Toppings Lake Dispersed Campsite #17

This site is directly across the road from the parking lot known as "upper Teton view." It is set into the trees so it is quite private. You can get a glimpse of the mountains through the trees. There is a short (~30 feet) access road and then the site splits into a T so you can come in forward with a trailer and then get it backed into position. I don't think you could get two trailers into this spot. You will want to watch your clearance with the branches of the pine on the left side of the access road. There's about 11-foot clearance but not much more.

One nice feature of this campsite is that there is a trail that runs along the back side of the site. An occasional hiker or trail ride will come through, but it wasn't used much while we were there. If you follow the trail about a 100 yards south you will get some spectacular views of the mountains. It branches off to the east and climbs the ridge for more spectacular views. While we were there we heard elk bugling in the hills back there.

Mobile coverage is a bit weaker at this site than those that have a direct view of the valley. It is passable outside of a trailer. We had limited bandwidth inside the trailer. We deployed a booster and directional antenna that solved all issues and gave us sufficient bandwidth to stream video. You'll want to point that antenna to the NW.

As all reviews state, this is a very popular area. It has a five day stay limit between Memorial and Labor Day, then reverts to 14 days. You will want to arrive early to get a spot anywhere on Toppings Lake Road. I saw countless RVs making a drive through at 6pm thinking they'd find a spot. Most just turned around and went elsewhere. If you drive by #17, I'd jump on it rather than continuing up the road thinking something better might be open. Clearance with the pine tree may keep Class A, Class C, and 5th wheels out of this site, so it is more likely to be available.

FYI, the three photos currently posted are NOT of site #17. Site #17 is set in the trees. You might get a single 5th wheel in there but better suited for a smaller trailer or two vans.

Stayed for 3 nights here and it was great. Very quiet and secluded where I camped (towards the end). Didn’t see any wildlife during my stay. Most sites are very large and can accommodate several units/vehicles. Road is a little rocky so take it slow. The views at some sites are incredible views of the Tetons! You can select from lush forest type campsites or open field campsites. There is a ball toilet at the very beginning but it’s really only accessible if you’re staying at the first six sites. All of the other sites are up the hill so you would likely have to drive down. There are no picnic tables but there are rock fire pits but at this time they had a do not burn ban in effect. The mosquitoes are not too bad here but the blackflies were relentless on myself and the dog so come prepared. You are a quick 10 to 15 minute drive to the entrance of the Tetons or 25 minutes to Jackson. I had 1-2 bars of LTE via AT&T outside of my camper van. Definitely would stay here again. I arrive Friday Early afternoon the weekend of July 4 and they were only a few spots available. Within an hour or two of arriving, all the spots were taken so if you do come I would definitely recommend getting there early on a certain day or asking someone with a large space if they are willing to share. If not there are several other disperse roads in the area but they were also very busy as well.

The Toppings Lake area gets very crowded and busy so the fact that this campsite only had room for 2 small campers (comfortable) or 3 small campers (cozy) was quite attractive. Because it's surrounded by trees, we don't l didn't have the fabulous views of the Tetons, but all we had to do is walk across the road to the larger, more crowded area and we were given all the views we could handle. This is bear country and the forest rangers will issue $150 citations if you are forgetful and accidentally leave out a small cooler of canned drinks, so be careful!