Turpin Meadow: At the Gate of Jackson Hole
Between the crowds of Yellowstone and the crowds of Jackson Hole, there is a quiet valley where the Buffalo River slides out of the Teton Wilderness and the biggest excitement on an evening walk is deciding which mountain to watch turn pink first. Turpin Meadow Campground sits about seventeen miles east of Moran Junction, up Buffalo Valley Road in the Bridger-Teton National Forest - and for our money, it is the smartest base camp in northwest Wyoming: national-park access in one direction, silence and moose in the other.
The Campground
Turpin Meadow is a modest, well-kept forest campground: fourteen standard sites and four pull-throughs, vault restrooms, and not much else - which is exactly the point. No hookups, no camp store, no neighbors' television. What it does have is space, trees, and one of the best backdrops in the Rockies: the valley runs west toward the Tetons, and down the ridge trails above the Buffalo River you get views of the whole Teton Range that the park-bound crowds never see.
It is also honest horse country. The campground serves as a trailhead for pack trips into the Teton Wilderness, and outfitters still run strings out of the valley the way they have for a century. Watching a pack train cross the meadow at dusk, given the whole history of this country, feels about right.
Base Camp Strategy
The genius of Turpin Meadow is location. Grand Teton National Park's east entrance is about twenty minutes away, so you can do park days - the loop road, the Snake River overlooks, Mormon Row, Jenny Lake - and still come home to quiet. Yellowstone's south entrance is another comfortable run north. And on the days when the park crowds wear you down, the valley itself is the attraction: the Buffalo River trailheads, the fly fishing, and the moose - real ones, in the river bottoms at dawn and dusk, the way the valley's name-animals should be.
Practical notes: there are no hookups, so arrive with full water and empty tanks. The road in is paved most of the way and fine for any rig. Summer nights run cool - this is high country, near 7,000 feet - and afternoon thunderstorms are part of the deal. Book ahead where reservations are accepted, or come shoulder-season and take your chances; both strategies have worked for us.
Why This Stop Works
Somebody once said the best view of a famous mountain is from the outside looking at it. The Tetons from Jackson Lake are famous. The Tetons from the Buffalo Valley, framed in lodgepole and meadow grass with no traffic and no crowd, are better. Turpin Meadow puts you close enough to everything and far enough from everything, and that balance is the whole trick of a happy summer in the Rockies.