Curtis Canyon Campground is a great place to camp if you want to be close to town but still off the beaten path. This wooded campground is located above the National Elk Refuge and a quick walk from your campsite will reward you with amazing views of the Refuge and the Teton mountain range. Hiking and horseback riding are all easy to achieve just minutes from the campground. There is one dumpster and food storage box available.

Curtis Canyon Campground

If you're looking for something out of the way, but with a great view of the Tetons, this is your place. 

Once you drive through the back of the Elk Refuge; possibly sighting some of the native wildlife; you will reach a wooded campground with vault toilets, picnic tables, bear proof food storage, and a site dumpster at $15 a night. There are some RV pull through sites, be sure to ask the camp host if an appropriate site is still available for your camping style.

But, if you drove up this far, have a high clearance vehicle (or good insurance on your rental car), the means to be self contained with adequate bear proof food storage, why not drive up a little further and see what else lies ahead? There are also 15 dispersed camping sites, each of them with their own special features. Some shaded, some meadow, and all of them with striking scenery. When the road forks after the campground, either direction includes designated sites, however road 30445 (left fork) is a little tamer of a drive than 30440 (right fork), but that also gets you closer to the Goodwin Lake trailhead.

On our visit in late May, the flowers were just popping. We saw a few big horn sheep on the way in and out, and a few pronghorn. There were mosquitos, but they were small and they went away once it got cold at night. The Tetons at sunset though - so breathtaking. 

Take care to only use a designated camping site, store your food safely, and pack out what you brought in. These sites are all first come first serve; so have a back up plan if you come during the busy season and all the sites are full. I'm not kidding recommending a high clearance vehicle; we saw a sedan get pretty beat up traversing the ruts that had formed on the forest road. Also please drive safely - it is a steep, narrow, unpaved road. This same weekend another driver rolled her car down the canyon several times, luckily she was not seriously injured.

Brave the road, be rewarded with a view

This is a nice little campground close to Jackson, WY, that is much quieter than campgrounds in Teton National Park.  It has 12 sites for tents or smallish RVs. No hookups. It's open mid-May through mid-Sept. Most sites are tucked into the trees, but walking 50 yards to the dirt road gives an unparalleled view of the Teton range. From the town of Jackson, follow signs to Elk Refuge (past hospital) and proceed about 10 miles to campground.

Curtis Canyon on back side of National Elk Refuge

Curtis canyon is beautiful. To get there you drive through a beautiful Elk reservation. You drove up to Canyons and pass a pay state site until you enter the national Forrest. No amenities truly wild camping with some excellent hiking. Only saw a couple other cars. Get there early on weekend though there's not to many sites I could see them filling up quick.. right outside of jack hole..

Wild camping just how I like it.

Can get busy. A lot of High school age kids like to chill here, but there are plenty of spots.

Great places and beautiful views of the tetons

The perks of this campground would be the stunning views of the Tetons and that is it just outside of town (about a 15 minutes drive on dirt roads). If all of the campsites are taken there is ample dispersed camping (although some of it seems to feel like you are in a dirt parking lot). Again, the views can't be beat and the location is perfect if everything else is booked up or you don't feel like dropping the cash for a hotel in town.

Curtis Canyon Campground - Close to Town Camping

This was a great campground. Rough road through the elk reserve to the top of the canyon. Plenty of sites with spacious flat spots for tents, provided fire rings and grills, bear storage, picnic tables. Pit toilets were immaculate that the host cleans every morning! Available water and dump stations. Views are amazing at the top of the canyon. Plenty of dispersed camping if spots are taken. My favorite spot in the area by far. 

Diamond in the Rough

Mosquitoes were abundant, but the views are breathtaking! Every morning was like we were seeing the Tetons for the first time!

Worth the trek!

This campground is somewhat of a drive to get up to, but the views are worth it! Incredible!

Worth it

This site is a few miles east of the Mormon Flats Historical Site in Jackson WY.  The road going up to the sites is very rough and will test even 4x4 vehicles.  It’s free dispersed camping, so there are no facilities of any kind.  We were able to get a set facing west about 1/2 up the mountain.  The sites at the entrance are not the best.   You will need to drive up the road a good ways to find site during the summer.  The sites have visitors as well as summer workers camping for weeks at a time on the shaded or eastern  side sites.  Our site had a partial view of Tetons with plenty of space for 3 or 4 vehicles.  Unfortunately, previous campers had left garbage and waste on the perimeter of the camp.  In the summer, the sun is very hot for the west facing sites.  The view is the highlight here.  The first few elevated sites have incredible million dollar views of the Tetons.  The Mormon Flats Historical Site at the bottom of the mountain is well worth the visit.   We experienced people driving into the site all day and night to find the free sites.  This was a huge downside.  We tried this camp but came away disappointed by the overuse and traffic and would not recommend.  It’s just a bit to primitive and unregulated.  I think some volunteers and a perhaps more involvement from the Forest Service could help here.  

Jackson Hole Dispersed Camping 

Dispersed/free camping in the National Elk Refuge. The drive up the gravel road is super fun and provides great views of the Tetons and wildlife. 
We stayed at campsite 1A. When we first pulled in we spotted a grizzly down by the stream about 400 yards down the hillside. It didn’t bother us at night. 
The road can be a little rough on up the mountain towards the higher number camp sites. There are 16 sites. The road might be impassible for a small car or mini van if it’s wet out so use good judgment. 
Pets are welcome but must be kept on leash. Also we had great AT&amp;T and Sprint Cell signal at our site. 

Amazing. Amazing. 

Free dispersed camping with an amazing view. We definitely enjoyed our stay. 
There were 16 sites total at this campground and the road gets tougher as you go. 
 We had great AT&amp;T and Sprint service at our campsite (1A). 
Mosquitos are abundant so come prepared.  We also did see a bear at our campsite just down the valley but did not bother us. Pets are also welcome! 

Amazing views of the Tetons. 

Located in National Elk Refuge. Free / Dispersed camping. This place was phenomenal. We thoroughly enjoyed camping at Curtis Canyon. You will definitely need a 4x4 or SUV capable of making the trek up towards the top for the more remote locations. You should definitely go before sunset to become familiar with the drive up. The view of the Tetons is amazing from here. Jackson Hole... we will be back. 

We visited late July 2018.

Worth The Drive Up

Loved this place.  We have a Jeep x and Towed a tab 320 boondock up here.  Lots of cars and vans are able to make it up. Very busy get there early. Local spot, they seem to reserve the sites ahead of time for their groups so when they “feel like it” they can show up. There are more sites 1-5 or so up the hill further. Road is pretty rough. Most gorgeous sunsets we have ever seen.  We will definitely be back, even considering we’re making a long trip from MN. Clean vault toilets.  Host was selling firewood.  Close to town to grab dinner etc but still feels remote.  Did have some elk poo in our site but didn’t see any animals. A few pull through sites. 

Go here!

We came here pretty late in the day looking for a place to stay. It’s dispersed camping, with random spots up the mountain. The road was definitely a little rough, but our AWD Honda CRV handled it. 

Because it was so late in the day, most of the spots were occupied and we were a little nervous that we weren’t going to be able to find anything before dark. We drove up the road for a good while, unsure of when the campsites ended and when it was just a road to nowhere, BUT there is a dead end to the road. So if you are driving and wondering how far the sites go, you’ll know when you hit the end of the road. We begrudgingly started to make our way back down the mountain (about an hour and a half drive until the end of the road), and thankfully we found one last spot. 

The drive was worth it, the views were amazing, and the amount of stars you could see at night were breathtaking! 

Rough roads, but beautiful views!

Nice campground just a few miles outside of Jackson.  Easy to get to Tetons and Yellowstone.  Roads are rough and have steep uphill grade - but the views make the trek worthwhile. 

Stunning Teton views above elk refuge 

We had a great time at this campground. There aren’t Teton views from the campsite themselves, but the view from 2 minutes down the road is pretty unbeatable. Everything your world expect from a National Forest campground for facilities (fire pit, picnic table, potable water, drop toilets, tent sites) and nothing extra. But really, you stay for the views, which are incredible, and the closeness to Jackson. 10-15 minutes depending on how fast you take the bumpy dirt road.

Great views, nice facilities and very close to Jackson.

The campsite was closed, maybe end of season or because of COVID.  Not sure but we kept driving past to the dispersed camping sites along the road.  There are 9 miles of road with campsites every so often.  It was a rough road that we took our time on to not damage anything.  We drove 3.5 miles or so and it took about 30 minutes.  Well worth it to step out of the truck and hear nothing.  Absolutely nothing but silence.  We looked out across the valley towards Teton national park.  It was a cold night with frost on the windows.  Highly recommend!

Worth the drive!

Paid for the first two nights and enjoyed it so much we stayed the week. The road is quite rutted and rocky so a 4-wd is recommended if not required. Friendly host. Wonderful view of the sunset and night sky from a hill just outside the grounds

Secluded spot not too far from Jackson and the Park

The actual campsites are super spacious and have a grill stove and bear box. You can walk just up outside the campsite to a lookout and there are beautiful views of the mountains. The road to the campsite it bad though. For over a mile you’re on a dirt road with some big ruts and potholes. If you go slow it’s somewhat doable in a low car, but pretty precarious unless you have a higher up 4x vehicle. It was very reasonably priced though only $15.