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Colter Bay Picnic Area & Swim Beach in Grand Teton National Park

Picnic area · Grand Teton National Park

Colter Bay Picnic Area & Swim Beach

Picnic tables and a marked swim zone share the Jackson Lake shore.

Photo: National Park Service
Type
Picnic area
Nearest trail
0.4 mi
Audio stories
5 nearby
  • Parking
  • Restrooms
  • Picnic tables
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Colter Bay: Picnic Tables and a Pebbly Beach

Overview

About Colter Bay Picnic Area & Swim Beach

Why stop

  • Lakeside tables with open lake-and-mountain views.

Heads up

  • The swim shore is rocky and pebbly, not soft sand.

Map

Where it is

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Picnic areaColter Bay Picnic Area & Swim Beach43.90807, -110.64735
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Plan your stop

Before you go

2 active Grand Teton alerts

  • ClosureJackson Lake boat ramps closed; Signal launch riskMentions Jackson Lake, referenced in this guideColter Bay and Leeks boat ramps are closed; Signal Mountain Boat Ramp is open, but water is below the ramp edge and loose cobbles make launching risky.Official details
  • ClosureConstruction closures and delaysConstruction is causing current road and area closures and delays across Grand Teton; use the signed Taggart Trail detour. - Moose-Wilson Road is closed between Moose and Laurance S.Official details
Grand Teton alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Grand Teton Tour Guide

Your drive to Colter Bay Picnic Area & Swim Beach, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Grand Teton National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

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Recorded for this place

Colter Bay: Picnic Tables and a Pebbly Beach
0:00 / 0:18
“You're approaching Colter Bay's picnic area and swim beach, a good choice for lunch beside Jackson Lake. Choose a lakeside table for the view toward Mount Moran, or one among the lodgepole pines for shade.”

Plays as you drive up to Colter Bay Picnic Area & Swim Beach in the Parkwolf Grand Teton Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • Colter Bay: Lake Views, Artists and Lunch
  • Fishing in Formation
  • Leeks Marina: Pizza by the Lake
  • Whiskers Beneath the Surface
  • 118 audio storiesacross Grand Teton’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Brown Bear, Gray Wolf, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 70 trails, 121 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
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Guide

More about Colter Bay Picnic Area & Swim Beach

Picnic on Jackson LakeColter Bay Picnic Area & Swim Beach is the park’s largest picnic area, beside Jackson Lake at…

Colter Bay Picnic Area & Swim Beach is the park’s largest picnic area, beside Jackson Lake at Colter Bay. It’s a good place to slow down over lunch or take a summer swim, with tables both along the water and among lodgepole pines.

Choose your tableSome tables sit by the open, sunny shore; others are shaded by trees. Bring a packed meal.

Some tables sit by the open, sunny shore; others are shaded by trees. Bring a packed meal. Restrooms with flush toilets and trash receptacles serve the picnic area, and parking is at the site. Put food waste and other trash in the park’s bear-resistant dumpsters.

Swim from a pebbly shoreBuoys mark a swimming area and keep boats out.

Buoys mark a swimming area and keep boats out. The shoreline is rocky and pebbly rather than soft sand, so think of this as a lake swim and picnic stop more than a barefoot beach day. Summer is the popular season here.

Keep the Teton view in frameFrom the lakeside tables, Jackson Lake opens toward the Teton Range, including Mount Moran…

From the lakeside tables, Jackson Lake opens toward the Teton Range, including Mount Moran across the water. For a photo that feels like Colter Bay, keep a table or the grassy shoreline in the foreground instead of cropping to just the mountains.

picnicbeachswimminglakeshorejacksonlake

Wildlife

Wildlife in Grand Teton

All Grand Teton wildlife maps
Grizzly Bear172 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapBrown Bear195 sightingsBrown BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapGray Wolf32 sightingsGray WolfMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapMoose1,816 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapBison614 sightingsBisonMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapElk738 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Grand Teton. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near Colter Bay Picnic Area & Swim Beach

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

EasyColter Bay Lakeshore Trail2.2 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.4 mi awayTwo shoreline loops trade forest walking for big Teton views.EasyHeron Pond-Swan Lake Loop Trail3.1 mi · 1.8 hr · 0.6 mi awayAn easy loop linking two ponds beneath the Tetons.ModerateHermitage Point Trail9.5 mi · 5.5 hr · 0.6 mi awayA boulder shore opens onto Jackson Lake and the Tetons.EasyHeron Pond Trail2.9 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.6 mi awayLily pads frame a quiet pond beneath the Teton skyline.EasySwan Lake Trail1.9 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.8 mi awayA short lake walk through meadow and pines to lily-pad shallows.EasyLunch Tree Hill Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 4 mi awayA quick climb for Willow Flats and a wide Teton view.EasyWillow Flats Trail4.4 mi · 2 hr · 4.2 mi awayEasy old-road walking through willows with the Tetons ahead.ModerateGrand View Point Trail5.8 mi · 3.5 hr · 4.3 mi awayThree lake views make the long lodge approach worth the climb.

More stops nearby

Campground · 0.2 mi awayColter Bay RV ParkFull hookups in the pines, with Jackson Lake a short stroll away.Campground · 0.3 mi awayColter Bay CampgroundA wooded base a short walk from Jackson Lake.Store · 0.4 mi awayColter Bay General Store & LaunderetteA practical resupply stop with ready-to-eat food, showers and laundry.Visitor center · 0.4 mi awayColter Bay Visitor CenterA compact ranger stop with Indigenous art and a lakefront deck.Restaurant · 0.5 mi awayRanch House at Colter BayA seasonal Colter Bay meal with a little ranching history.Lodging · 0.5 mi awayColter Bay CabinsA historic log-cabin base near Jackson Lake.Sight · 0.5 mi awayColter Bay Marina & Boat LaunchRent a boat or launch yours beneath the TetonsCampground · 0.7 mi awayColter Bay Tent VillageBunks, canvas walls and a wood stove among the pines.

Parkwolf’s Grand Teton ranking

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