Colter Bay, Grand Teton National Park

Colter Bay: aerial photo of Colter Bay with Teton range in background

simple map
You can download a Grand Teton National Park map at: http://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/maps.htm

As you turn of first turn off highway 191/89,
(coming north from the edge of Jackson, Wyoming it is 41 miles, coming south from the Yellowstone National Park border it is 13 miles)
go past the gas station and drive into Colter Bay,
the buildings set back from the Colter Bay road on the right (north) are an NPS Operations area, and NPS/ Concessionaire housing.

simple map

On the Colter Bay road, after you go through the four-way stop at the intersection of the roads to the campground, RV campground and the road to the cabins / tent cabins / stable,

if you go straight ahead,
(Google maps view here)

the road turns into a long one-way loop that goes past to store/laundromat and on to the Visitor Center.

Be prepared for people pulling out of parking spaces and not paying attention to oncoming traffic. (We once watched 2 cars almost back into each other as they exited their parking spaces at opposite sides of the road through the parking lot.)

road with parking at the sides

There are parking spaces along parts of this one way loop specifically for oversized vehicles and people towing boats or trailers:

pavement has words RV boat parking only car pulling a trailer parked at side of parking lot

And sometimes there are unusual pedestrians like this mama bear and her two cubs in August 2023:

three bears walking across parking lot

Colter Bay with locators:

A= amphitheater for early evening Ranger talks, later evening campfire programs

Ranger talking to people

Cabins see details about the logistics of sharing a Colter Bay Village cabin

2 double beds, nightstands with lamps, window in a cabin bedroom

cabin in background, wildflowers in foreground

Campground (346 individual campsites, 5 group) = see map and details

campsite with space behind in forest for privacy

aerial photo with peaks, lake and forested area

CRO = cabin rental office

G = gas station with tiny gift shop / a few food items

GG = large grocery (postage stamps) and gift shop (sometimes less food selection in the off season), coffee bar.

recycling bins Grand teton park: five various recycling bins Recycling bins are located outside of the store, including one specifically for used propane tanks, the brown center one in the photo.

H = highway 191/89, edge of the town of Jackson 41 miles, border of Yellowstone National Park 13 miles

L = coin-op launderette (22 dryers and 21 washers) & public showers (11 each men’s and women’s showers), sometimes there is a wait for these.

Free WiFi available at the laundromat:

M = marina, free boat launch ramp, canoe and boat rentals, fishing equipment and licenses, cruises with meals, boat fuel and dump services.

Colter Bay launch ramp (the wide driveway almost in the center) photo taken from a dock at the Marina is at this Google maps 360 degree photo.

sign says no swimming or fishing in marina

sign says do not enter marina waters

On many of our fall trips the ‘bay’ at Colter Bay is a mud flat due to irrigation water being drained from Jackson Lake.

launch ramp leading to almost dry lake

P = lakeside picnic area & swim beach with restrooms, picnic tables

that can be accessed by paths from the outside loops of the RV park or by the road that goes past the Visitor Center.

one picnic table in shade, others in full sun

picnic tables

The restroom is at the end of the swim beach road / parking area:
restroom building

and bring your binoculars:

Views of the swim beach from out on the lake:
colter bay swim beach: a long beach as seen from the lake

beach and lakeside

Below is a park service photo of the road past and to the swim beach, with the edge of the RV park to the right, which has pathways out to the swim beach road.

aerial photo of road and long beach

R = restaurant(s) free WiFi available. Ranch House open all season, Cafe closed early and late season (Coffee bar in the Colter Bay grocery.)
Tour the Ranch House and Cafe Court

Grand Tetons restaurants

We once saw a mink running up the outside wall of a restaurant, but did not get a picture. We saw a fox (with a beautiful long tail) in the middle of the day, running from the marina area towards the Colter Bay cabins/restaurants:

Here, the difference in size between a fox (in the front) coyote (in the middle) and a wolf:
drawing of a fox, coyote and wolf standing next to each other

Tent Village (66 Tent Cabins), see tent cabins colter bay tent cabin: canvas walled cabin with wood sides showing the patio

Trailer Park next to the Colter Bay campground, 112 full-hookup RV sites, see R.V. park

V = Visitor Center with films, talks, info, postcards, books and Indian Arts museum. Public restrooms in the building are at the left hand end of the building as it shows in this photo.

https://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/cbvc.htm

On the map below of the lakeshore trail, the red letter A is the amphitheater, V is the Visitor Center and C is the cabins area:

On the map below you can see campground loops F and G, about half of the RV park, and the brown rectangle is the store, the brown square to the side of/below it is the laundromat / shower house, and at the bottom of the map, part of the cabins area:

simple map

This map has the tent village on the right. The store is the brown rectangle at the middle left, with the showers/laundromat to the side/below it.
The bottom left hand corner is the restaurants.

simple map

There is no swimming pool at Colter Bay, but there is a swimming pool at Jackson Lake Lodge and Colter Bay Cabins guests can swim there.

More info about choices for overnight accommodations in Grand Teton National Park is at:
Grand Tetons hotels, cabins, lodging

There is a medical clinic on the grounds of Jackson Lake Lodge, ten miles from Colter Bay, near the gas station, open 7 days a week in the summer, usually 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (307-543-2514, 307-733-8002 after hours). No appointment needed. See the map at: Jackson Lake Lodge vicinity medical clinic building

St John’s Medical Center hospital (24 hour emergency room) is at 625 E. Broadway at Redmond, in Jackson

In late summer 2021, a cell phone tower was put in the Colter Bay campground and you can expect to be able to use your cell phone as a hotspot to get wi-fi on your laptop. (At Colter Bay got 3-4 bars on Verizon and AT&T. Elsewhere in the park we found some places with 3 bars on Verizon and 0-1 on AT&T.)

Here are views of Colter Bay campground loop F, on the right, campsite number F132 with the cell phone tower:

and the view of the towers from the road leading from the Colter Bay cabins to the campground:

Trails from Colter Bay :

At the north end of Colter Bay there is a 1.5 mile trail with a small causeway out to and around an island visible in almost the center of the photo at the top of this page. One of the views from this Lakeshore Trail:
lake and mountains beyond

The Lakeshore Trail starts behind the visitor center or at the day use area or even from the marina.

Showing again, the map below of the lakeshore trail, the red letter A is the amphitheater, V is the Visitor Center and C is the cabins area:

The Hermitage Point Trail goes out to Heron Pond and Swan lake

mountains seen from across large pond

For a full day hike, you can follow the Hermitage Point trail along Third Creek, out to a peninsula on the lake and follow the shoreline of Jackson Lake back to the marina
(easy – moderate, 9.7 mile / 15.6 kilometer round-trip loop trail).

A hiking map of the Hermitage Point area that the map above was copied from is at::
https://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/upload/Hermitage_Point_topo.pdf

Since it is not safe to hike by yourself, if you have no companions to hike with, you can join a Ranger for this hike, for example, from 2019:

“Swan Lake Hike

Join a ranger to hike through the forest and learn about the park’s natural history. A classic national park experience. Bring food, water, binoculars, rain gear, and insect repellent.

3 hours * Meet at flagpole in front of Colter Bay Visitor Center

3 miles * Moderate hike

Daily 4 pm, June 5-Sept 3, 2019”

The Swan lake Trail can be “temporarily closed for the safety of visitors and wildlife”
(for nesting birds to have peace and quiet).

https://www.nps.gov/grte/learn/management/wildlife-closures.htm

simple map

Below, a NPS photo trail map below, with the Colter Bay Campground, Colter Bay Cabins and Colter Bay village streets in the lower right corner, as well as Donoho Point, Hermitage Point, Half Moon Bay, Colter Bay, Little Mackinaw Bay, Willow Flats, Pilgrim Creek, Elk Island, Heron Pond, Swan Lake and Cygnet Pond

(The trail map above is oriented the usual way with north at the top, the photo map above is not.)

You can download a Grand Teton National Park map at: http://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/maps.htm

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Bald Eagle just above the water, flying off with a fish

Grand Teton National Park birds has photos and details about the most common ones we can hope to see
including Bald Eagle, Red-winged Blackbird, Canada Geese, Clark’s Nutcracker, Golden Eagle, Great Blue Heron. Great Gray Owl, Harlequin duck, Loon, Magpie, Merganser, Northern Flicker (woodpecker), Osprey, Ouzel, Pelican, Peregrine Falcon, Ptarmigan, Raven, Sandhill Cranes, Steller’s Jays, Trumpeter Swan , Western Meadowlark, and Western Tanager, with links to calls / songs from most of them to listen to.