Grand Teton Np

Recently I returned from a trip to Grand Teton NP. It was my first visit there but certainly won’t be my last. I spent 7 nights camped at the Colter Bay RV park. I spent all but one day within Teton NP. I spent one day driving around Yellowstone.

My main purpose for the trip was to see and hopefully photograph wildlife in the park. It was amazing the amount of wildlife I saw. Bears (black but no grizzlies), elk, moose, an adult bald eagle as well as a juvenile bald eagle, osprey, otters, bison, and some park owned horses. I also was stopped while a herd of sheep were crossing the road in Idaho while on my journey to the park.

I booked the trip about 4-5 months earlier. Because I had no personal knowledge of the park and because I was booking a time of year when bad weather including snow was not out of the realm of possibility, I decided to book an electric site. And Colter Bay RV Park had the only available sites. The rates are $101 per night and even with a senior discount it was still $80. Part of the reason is that they are full hookups including electric, water, and sewer. The other part of the reason you will have to take up with park. I have no idea. If you book early and can get the electric sites available in some of the other park campgrounds the fee is “only” $71. And if you can get by with no power I believe regular sites are $45. My only concern with no power is to what degree you may not have good access to the sun to accommodate solar. While everything in the RV park had power, the sites all had large trees everywhere around all the spaces. That can be more or less true in the other campgrounds as well.

Below are some of the images I captured. If you would like to see more you can find them at this link… Grand Teton NP Fall 2022 - JohnChico

This is the modern day overlook near where Ansel Adams took his famous photo.



Hello Mr Moose!



The young, fledgling bald eagle about to launch.



Oh give me a home, where the bison all roam...



This big boy was quite busy during the rut. He had a stable of 5 or 6 cows that morning.



Do not underestimate mama's ability to keep an eye on you. And junior too! ;-)



Yes, junior is watching too!



Mama with a look that is telling her audience to keep back.



And one from Yellowstone!

 

WOW! There are a few of those I'd buy as prints!!! Very nicely done!

 

Thanks Sweeny. I don't sell anything, but if people want something I'll gladly provide the electronic image for free. You have to take it from there but I can provide some free advice...as long as you remember how much free advice is worth.

 

You are a great photographer, John. I lived in Jackson for 15 years. There are some great natural areas around there. Yellowstone in the wintertime is definitely worth doing. The west side of the Tetons are great too, and much less visited. You should check out Tom Mangleson; he's a local wildlife photographer. He's got some amazing shots.

 

Thank you. I'm OK for an amateur who started late. Yeah, I've seen Mangelsen's stuff. Really terrific. I used some of his photos to learn and help prepare for this trip. I think he may have been shooting near me once during my visit. Or else his doppelganger who sounded just like him.

There's really so much to see in an area like that. It was a good first trip. I'm hoping to do 7 days next spring and possible 10 days next fall. Part of the secret to success is spending as much time as possible visiting the same areas. I learned a lot on this trip to help me on future visits.

 

That’s awesome Ken. I’d love to go in winter. But I have no idea what kind of access there would or would not be. Definitely not a trailer friendly trip.

 

That sounds like Yellowstone? I thought some roads in Teton were open during winter.

 

I stayed in one of the cabins behind the snow lodge years ago. Spectacular place in the winter. Bring your cross-country skis and lots of warm clothes! It gets mighty cold there in January.

 

Be warned that the snow machines coming in during the day really ruin the peace and quiet. If you head off into the woods on snowshoes or skis you can avoid the worst of it though.

 

No problem at all. Please post any pictures you get. I do love photos. ;-)

I had originally planned to spend a week in Yellowstone before moving down to the week in GTNP. Unfortunately a medical situation caused me to have to cancel the first week in Yellowstone. I'm extremely happy I was able to at least complete the second have of the planned trip and see Grand Teton.

 

The west side of the Tetons is quite beautiful. But I wouldn't stay there on a trip because it's just way too far from the park to have to drive in and out every day. Especially if you want to be out looking for wildlife which is best done near sunrise and sunset.

There is some cheap national forest camping just east of the park. I drove to check out a couple of them. They were both very nice campgrounds. But...they aren't large campgrounds and if you go when it's busy they will likely be full. They are FCFS.

IMO camping in the park or at Gros Ventre (which is technically outside the park but nearby) is your best bet. They are all reservable on rec.gov. I'm a big fan of being as close as possible and driving as little as possible. Although even in the park you will do a lot of driving if you really want to look for the wildlife.

 

There's a reason they call it the Serengeti of the US. I only wish I had discovered it years ago. Now I'm trying to make up for lost time.