A better way to search for campgrounds

Of the eight National Parks I visited on my month long roadtrip, Grand Teton was my favorite. Gros Ventre is a great location to explore the park, particularly the southern half (Moose and Jackson, WY).

There is next to no privacy - the campground is in the middle of a few cottonwood trees and lots of scrub brush. Bathrooms were clean, staff was incredibly friendly.

Mormon Row is less than five minutes away by car if you want a great place to watch the sunrise! Craft beer could be found in Moose where there's a roof top bar.

There are 2 Bally Creek sites…this is the NORTH one. Just off the Superior Hiking Trail and about 1/4 mile from a parking area.

When you get to the site, you ascend up a little hill to an area that has plenty of trees for hammocks. Not to mention, a great big pine that's perfect for hanging your food, because it's a decent bit away from the tent pad area and fire ring. Up another little path, you get to the tent pads (1 bigger and potentially 2 smaller) and more trees for hammocks. The fire ring has a nice little bench around it, and there seems to be a resident chipmunk that thoroughly enjoys sharing your meals. The privy is just down the hill and is very clean and private.

The only complaint I have (and it's not really a big deal) is that the trail is so close to the site, that if it's a busy weekend, you can see them coming down the hill behind the fire ring, and they all want to stop and see if it's available. But beyond that (and I'm just glad people love to hike and camp!), it's not really a bother so much as a minor thing.

Oh…and it's super easy to get to! About a 1/4 mile from a parking area, so just far enough off the road, but close enough if you need something. Great for a family with little ones! Water is just down the path in a little stream.

@RoarksVentures has been to this park multiple times since January of 2018. It is actually one of our favorites. The staff has been kind and welcoming. The conversations started around the warmth of the hot tub have led to continued friendships long after our wheels have left the city.

With the skyline spotted by the leaves of vibrant Palm trees you get a sense that you are camping in a sort of desert oasis. That is, until you hear the roar of the cars on the busy freeway right across the street. Depending on the side of the park you end up camping in determines the volume that you hear that rumble.

Cell coverage is fantastic here allowing for mobile workers, RV movie streamers, and daytime internet explorers to meet all their needs and wants.

The rows are lined with palm trees and full of walkers, joggers and slow time strollers. The people all wave warmly whether they have met you before or not. Along with that the park offers a variety of social events including line dancing, swap meets, ice cream socials and more.

With such close proximity to Joshua Tree National park within a 45 minute drive, an hour to LA, and 20 minutes to down town Palm Springs there is no shortage of quality exploring for any type.

The one knock, other than the freeway is that there has been some increased homeless activity in the tree line that flanks the park. Their used to be a little fence you could walk through to let your dogs run and play. That gate is now locked with a no trespassing sign. I enjoyed running out in the sand dunes in that area and came across a hideout that had several books, which I imagine were stolen from the resort's well stocked library and a gas generator that you wonder if it was stolen from somebody who didn't lock up their belongings at their campsite.

All the same, the park does the best they can and often has a security patrol come through the park every once in awhile to make sure all is well. All that said, I never feel unsafe or worried here. The laughter from the rowdy pool volleyball games puts you at ease.

I already have plans to come back and look forward to doing so. It is still one of my favorite parks. Maybe it could be yours too.

To be fair I'd like to preface this review with a word of caution. We went in the middle of Summer. High bug season. Take a look at other reviews as they come in and see what time of year they visited. Maybe they'll have a similar experience, maybe not. The fun thing about this state park is that all the sites are hike in. No drive up camping. It has a couple camper cabins as well. But everyone is spread out along a few trails so it's a little quieter than your typical campground.

When we pulled up to the parking lot we knew we were in trouble. The black flies were dive bombing the car like a scene from Armageddon. We prepared the kiddos for a quick grab and run and jumped out of the car. Our campsite was about a mile from the car so we started at a quick walk onto the trail. First step onto the grassy trail exploded in a cloud of mosquitos. Walking along the kids all looked like Pig-Pen from Peanuts. Even though we'd sprayed everyone down the bugs must have felt safety in numbers because we were covered in welts in no time flat. That's when the jogging began. Soon we were running and also planning out how to set up camp the quickest. Little tent first, throw the kids in, big tent second and then everyone in there while dinner was being made. Luckily at our actual campsite the bugs weren't quite as horrendous so we were able to get out a bit after applying a few more layers of repellant. Our site was on a short private trail off the main loop and opened up to a decent space. We had a picnic table and fire pit and plenty of space for our two tents and an area to play. We were all entertained by the plethora of mushroom varieties that surrounded the camp. We spent a bit of time outside and then played in the tent the rest of the night. Unfortunately the bugs were bad enough that the next morning we just packed up and headed back to the car. I would like to come back to this park in late fall and try out a camper cabin. There are three of them all on lakes so if you can get past buggy season it has the potential to be a great experience. Have you ever been to Lake Maria? Stayed in one of their camper cabins? Let me know, I'd love to hear how it went!