Shadow Mountain Designated Dispersed Campsite #2

We arrived looking for a campsite at 2pm on a Tuesday. The road is as bad as everyone says it is but you should be fine with 4x4. Nearly all sites were full (people having left tents to claim their spot), but we did manage to snag one near the top of the mountain. Unfortunately, it was facing East and therefore didn’t have the views of Grand Teton like the west facing sites. It was still an amazing view - one we would have appreciated much more if we didn’t know what was just a few feet behind us! The sites are designated, and we were woken at 11pm to someone pulling their car into our campsite and pitching tent for the night. The spot was large enough that we weren’t bothered, but still a bit odd. They were gone by the time we woke up. The bugs were brutal, both large biting flies and mosquitos. We ended up spending more time behind our netting than would have liked. Overall, all the negatives would have been entirely moot if we had gotten the west facing view.

Some of the best views of the mountain range from where I camped. Like a previous review said, “no pain, no gain.” The road is rough and washed out and if you want a good spot, you’ll have to drive up a few miles. It was a unforgettable experience seeing the mountain range from my spot. You’d be hard pressed to find a better view than this!

The camping sites are in the middle of the mountain that you need to overcome a lot of potholes on the washed road. I drove very slowly, 5 mph because worried my SUV and my travel trailer would be damaged.

If your tow vehicle or travel trailer is old, I don’t recommend this place because the wheel parts will suffer a lot from the rough road. Also, you will need to wash your car and trailer thoroughly after the camping due to the dust under the car body. Your car will be messy after you climbed up the mountain.

The positive sides are the great view of the Grand Teton. Indeed, it is similar to the Alps. At night, a group of 4 deer visited my site. I had eye contact with one of them, but they continued grazing. It was a healing moment when I was warching them. Overall I enjoyed the boondocking very much.

Road going up the hill was not too bad for our RV. Roads below had some muddy spots, and were rough.

Found space 8 to be relatively flat. Had a beautiful red fox run through our site early the next morning.

Picked nearby TV stations.

Only negative I can think of is guy zooming down the rocky road like a bat out of hell past our site after it was dark.

Great views of the Tetons from this spot. Plenty of spots that are up on a hill and give you a great opportunity to see the valley. It was a bit overcast when I was there and would still recommend it. Fire pit it designated spots.

Very hilly road with some wash out spots that made it a interesting drive up. Should be fine even with a car but probably depends on road conditions. Its a aways off the main road

This was our first shot at boondocking and this spot will be hard to beat. Arrived late on a Wednesday afternoon and were able to find a spot up top in the "group" area. Clean, level and a view to die for. This group area was like a small community. My wife was comfortable with me leaving her alone when I went off hiking for hours. Everyone gathered at the view spot for sunset each night to enjoy the view and shoot the breeze. Every time you thought you got a good photo another even better perspective would deveop, just amazing. Sunrise was also nice but not nearly as dramatic. The group area was a large semicircle that campers stayed away from the opening to the view (west). We did have the unfortunate experience with campers next to us that were upset that we took away their wiew when setting up next to them. They felt that even though there was room for at least 4 large camp spots between them and the view that no one should use that area. As I told them if it wasn't me it would be someone else, you just cannot claim that much open space. Just as I suspected all 4 sites were taken each night with different campers. Luclky for us they left the next morning as they were continually rude and childish. EVERYONE else was super friendly. If you wanted to be away from the group there were pleanty of other spaces available, some with and some without the view. We pulled a 29' TT up there with no issue, just go slow. When we come back again I would not consider anywhere else for the Grand Teton NP. Had several bars with Verizon but data was poor.

This spot is wonderful for remote, dispersed camping. There is access to a small campground area at the bottom of the mountain, but the views at the top are well worth the drive. We visited in June and there were many great spots available for camping. The views of the Tetons are unmatched.

Our camping neighbors were quiet and respectful of the environment - no trash left at any of the sites we drove by. The road up the mountain is rocky, but we were able to navigate the area easily in our minivan. I could see how a larger rig would have trouble, though.

Shadow Mountain is a popular place. When we arrived on a Sunday, all of the spots that have been previously reviewed were taken. We continued to slog up the hill, bouncing over sharp rocks and trying to keep our momentum up. We finally found a spot that would accommodate us about 3/4 up the mountain. The road is probably one of the rougher dirt roads we've towed on, and the incline doesn't help. The road is also very busy, depending on the day of the week. Expect plenty of Suburus, and tour vans.

Pros:
Beautiful views
Good location (near Grand Teton, drivable to Yellowstone, not too far to Jackson)
Sites are well spaced out
FREE

Cons:
Cell service - see more info below
Rough road
Busy road (dusty)

Cell service:
The bars were there, but the speed was not. We tried Verizon, AT&T, an omni booster and a directional antenna on a 28ft flagpole. 4-5 bars of boosted service, 2-3mbps if you're lucky, and depending on time of day. In the afternoons, speed slowed to a crawl. We finally settled on AT&T with the directional antenna at a very precise compass heading. It provided good speeds at night and in the mornings, but again, not very good in the afternoon. I resorted to commuting to the Jackson Library every day. If you do video conferencing for work, you might have to also. (The Library is super nice and has fast internet)