Wyoming Outdoor Guide: Campgrounds, Trails, Beaches & RV Spots
Key Takeaways
- String Lake is genuinely the best family swim spot in the Tetons — shallower, warmer, and sandier than the park’s other lakes
- Jenny Lake Campground is tents-only and extremely competitive — reserve the moment the booking window opens
- Yellowstone Lake is a scenic paddling destination, not a swimming one — the water is dangerously cold year-round
- Signal Mountain Campground fills so early that campers regularly arrive before 6:30am to get a spot
Grand Teton and Yellowstone Anchor Everything
Wyoming’s outdoor identity is built almost entirely around two adjacent national parks — Grand Teton and Yellowstone — and String Lake is the detail most visitors miss that actually makes a family trip work.
Campgrounds
Colter Bay Campground — Grand Teton National Park (Moran)
335 wooded sites on Jackson Lake, with laundry, showers, and a grocery store — a genuine family hub. Book up to six months ahead.
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Jenny Lake Campground — Grand Teton National Park
The most popular campground in the park, tents-only and near the lake. Extremely competitive — reserve as soon as the booking window opens.
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Signal Mountain Campground — Grand Teton National Park
Near Jackson Lake with real mountain views, but it fills so early that campers report arriving before 6:30am just to get a site.
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Gros Ventre Campground — Grand Teton National Park (near Moose)
Nearly 300 sites in sagebrush and cottonwoods, with 39 electric sites and a dump station — a good alternative if Jenny Lake and Colter Bay are full.
Learn moreMadison, Grant Village, Bridge Bay, Canyon Campgrounds — Yellowstone National Park
The major reservable Yellowstone campgrounds — book far ahead regardless of which one you target.
Hiking Trails
Jenny Lake Loop — Grand Teton National Park
A roughly 7.6-mile loop (shorter if you take the boat shuttle) with Teton views and real wildlife-spotting odds — the classic family route in the park. Parking fills by 9am.
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Hidden Falls & Inspiration Point — Grand Teton National Park
A roughly 1.3-mile round trip from the Jenny Lake boat dock to a waterfall, with an option to continue to Inspiration Point for lake views. Genuinely doable with young kids.
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Taggart Lake — Grand Teton National Park
An easy roughly 3.8-mile loop to a glacial lake reflecting the Tetons — a strong payoff for a manageable distance.
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String Lake / Leigh Lake — Grand Teton National Park
Easy, flat lakeside trails — and String Lake is also the best family swim spot in the park (see below).
Learn moreYellowstone boardwalks (Old Faithful/Upper Geyser Basin, Grand Prismatic, Mammoth)
Flat, stroller-friendly geothermal walks — genuinely the best family “hikes” in Yellowstone, and a good way to see the park’s signature features without a real climb.
Lakes & Swimming Areas
String Lake — Grand Teton National Park
The top family swim spot in the Tetons — shallower and warmer than the park’s other lakes, with a sandy bottom and the peaks rising right overhead. Use the shallower north end for kids, and arrive before 9am if you want easy parking.
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Jackson Lake (Colter Bay swim beach) — Grand Teton National Park
A popular family beach with clear water and real Teton views. The water is cold and the beach gravelly, so it’s best treated as a sunset swim spot — bring water shoes.
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Jenny Lake — Grand Teton National Park
Crystal-clear shoreline swimming with a dramatic backdrop, though busier than String Lake.
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Yellowstone Lake — Yellowstone National Park
A vast, high-elevation lake that’s genuinely dangerously cold — treat this as a scenic boating and paddling destination, not a swimming spot.
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Glendo Reservoir — Glendo State Park
Miles of sandy, tree-lined beaches with real swimming at Shelter Point and Sandy Beach — a strong pick if you want lake time outside the national parks.
Learn moreRV Spots
Colter Bay RV Park — Grand Teton National Park
An in-park RV park on Jackson Lake with laundry, showers, restaurants, and a grocery store nearby — genuinely feels like a summer camp for the whole family.
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Yellowstone Park / West Gate KOA — West Yellowstone
Big-rig pull-throughs with 50-amp service, seasonal — a strong base for the west entrance.
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Absaroka Bay RV Park — Cody
A well-reviewed full-hookup private park, good if you’re approaching Yellowstone from the east.
Learn morePlanning Your Trip
Grand Teton should anchor a Wyoming trip if your family wants both hiking and real swimming — base at Colter Bay, hike Jenny Lake Loop or the shorter Hidden Falls trail, and make String Lake your actual swim destination rather than settling for Jackson Lake’s colder water. If Yellowstone’s the priority, treat the geyser boardwalks as your primary family hikes rather than pushing for longer backcountry trails.