Brooks Lake Campground

We wanted to stay reasonably close to the Tetons but without the crowds. Brooks Lake Campground fits the bill perfectly for use. There are not many sites and no cell coverage. We planned to arrive early to avoid rigs leaving and hopefully find an open spot or wait until someone vacated a site. No trouble; several sites were available, and #1 was easy to back into and open. Brooks Road is narrow, with places where you cannot pass oncoming traffic. Someone would have to back up. Plan your arrival and exit accordingly to avoid late morning or midafternoon.

This was a great one nighter which I was hoping to stretch out a few more days, but couldn’t swing it. Free camping during the time I was there in September. 5 miles off main road on a well maintained gravel forest road. Sites have minimal privacy, but are right at lake level with beautiful views. I didn’t have time to do any hiking, but make sure you carry your bear spray if you go a wandering. Vault toilets. Water is available in season, off when I was there. High elevation so expect cold nights that will freeze liquid left out. There is a vacation “ranch” across the road that is used on and off season for hunters/pack trains going deep into the back country on horse back. Biologists boating and testing lake water when I was there. I happened across a lost dog when I was there, and was eventually able to reunite him with his owner the next day in Jackson. His owner said he guessed the dog travelled about 25 miles all told, and he was literally “dog tired.” But I love a happy ending. I would love to stay here again and explore more thoroughly sometime in the future.

Small campground off the beaten path. Access in is on a well maintained gravel road. The campground is by Brooks Lake. There are some good views of the lake and the Pinnacles and other ridges in the area. The campsites are gravel. A few are big enough for rig maybe 30 ft or so. There's picnic table, fire ring. There are 2 short spurs with some sites but these would be tricky with a trailer as there is limited room to navigate or turn around. Most sites are close together and exposed, not screened from other sites. Bear country but didn't see any bears. Watched osprey over the lake in the evening. It was very windy in the late afternoon; this might be typical for the mountains. Vault toilet was not only clean but also had nice decoration with dried flowers and some art -- a very nice touch. It would have been a very quiet peaceful campground except for the jerk who ran an open-frame generator for 2 hours in the evening -- so inconsiderate. There are some good hiking trails in the area.

The views from this campsite are unparalleled. It's truly a stunning spot and the price is right. But it is crowded and the sites have no shade and are right on top of each other with no privacy. It's almost a parking lot style campground. It is also very busy and is right next to the boat ramp with can also be very busy esp on the weekends. Its not for me but again the views may be worth it to some. There is no at&t service that is usable. I could get 1 bar sometimes but no data really and I couldn't send or receive texts. Also the hard sided only requirement has been revoked so you can use tents and soft sided trailers again.

Overlooking Brooks Lake. This is bear country and is subject to special regulations including "hard side only" equipment and use of proper food storage practices. Brooks lake CG is the smaller of two campgrounds, the other being Pinnacles CG with a formal Camp Host and many more sites. Site #9 in Brooks easily accommodated our long truck camper and Jeep Wrangler toad as a pull through site. Picnic table and fire ring were quite a ways away from campsite so not really convenient. Clean vault toilets, Bear Boxes, Trash Dumpsters. No water or electrical. Great fishing on Brooks lake Creek below the lake. Nearby Brooks Lake Lodge is a beautiful building but is exclusively for paying guests so don't plan on having an upscale cocktail evening away from your campsite.
About five miles off of the highway on good surface FS road. If weather is severe, this is a pretty exposed CG with no trees. Pinnacles might be a better bet with more protected sites but most without the kind of views in the Brooks Lake CG. Loops in both CGs allow for easy maneuvering with trailer in tow.

Wow is all I can say the shear beauty alone is what rates it a 5. We stayed in the Pinnacles CG. I would definitely camp here again! Dry camping. Hard sides units only. Each site had a wonderful view of lake, bear box, picnic table and fire ring. The cleanest and most decorated vault toilets I have ever experienced. Fresh water easily available. Very nice camp host on site. It was approx 5 miles down a very well maintained dirt road with little wash board.

In term of just sheer beauty, I'm not sure it's possible to beat this area. So for that, we'd definitely give it 5 stars. However, we've never been in such an unlevel (as in "on an angle" campsite). There was no way to really make it level, so we leveled side to side and did the best we could with front to back, ending up with our heads lower than our feet. Not ideal.

The campground itself has most sites in a loop, with #1 and #2 off to the side on a separate access road. We had #1, which was large and private. Next to it, #2 was very small, so no one stayed there, giving us even more privacy. We were on a corner, though, so as ATVs and other cars/trucks came through during the day, there was noticeable traffic noise. Evenings and nights, though were very silent, as we were away from the rest of the campsites which were using their generators. It's a pet peeve of mine to go to a remote forest campground and have big rigs using their generators as we are trying to enjoy the peace.

Tons of bugs here this time of year, so we were glad to have bug spray. No services other than a very nicely maintained pit toilet. No cell service. Lots of fisherpeople in the area during the days. The lake is beautiful, so bring your kayak. Great hiking -- one trail just off the campground and another a mile or two away. Bears have been sighted in the area, so only hard-sided camping is allowed.

There's another campground on the lake (Pinnacles Campground), which is tighter and maybe prettier...and a bit more expensive ($15 vs $10 per night). Brooks Lake Campground has had beetle kill trees removed so it is more open -- Pinnacles has not. But really, Brooks Lake Campground Site #1 gave us panoramic views of the mountains, pinnacles, and the lake. See the photos. Hard to beat that.

There are actually two campgrounds here at Brooks Lake. The first and the one I am reviewing is Brooks Lake CG. The other across from this campground is Pinnacle CG. First, the road in is about 5 miles and for a forest road is in pretty good condition. Narrow at some points with just a tad bit of washboard but overall pretty good. Brooks Lake CG has had a lot of pine tree cutting so it isn't really that beautiful, but the lake is pretty. Solar will work here because there is very little shade. Beware that this CG sits at around 9,100 elevation and may not be for everyone. No hookups or water, Vault toilets and trash service. Lastly, no cell service for Verizon.

There are some pull-thru and back in sites big enough for most rigs (I did see some large 5th wheels here but no Class A beasts) and some back in sites mostly suited for smaller rigs. Some of the sites will have water view and others are further up a hill with limited views. Usually I would prefer the water view sites, but I did see one site, site#1 (I believe) that had a very limited view but seemed more private. It's best to park at a site and then walk around to see the other sites as some of the roads leading to other sites will make turning around difficult unless you have a very small rig. Q-dog enjoyed swimming in the lake. The boat ramp is at this campground, Pinnacles does not have a boat ramp. Note this a hard-sided vehicle campground only so don't expect to pitch a tent, although I did see car campers sleeping in their vehicles.

I didn't have time to go to the other campground, Pinnacles, but could tell there was not as much pine tree removal and looked very pretty. There are some sites that sit right near the water and would be lovely. I wasn't able to confirm this but Pinnacles may have potable water but Brooks Lake CG did not when I was there.