In July 2021 I was able to return to one of my favorite places, the Teton National Park. The rugged mountains, crystal blue lakes, and evergreen trees draw me to it.
I will be using a blogging format similar to the National Park Service (NPS) pages I am sourcing and I am linking my previous posts about the Tetons in this one, so you can get even more information about each place. These are 12 places I visited on my 2 day trip to the Tetons.
Teton National Park
The park was established in 1929 and is roughly 310,000 acres and has more than 2 million visitors a year. The Grand Teton is the tallest mountain in the Teton Range. The park has numerous lakes and the Snake River that winds through it.
Camp at Jenny Lake campground
Jenny Lake Campground has 61 sites available. It is located a few hundred east of Jenny Lake and depending on your campsite, there are great views of the Tetons.
It is recommended that you reserve your site up to six months in advance as they fill up quickly.
Visit Jenny Lake Visitor center
The Jenny Lake Visitor Center was built in 1921 and was Harrison Crandall's photography studio. Harrison was the park's official photographer. The building was renovated in 2019 is now an art gallery and museum.
In the same plaza as the Visitor Center there is a gift shop and restrooms. There are also Park Ranger led tours each day from the visitor center.
Walk around discovery Trail
Discovery trail is a paved .35 mile/.56 km trail. It has many benches along the path to sit and enjoy your surroundings and the lake as well as interpretive panels all along the path.
Pro tip: If you go early in the morning you can have the trail mostly to yourself.
Make sand castles at String Lake
String Lake is located just north of Jenny Lake. It is 1.3 miles /2.1 km long and .20 miles/.32km and very shallow.
You can play in the water, sit on the shore, paddle boat, kayak or do a myriad of other lake activities at this beautiful lake.
See the Tetons from the Jenny Lake Overlook
The Jenny Lak Overlook is the most popular destination in the park. The view across the lake is toward Cascade Canyon which is where glaciers carved the U-shape canyon and basin which is filled by the lake today.
Take the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake
The shuttle runs every 10-15 minutes throughout the day. You can do the round trip option or chose to shuttle one way and hike the 2 miles the other way. The boat dock is close to the visitor center and at the trail head for Hidden Falls and Inspiration point.
Hike to Hidden Falls
The Hidden Falls hike is a 1 mile/ 1.6km round trip from the boat dock. It has a light incline as you make your way to a 100 foot waterfall.
The hike has a bridge that crosses over Cascade Creek which I found to be just as beautiful as the waterfall.
Hike to Inspiration Point
After stopping to admire the beauty of Hidden Falls and take a selfie, you can continue hiking up a steep incline .5m/.8 Km miles to inspiration point to get a incredible view of Jenny Lake.
There is also the option to continue on and hike to Cascade Canyon. A lot people hike to Hidden Falls, less to Inspiration Point and still fewer that hike all the way to Cascade Canyon.
Drive all or part of the 42 mile Teton Loop
We did one side of the 42 mile Teton Loop going to Glacier View Turnout, Teton Point Turnout, Snake River Overlook, Elks Ranch Flats Turnout and Oxbow Bend Turnout. This drive is one of my favorite parts of the Teton. You get to see the mountains and the surrounding landscape from so many different angles. There are convenient pull outs all along the drive. Plan for a couple of hours, especially as a photographer. @jarvie and I did half the loop and it took 2 hours.
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Hike from the Lupin Meadows Trailhead
The Lupine Meadows trailhead is very close to Jenny Lake and there are day hikes from here.
Garnet Canyon is a strenuous 4-8 hour hike in summer or fall.
Surprise and Amphitheater Lakes is also a difficult hike that is 6-8 hours.
Drive Up Signal Mountain
Signal Mountain is a 7,727ft/2,355m mountain in Jackson Hole that has views of Jackson Hole and the Teton Range. It is a scenic drive to the top of the mountain and beautiful views.
Signal mountain is home to many wild animals. We saw an impressive elk, mountain goat and bear on the drive.
Visit Jackson
A visit to the Tetons is not complete without a visit to the City of Jackson. IT is a popular tourist city with a population of 10,760 in 2020. It is 5 m/ 8.04km from the park and 19.5 m/31.38 km from Jenny Lake.
There is a town called Jackson and the whole surrounding valley is called Jackson Hole. In addition to the great hiking in camping in the summer there are 3 ski resorts in Jackson Hole and an airport.
There are great restaurants and shops and a park downtown that has for entrances made of elk horns which is a popular tourist picture opportunity.
Sources:
Jenny Lake-NPS
Park Statistics- NPS
Jenny Lake Campground
Park Ranger John- Jenny Lake
Jenny Lake overlook-NPS
Hidden Falls- NPS
Inspiration Point- NPS
Lupine Meadows Trailhead-NPS
Jackson, Wyoming
Grand Teton National Park