Camping in Yellowstone/Grand Tetons

[j_sgypsybuggy]

Hi Everyone--Thought I'd post this question to you as you have always been of great help to us. We are planning a trip to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons hopefully in Sept. to avoid the crowd. Problem is most places I've found you can't have a fire. What's camping without a campfire? Does anyone have any suggestions? We will be camping in a 32' fifth wheel but will be with friends who have a giant rig(56') and require 50 amps. We would like any suggestions you have. Would like to stay in/near Yellowstone for a few days and then travel to Grand Tetons for a few. Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might have.

[jalichty]

That's why the campground at Colter Bay has fire rings, because it does get dry around there and fires can be a problem. We have actually phoned in two different fires from Jackson Lake while fishing. Unfortunately, the fires in other states, Montana and Idaho, generate a lot of smoke and it drops down over Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Due to fire smoke the last few years, the Tetons have been pretty smoky but are still wonderful to look at.

[bigdogger]

Late August and September is peak forest fire season. Usually three out of every four years it will be way too dry to responsibly have a fire. Fire awareness and fire safety is a big concern in the Mountain West. 999 out of 1000 people will responsibly manage a campfire, but that 1 out of a thousand can easily destroy 10s of thousand of acres of pristine wilderness. Not worth the risk.

[rexlion]

The question was asked, "What's camping without a campfire?"
My answer: it's camping without being smoked like a trout or being half-asphyxiated. I've been in a CG with smoke so thick, it was like sleeping in a forest fire... I had to shut the TT windows... the TT smelled of smoke for 2 days afterward.

[TexasShadow]

For the Grand Tetons, we prefer Gros Ventre campground with water and dump station. You can find sites big enough for your needs. As stated, you won't need a/c and you can run your genny after 8a.m. and before 7 or 8 p.m. fires are allowed.
For Yellowstone, if you want a place that allows campfires, try Henry's Lake State Park. It is about 15 miles south of West Yellowstone which is right on the National Park boundary, so you aren't too far away to day trip in Yellowstone.
If the state park doesn't suit you, there's a pretty decent RV park right across the highway from the entrance to the park. has a good laundry and tidy looking sites.

[jalichty]

I can't speak for the RV park at Colter Bay because we don't camp there. We camp in the regular campground and all the spaces have fire rings and they sell wood at the general store. They also have one loop that has electric hookup, 30 amps I believe, set up for disabled folks, but part-way through the day they open them up for regular folks. Colter Bay is a wonderful campground as is Gros Ventre, but we have never stayed there because we fish Jackson Lake most of the time we are there and Gros Ventre is quite a ways from the lake whereas Colter Bay is just that, a bay on the lake so it's five minutes to get the boat put in the lake. However, September may not be the best time to spend time there, if you like the water. Usually there is a call on the lake to take the water down by 15-30 feet to go downstream to Idaho so the lake is not as high as earlier in the summer. However, there are lots of other things to do in Grand Teton, Jenny Lake and Hidden Falls with Inspiration Point, go to Slide Lake over in the Gros Ventre, and spend a bunch of time hiking, if that's your thing, in some of the prettiest area in the world, at least in my opinion. Then, either early in the morning or late in the evening, before dark, driving around looking for wildlife usually pays dividends. As noted above, if your friends need 50 amp for AC, then it's not necessary. We have found, over over 48 years of going to Grand Teton, and Yellowstone, that the evenings cool off and AC is not necessary.

[ReneeG]

Depending on the direction you'll be coming - West Yellowstone is well worth the entry point. 2 miles north of West Yellowstone is Baker's Hole FS CG - big rig friendly and with 50amp hookups, water at the entrance and throughout to stop and fill from as long as you have a "water thief" connection. Then travel through the park to Grand Tetons and stay at Colter Bay - again the RV park is big rig friendly and well worth a stay. Gros Ventre is well worth it too. At that time of year Moose frequent this CG so much you do have to be careful when venturing out - look around before you go out. There's water at the entrance and although no hookups, it's well worth the stay for the setting and wildlife.

[padredw]

there are fire-rings located near the lakeshore

We walked down to the lakeshore several times while we were there--magnificent views, especially sunrise and sunset, and relatively easy walk.

[Veebyes]

Why do your friends need 50a? Why do they need shorepower at all? Don't they have a genny, a decent battery bank & a sizable inverter in a rig that size?

We did Gros Ventre in Grand Teton last summer. It is dry camping but there was space for a converted tag axel bus in there.

By September the nights will be cool so there is no need for A/C. Even if their fridge is AC only food does not instantly go bad when the power is shut off. In the cool of the overnight it will be just fine.

[j_sgypsybuggy]

We have one of those but they aren't allowed either.

[Dick_B]

What about those portable pits that can have a fire within rather than laying on the ground.

[j_sgypsybuggy]

Hi Again--just spoke with someone from Colter Bay RV Village and he indicated that although fires are not permitted in the campground there are fire-rings located near the lakeshore (about a 5 min. walk) that can be used. Anyone out there familiar with these? Sounds like it might be an alternative but wondering how this arrangement works.:)

[bikendan]

sounds like you're looking at private parks.
we camped at Yellowstone and Grand Teton and had campfires, but they were non-hookup sites.

we stay away from private parks because they often have no campfire policies.

[padredw]

Can't help about the campfire situation. This is only to say that Colter Bay Marina and RV Park is one of our favorites in the Grand Teton National Park. Maybe someone else can help in regard to campfire regulations.