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I have determined the best thing for me to do while in Grand Tetons will be to stay at Gros Ventre, the one campground in that area that does not take reservations but will usually have spots open if you're in line by check out time.
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I have been camping in the last few years. Three years ago I drove to California and camped at the Grand Canyon and Zion. Two years ago I went to California and camped at Pinnacles NP. So I called Colter Bay campground and my information is dead on correct. They do not take reservations. They usually don't fill up before noon, usually full between 3 and 5. Currently it isn't filling up at all except on holidays. They take up to 45 feet. Nothing has changed. There is rarely a problem finding a camping spot in these parks.
 

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Larry N. said:
Gorgeous shot of the Studio, Tom.
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Thank you Larry. That is a classic looking studio and I call it my office. There is a wooden bench in front of the window on the right on the ground floor. It was my favorite spot to sit and watch for Condors showing up. I had a great view east and west of the canyon. I got to watch the tourists posing for photos all day long. The patio to the right of my spot was the photo op spot. All day long people would be posing at that spot. It was actually funny watching person after person move into that spot and get their photo taken. And the teenage Japanese girls always gave the peace sign. Damn I miss that place.
 

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SargeW said:
Start with the important events or places you want to be at. Rallys, family events, or holidays. That gives you an outline of the areas you want to be in. Then you fill in around those events with interesting places.

And the last rule is "everything is flexible".
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That's how we planned the 5-month trip that we're just finishing up. Some destinations require reservations well in advance (The Durango train on its opening weekend, West Yellowstone in May, Seattle no earlier than the end of June) but the rest was loosely scheduled. We made reservations when we felt comfortable with our plans, but treated them as "plan-to's" not "must-be's".
 
SeilerBird said:
BTW a black bear and a brown bear are the same bear in the US. We have brown bears and grizzly bears in the US. Up in Alaska I think they give them different names. 
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Apparently the NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation doesn't know there are no black bears in the lower 48, Tom. :)

https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/6960.html

To be sure, in some western forests they are brown, cinnamon, or blond colored but they are still Black bears, "Ursus americanus". Brown/grizzly/Kodiak bears, "Ursus arctos", are mostly only found in Alaska where they rival the Polar bear in size. Black bears are much smaller...
 
SeilerBird said:
I have been camping in the last few years. Three years ago I drove to California and camped at the Grand Canyon and Zion. Two years ago I went to California and camped at Pinnacles NP. So I called Colter Bay campground and my information is dead on correct. They do not take reservations. They usually don't fill up before noon, usually full between 3 and 5. Currently it isn't filling up at all except on holidays. They take up to 45 feet. Nothing has changed. There is rarely a problem finding a camping spot in these parks.
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I'm not going to beat a dead horse, but since you state that my information is incorrect and you just called Colter Bay campground, I thought I should share this from the Grand Teton National Park/Colter Bay RV campground website:

Colter Bay RV Park is the most popular location for RV camping. Reservations for June - September fill quickly.  We recommend calling before Jan 1 for the best availability. Due to high demand, we're unable to offer a waitlist.

I don't know how you think this campground does not take reservations. I also do not understand why you think "these parks", which I assume you mean Grand Teton and Yellowstone, rarely have problems with being booked up. It may be possible that the 35,000 daily visitors to Yellowstone will take exception to that statement.

I will again implore you to stop providing incorrect information to those on this forum that may not have the time or inclination to research these things out for themselves. Many people cannot afford to make a mistake incorrect information such as this may cause them.

RVMommaTo6 said:
You seem to have a lot of pent up anger over someone not "researching" your vehicles before posting general information in a public forum that could be useful to many members simply because it didn't specifically apply to you. I hope you can find a way to let that go before hitting the road; the alternative sounds like a dangerous situation in which to be behind the wheel and a recipe for road rage and unsafe conditions for everyone.
Maybe try yoga or meditation.
Safe travels.
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Amanda - Since you have only been on this forum for 2-? weeks, it is understandable that you may not realize the dynamics taking place within this thread and this forum concerning particular individuals and their histories. Some people have difficulties getting along with others, showing diplomacy, knowing how to effectively communicate or providing accurate and up to date information to others, and some possess all of the above problems. I have no pent up rage or frustration other than to one specific individual who falls into the latter category and have had history with this individual prior to this thread. You have my deepest apology if I have offended you with statements that may have been made not concerning you. However, if you read my above statements contained in this post, you may realize what I am talking about and then realize it isn't me that has the problem. The OP wanted information about trip planning. I am trying to ensure she receives accurate information, along with anyone else reading this thread.
 
John,


Just to be clear Colter Bay has 2 different areas. One is the RV Park which is full hookups and takes reservations. The other is the campground, which is dry camp, and does not take reservations. It fills earlier than Gros Ventre, but there are sites available everyday. We've stayed at both the RV Park and the Campground at Colter Bay with a 43 foot RV towing a jeep. We also stayed at Gros Ventre.

ken
 
Well I called Colter Bay campground 866-755-1321 yesterday and talked to Judy. She told me that Colter Bay rarely fills before noon. The web site is wrong.
 
Tom, it appears that John is talking about the commercial park and you are talking about the other one, the forested campground.

John, as Ken says above, there are two different Colter Bay places for RV, side by side. I tried to get into Colter Bay Campground (not the RV Park) last summer, shortly before the eclipse, but I got there too late in the morning and they'd already filled up. At the gate they did tell me there are no reservations. But I wound up going to Gros Ventre, and got there just in time to get a site. We did stay at the Colter Bay Campground several years ago, and there were no reservations then, either. Note that Tom usually knows what he's talking about when it comes to National Parks.

This is from the NPS web site:
Campground Reservations
Most campgrounds operate on a first-come, first-served basis. Advanced reservations are accepted for group camping, the Colter Bay RV Park, and the Headwaters Campground & RV Sites at Flagg Ranch only.
 
Larry N. said:
Tom, it appears that John is talking about the commercial park and you are talking about the other one, the forested campground.

John, as Ken says above, there are two different Colter Bay places for RV, side by side. I tried to get into Colter Bay Campground (not the RV Park) last summer, shortly before the eclipse, but I got there too late in the morning and they'd already filled up. At the gate they did tell me there are no reservations. But I wound up going to Gros Ventre, and got there just in time to get a site. We did stay at the Colter Bay Campground several years ago, and there were no reservations then, either. Note that Tom usually knows what he's talking about when it comes to National Parks.

This is from the NPS web site:
Campground Reservations
Most campgrounds operate on a first-come, first-served basis. Advanced reservations are accepted for group camping, the Colter Bay RV Park, and the Headwaters Campground & RV Sites at Flagg Ranch only.
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I know that Larry but John doesn't. There are over 300 first come first served campsites and it never gets close to full except on holiday weekends.
 
We managed to stay in the Tetons for close to a month, mid July to mid August. 

We checked out Colter Bay Campground  towards the end of July as an alternative and the lady told us we needed to be there by 10am to get a site as they had been full every day (as was Gros Ventre where we were staying).  Once the kids were back at school the campground became quieter but it was still busy.

I think they key is to get there early whatever campground you want to go to if it is a First Come, particularly during school holidays and other key events.

We noticed that the quietest days at Gros Ventre were Tuesdays / Wednesdays. 
 
Ken & Sheila said:
John,


Just to be clear Colter Bay has 2 different areas. One is the RV Park which is full hookups and takes reservations. The other is the campground, which is dry camp, and does not take reservations. It fills earlier than Gros Ventre, but there are sites available everyday. We've stayed at both the RV Park and the Campground at Colter Bay with a 43 foot RV towing a jeep. We also stayed at Gros Ventre.

ken
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Ken - Thanks for the information and clarification. Since I am not interested in dry camping unless absolutely necessary because we will be dry camping all the way to our destinations, I am not interested in the campground and while doing my research, only chose parks that had hookups. Your explanation is much easier to understand than exclaiming that a national park website is wrong.

I am not sure why everyone is giving opinions and information about Grand Teton when I believe the biggest problem in finding a reservation in an eligible RV park will be in Yellowstone. I mentioned in a previous post that I had already decided to stay in Gros Ventre while in the GT and will not have a reservation. The only reason I would look into Colter Bay would be if I couldn't get into Gros Ventre. However, when I get to Yellowstone, I plan on staying in one of the West Yellowstone RV parks and I have been told by all of them that if I want to make a reservation for next July, I had better make it in December or January, depending on when they begin taking them for the next season. After looking into the NP parks, it appears that Fishing Bridge is the only viable option for me and that is out of the equation next summer if I understand other posters correctly. I have no intentions of driving 3,000 miles for a two week stay in a national park with no plans on where I'm going to stay because I haven't made reservations. As busy as Yellowstone is getting nowadays, I feel it is more important than ever before to make sure you know where you're going to land. I am going to assume that the best way to approach trying to plan this trip out will be to base everything around that specific reservation and work backward to determine when to leave home and how long to stay in any spot prior to getting there.
 
Here is a web site that lists the times that the campgrounds filled. Yesterday Bridge Bay and Lewis Lake did not fill. Mammoth, my favorite campground didn't fill until 1:20pm.  Canyon and Madison (which take reservations) filled before 9am as expected. But the chart clearly shows it is not a problem to find a campsite in Yellowstone without reservations. None of these are FHU though.

https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm
 
Well here is some good news. The idiot who was harassing the buffalo at Yellowstone was sentenced to 130 days in jail for being an idiot.

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/08/23/yellowstone-bison-taunter-reportedly-sentenced-to-jail.html
 
John Stephens said:
However, when I get to Yellowstone, I plan on staying in one of the West Yellowstone RV parks and I have been told by all of them that if I want to make a reservation for next July, I had better make it in December or January, depending on when they begin taking them for the next season. After looking into the NP parks, it appears that Fishing Bridge is the only viable option for me and that is out .
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I have stayed in Grizzly RV Park.  Very very nice and pretty expensive, but it is close to the park entrance and handy to the fun little town of West Yellowstone. You really do need to make reservations that early, though they do get cancelations as the season goes on. There are other less expensive options if you are willing to drive 30 minutes or so from West Yellowstone. North there is Hegben Lake with a number of reservable campgrounds. There are also some campgrounds toward the east and south along Henry?s Lake and near Island Park.
 
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