Colter Bay Lakeshore Trail
in Wyoming
Location : Access the paved Colter Bay Lakeshore trail northwest of the visitor center. Notes : Visitor services include a visitor center, restrooms, water, stores, restaurants, laundromat, showers, cabins, corrals, campground and an RV park. Bears may be active any place and at any time-travel in groups, make noise and carry bear spray.
Backcountry camping requires a permit-pick one up at a backcountry permits office. Destinations The paved, gently sloping path leads from the visitor center to the amphitheater and then down to Colter Bay on Jackson Lake. Pavement extends along the north edge of Colter Bay toward a spit.
This trail meets most ABA requirements.
- States
- Wyoming
- Trail type
- National Park trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Bozeman, MT · 124 mi · ~3.6 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 43.9031°, -110.6443°
About Grand Teton National Park
This trail is inside Grand Teton National Park, a national park managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Entrance fee: $35 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/000/colter-bay-lakeshore-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Colter Bay Lakeshore Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Other trails within 50 miles
Two Ocean Lake Trail
6 miles from this trail's centroid
Taggart Lake Trail
15 miles from this trail's centroid
Path of the Pronghorn Turnout
18 miles from this trail's centroid
Valley Trail
18 miles from this trail's centroid
Teton Crest Trail
18 miles from this trail's centroid
Sheridan - Two Ocean - Togwotee CDT Alternate
31 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.