The Teton Range: Stunning Views, Incredible Dispersed Camping

On our way to find dispersed camping outside of Jackson, WY, we drove through a portion of Grand Teton National Park and stopped to take pictures of a bison herd.

The camping we were headed to is in the Bridger-Teton National Forest outside of the National Elk Refuge. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any elk there because the refute is their winter quarters,

We drove up a narrow, rocky road past the paid campground, past sites with tents, and wooded sites, all the way to the top. The view was stunning.

We couldn’t believe our luck to find the place unoccupied and were excited to set up camp and walk the road that was blocked to motorized traffic.

Although each site has a sign warning of bears, along with the camping rules, the threat of bears really hit home when the camp ambassadors, a new addition to the dispersed camping in that particular forest, told us that a mother and baby grizzly had been sighted in the area along with black bears and mountain lions.

The one threat we weren’t warned about was the biting, bloodsucking black flies. We could not escape them except to sit n the van. We had made a huge mistake and not brought our screened room that attaches to our awning. So for two days, we sat in the van watching ATVs drive by to enjoy the scenic overlook across from us. Anytime we got out of the van, we were swarmed. It felt like an insect version of the movie The Birds.

We spent the second night at the paid campground thinking the file situation may be better and it was possibly due to the storm that blew in.

The next day we headed to the park. Because dogs are generally not welcome in National Parks except on roadways and paved surfaces., we drove the scenic loop on Teton Road. There is plenty of scenic pull-offs to take in the sights.

I saw my first glaciers from afar.

The Teton Range is one of the youngest ranges in North America and consists of some of the oldest rocks. One of the mountains is Mount Moran, and it reflects all of the geologic forces of the Teton Range

Some of the peaks of the Teton Range are called the Cathedral Group: Teewinot, Middle Teton, Grand Teton, and Mount Owen.

We drove up a narrow winding road to Signal Mountain, saw the Snake River, saw an Elk on the side of the road, walked an official trail to Jackson Lake with Poppy, and walked a short way around Jenny Lake. It was a great day in the park.

We decided to head back up the rocky road to a different dispersed campsite and once again got very lucky with a fantastic view. I preferred it over the last one due to the presence of the wildflowers. The site was quite beautiful.

The camp ambassadors did their rounds and told us that in the past, people had burned lots and lots of wooden pallets there, leaving nails. They lent us their magnet, and Mark set to work. After only 20-30 minutes, he filled a pasta sauce jar full of metal. Overall since we’ve been out West, the dispersed camping sites have been cleaner than the ones that visited during the winter and spring.

One morning we woke up to find our beautiful view gone. It’s always a little eerie to be in such thick fog in the woods.

A couple of interesting things occurred while we stayed at that particular site over the course of just a couple of days. I saw a man running down the road with a dog, and later, the camp ambassadors told us that they had found a vehicle stuck in the mud and abandoned on a part of the road where vehicles were prohibited and that it appeared to be stolen. I think the man I saw running was the culprit because I never did see him run back the other way.

The evening before, around 9:30 pm, a van pulled into our campsite and just sat there. I decided to investigate casually by taking Poppy for a walk. A man approached me in an aggressive manner and tried to quiz me about dispersed camping rules. When I refused to engage, he explained he was a local (with a chip on his shoulder, I gathered) that could never find places to camp anymore because of all of the outsiders. (We had no problem finding multiple available sites on different days). He said he and his girlfriend just wanted to spend the night and would leave at 7 am.

Being nice, we said okay. I did learn from his girlfriend that she works summer seasonal jobs in and around parks all over the country. She gave me the website. I think that sounds like a great idea for me and Mark.

The next day we found a pile of dog food on the ground, which was pretty rotten to do in bear country. Her current job was renting bear spray to tourists at the airport. Of curse, I picked it up.

That was definitely an exception to the rule of the wonderful people we usually meet.

The final dispersed campsite we stayed at was on a different road nearby. More great views of the Tetons, wide open spaces, and lots of sagebrush. I took the double rainbow on our first day as a good sign for this place. Despite the regular ATVs driving by, we were completely alone. We couldn’t see other campers.

Apparently, skeet shooting is popular there and we found lots of broken clay pigeons and shell casings. Sometimes, live rounds. We picked up quite of few to keep Poppy from chewing on them.

One of the afternoons we were there, we saw it raining over the mountains.

We thought it would be fun to sit under the awning, drink a beer and watch it come in. We saw a little lightning over the mountains, but nothing seemed concerning. Although there was no wind, Mark decided to stake down the awning while I sat under it in my chair.

All of a sudden, I saw a sand/dirt storm headed directly toward us. The next second, the awning had fallen on my head. Poppy jumped out of the van into the chaos. The wind was strong and it took a lot of effort to get it rolled up, Poppy inside, and the van closed up before too much dirt blew in. I wish there had been a video of that event because it was quite comical when all was said and done.

All in all, we enjoyed our time in and around the Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest.