Grand Teton National Park is an incredible National Park just south of Yellowstone National Park. When we visited there last summer we were able to stay at the Colter Bay Campground on Jackson Lake. The Colter Bay/Jackson Lake Area is one of the most popular areas in Grand Teton so let’s talk about what we saw there.

If you would like to see our whole trip in video check out this vlog.

Colter Bay Village

The Colter Bay Village is the most developed area of the park and is situated on the shore of the gorgeous Jackson Lake. Pretty much everything you will need for your vacation is located in this area. There is a very large campground, a lodge, a general store, kayak rentals, a pizzeria, and even a laundromat (with WiFi).

There is a lot of parking in the Colter Bay Village. But Grand Teton has grown dramatically in popularity over the last several years so it can get pretty crowded during the day.

Visitor Center

One of the biggest visitor centers in the park is located here in the Colter Bay Village right on the edge of the lake next to the marina. We visited during the Covid-19 pandemic so the exhibit areas and theater of the visitor center were closed while we there.

We were able to talk to a ranger at the desk. They were out of Junior Ranger books because it was a very busy week, but they did have the badge. Lucy and I then went down to the Laundromat and got enough WiFi to download the Junior Ranger PDF. That was not ideal, but it worked.

They have a nice gift shop at the visitor center. This is also the place you can get permits and bear vaults for back country camping if you are doing that. Just north of the Visitor Center building is a very large amphitheater where they hold ranger talks during normal times.

One of the main draws of the visitor center is the back deck which has awesome views of the marina, Jackson Lake, and the Tetons. From the back deck you can walk down the steps and to the shore.

Lake Shore Trail

From the visitor center you can walk around the marina to get on the Lake Shore Trail. This is about a 2 mile loop trail that winds through the woods along a little peninsula of land out into the lake.

There are two parts of this peninsula  connected by a little spit of land. Each one is about a mile loop. So you can choose to do just the first part and loop back around if you only want to do a mile, but you will miss the best views of the lake on the back side.

The first day we were at Colter Bay we weren’t allowed on the Lake Shore Trail because a bear had been sighted on the trail, but the next day there was no problem and we hiked the whole trail without incident. Lucy was almost three at the time and she walked most of the way on her own.

Colter Bay Campground

Colter Bay has the largest campground in the park although there are several others scattered around different areas. All the campgrounds were operating on a first come first serve basis when we were visiting (they have now moved to a reservation system). These campgrounds are extremely popular during the summer.

We drove down from Yellowstone hoping to find a campsite and arrived at Colter Bay around 9:00 AM. When we got there we got in a very long line of cars all hoping to get campsites. This process is slowed down because people have to check out before the rangers know how many campsites there are. We were told we would probably not get a site, but to stay in line because all the other campgrounds were full.

After about an hour and half in the car (Meagan waited while Lucy and I went to the visitor center) we finally did get a campsite! It was in the RV part of the park but they let us tent camp there.

The campground was quite nice. The next morning Lucy and I went on a walk and found a trail that led down through the tent sites to the lake which was very pretty in the morning.

Sum Up

The Colter Bay area is a must stop while you are in Grand Teton. We really enjoyed camping here and liked that there were so many amenities right in the area. After things are more open again we hope to go back and actually see the visitor center. We would also like to bring our kayak or paddle board and go out on Jackson Lake.

If you want a more visual view check out the vlog below!