Welcome to the “Mad Max” world of “first come, first served” campgrounds in Grand Teton National Forest

The day started auspiciously. Lucas and I drove the Prius around 4:30am towards Grand Teton with the goal of arriving at 7 am – a full hour before the campground offices were slated to open. The night before, and even when we were planning the trip, we pored over campsites on the park and where we wanted to stay. Grand Teton only had two available campsites that could be reserved ahead of time and they were both full (apparently they fill out a year in advance!). But, we read in multiple websites, blog, reviews and on the National Park Service website that there are enough spaces to not be left out, so even though not having a reserved site gave us agita, we decided to “lean in” and “be wild and free” (ha!).

Our plan was the following:

1. Get up and go by 4:30 am. Lucas and I with the Prius so we could get there sooner, and once we had a spot, we would alert Dennis and he would bring the RV over.
2. Arrive at the campground offices by 7 am and wait in what we thought would be a line to the offices.
3. Get our camp assignment and proceed to park the RV.
4. Open a chilled bottle of wine, a cold beer and enjoy what for sure would be an amazing view from our campsite (by 9 am).

Well, not so fast. Lucas and I did get up and drive out by 4:30 am and immediately saw a beautiful buck and a raccoon before leaving the RV park.

We then spent the rest of the drive watching out for wildlife. There was even a flashing red sign that said “Bears on the Highway”. I can’t say I’ve seen that before, #welcometoWyoming.

We didn’t see any bears but did see a gigantic bull elk and a lot of mist covering the road (I’m pretty sure I’ve seen some horror films that start this way). But we made it, safe and sound, a little disappointed about not seeing any bears.

After we arrived at the campsite, right before 7 am, we saw a confusing amount of cars hurriedly driving around but…no line in front of the campground office. Lucas and I looked at each other in confusion. We put our masks on and walked over to speak to the ranger only to find a horrifying truth.

First come, first served in Grand Teton means you have to drive around each campsite and peer at the laughably minuscule papers attached to the front of each campsite to find when people were leaving. In an ideal world, some of these campsites would be open and you would just stroll right in and park. But nope, nope, nope, all of these were FULL.

So, at basically the crack of dawn, we were driving past campsites and stalking people. I mean to the point where the car before us noticed a same-day departure date on a campsite. So he rolls down his window to yell at the poor camper trying to make breakfast at 7 am on a stove right outside his rig. “Hey, are you leaving today??”. The camper shook his head and in a resigned voice said “Yes, but someone has already put dibs on the campsite”. You can bet your behind that 200 other cars behind us asked this guy the exact same question. In some campsites, people were parked right in front (car and rig and all) waiting for people to get up and go.

At some point, Lucas got out of the car to walk slowly through the campsite to see if we had missed one that was leaving the same day. I’m telling you, the writing on these things is tiny – you have to open your window, squint and hope that the date makes sense. All of this was in Signal Mountain, our #1 choice campsite.

We went to plan B: the Colter Bay campsite. At this point it’s past 8 and there are hundreds of people in their cars zooming like mosquitoes trying to find a spot. We drive up to Colter Bay only to sit in traffic trying to get into the campsite. Dennis calls us and I tell him to head to Option C: Gros Ventre campsite.

After sitting in traffic for under an hour, the campground manager comes out and tells everyone that the site is full. So, Lucas and I head to our last choice: Lizard Creek Campground. This campsite was our last choice because it is far! Nevertheless, we drive up there and start doing the now familiar circling. After going around the campground three times, we find a spot!!!

Can I get a HALLELUJAH?!?!

I drop Lucas off to guard it with his life and drive to the campground office to pay and get our very own minuscule piece of paper to place in the entrance to the site. We call Dennis who is sitting in a gigantic traffic jam in the Gros Ventre campground to come to us but he can’t u-turn on the rig so he has to wait before heading our way. He reports that the campground is packed in and neighbors are on top of one another. Lizard Creek may be far but it’s covered in wildflowers, has an access point to the lake (which I will use!) and comfortable space between rigs.

We wait until Dennis can drive from Gros Ventre to Lizard Creek (> 1 hour) and finally, at about 1 pm the whole ordeal is over and we set up camp. After a lunch we decide to walk around Colter Bay to take in the sights and gaze upon the gorgeous Grand Tetons.

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After a short hike, we head back to make smores and cook dinner. We have hiking and exploration slated for tomorrow but for today, I’m just glad we found a spot.

By the way, the Grand Tetons do not disappoint, they are breathtakingly gorgeous!