out in, are going to do something else if the vaccine(s) proves to be effective and moving about returns to some semblance of normal.

A LOT of pent-up demand for theme parks, beaches, museums, Broadway... For a lot of people, just rediscovering their local area, baseball, parks, movies, kid’s sports, hobbies, home improvement, may prove attractive.

Me, I have a jones on for Europe.

Time will tell.

[drmox]

I think we're actually in agreement, 2021 could see a trend away from relative seclusion at state and national parks to standing in line for hours at Disneyworld.

[Wanderbug]

Drmox,

One of the best kept secret camping options inside GTNP (until now) is Pacific Creek CG, a USFS CG located 8-miles up Pacific Creek road just north of Moran entrance station. The CG sits just outside the park boundary on the edge of the Teton wilderness. Only 8-sites and $10. The last 4-miles to CG are smooth gravel. Vault toilets are available, no host. Fetch water at Signal Mtn. or Jackson Lake Lodge. Grizzly country so be bear aware and carry spray. Excellent access to Pac Cr.

Wanderbug

[JBBeaubeaux]

Here is our review of the Tetons and our campground

https://livinginbeauty.net/2017/06/2...d-beauty-meet/

[kpfate]

Just announced that Campgrounds in Grand Teton National Forest will be by reservations only - first come first serve:
Visitors interested in reserving a campsite for the 2021 season can visit Recreation.gov beginning at 8 a.m. Jan. 26.

[daleyocum]

For more info, here is the announcement. A sad day for those of us used to just showing up! https://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/camping.htm

[drmox]

So I have my work cut out for me on Jan. 26th at 8am. As any regular concert goer can attest to, you just have to be quick.

Can anyone attest to the amenities at Gros Ventre, and the need/desire for a/c during mid June?
On their website, it looks like there are 36 electric sites, and one poster mentioned they have water. Is that water at each of those 36 sites, or dispersed water spigots throughout the campground?
This an important distinction if there are indeed no showers available there.

[daleyocum]

Originally Posted by drmox

So I have my work cut out for me on Jan. 26th at 8am. As any regular concert goer can attest to, you just have to be quick.

Can anyone attest to the amenities at Gros Ventre, and the need/desire for a/c during mid June?
On their website, it looks like there are 36 electric sites, and one poster mentioned they have water. Is that water at each of those 36 sites, or dispersed water spigots throughout the campground?
This an important distinction if there are indeed no showers available there.

We’ve not felt the need for AC there in mid-June. I’m not sure about water at the electric sites but for the vast majority there are no hookups of any kind. There are water spigots on every loop so we bring a way to transport that water back to our trailer and pump it into the rig.

There’s a central dump station with two bays. That can get busy at popular times.

In the non-electric sites there can be significant generator noise on hot days. Even on a temperate day all it takes is one person who “needs” to watch TV and 20 people around them get to enjoy that lovely sound of technology at work. I had a neighbor once who ran a 3,500w generator for ten hours a day so their kid could play video games.

[Bill M.]

Gros Ventre 2 years ago. The none electric sites do not have a water hookup. Faucets dispersed through out the area. Dump station. No sewer. You can fill the fresh water tank with a hose right after the dump station. Sometimes there is a line. Never stayed at an electric site there. I think you will need the special park pass for CPAP users to even get one. We were offered am electric site the last time because I have the pass but we turned it down. No, I would not expect to need the AC there even in June. More likely a small dose of heat will be appropriate.

I love the campground there. We carry a generator and stay in a generator loop when we camp there. Usually stay for the full 14 day max. Certainly my wife's favorite campground and sight seeing area.

[drmox]

You mentioned a special CPAP user pass, what's that?
I'm a CPAP user and a military ID card holder, and a military America the Beautiful card holder. I wonder if that'll get me any special consideration, or just a sloppy wet kiss. I guess either one would be kinda nice.

[Bill M.]

It says Access Pass. It is a disability pass and they define CPAP usage as a disability for camping purposes. We got the pass at the Coulter Bay park office 2 years ago. Both the RV park and the campground at Coulter Bay offer electric sites and have a lot of them compared to Gros Ventre. They are fine campsites to stay in. No campfires in the RV park. You need reservations far in advance. When no electricity I run the CPAP on a 12 to 24 volt converter with the humidity off and run the generator for a couple or 3 hours every 2 days or sometimes every day using lead acid batteries in the trailer. We do not run much else on electric though unless the generator is running. Fridge, HW, and cooking on propane. No furnace. I am thinking about upgrading the battery system. One year I screwed up on battery management and I now know for a fact that they sell marine batteries at the Jackson Hole NAPA. It used up all the savings from the non electric site though.

[drmox]

So after an insane flurry of activity this morning, my traveling group and I secured sites 173, 175, 177, and 179 in the electric loop. Right at the opening bell for reservations, the sites were filling up like crazy, and a check back 30 minutes later, just about the whole campground was reserved. Whew!
I do have one question for the group: does anyone know which of the electric sites are designated for ADA/handicap? Looking at the wide-open flat nature of site #173, I'm concerned they just let us reserve a handicap spot, and when we show up there may be a problem.