Grand Teton is one of our favorite national parks! We love the jagged mountains and the big, beautiful lakes. It’s a good-sized park without being overwhelmingly large. It’s also in a great location in western Wyoming: located just south of Yellowstone National Park and just north of Jackson, WY. We’ve visited Grand Teton a couple times now. The first time we stayed outside the park in Jackson. The second time we camped inside the park at Colter Bay RV Park. Both times we visited, our primary activity was hiking.
Hiking
Grand Teton is a fantastic place to hike because it has a little of everything. You can choose a shorter, flatter hike like Colter Lakeshore Trail or something more strenuous like the hike to Surprise and Amphitheater Lakes. If you are planning to hike at Grand Teton, remember to bring bear spray and have it handy. A link to the NPS Grand Teton Hiking page can be found here. I find that it can be a bit overwhelming to start your hiking search on this page, so I have included some details from our own experiences below.
Colter Lakeshore Trail
- Quick Facts
- Length: 2.2 miles (roundtrip)
- Elevation Gain: 100 ft
- Trailhead/Parking: Colter Bay Visitor’s Center
- Link to NPS Site
This is a beautiful, easy hike that we’ve completed multiple times. It is within walking distance from the Colter Bay RV Park, where we stayed on our last visit to Glacier in 2022. At that time, the water in Jackson Lake was at historic low levels, so the views were a little different from when we were there in 2018. The trail is essentially a loop around a peninsula in Jackson Lake. The views of the Teton Range and Jackson Lake at the tip of the peninsula are outstanding! If the water is calm, you can capture beautiful reflection pictures here. In short, this hike has a high pay-off for fairly minimal effort.
Surprise & Amphitheater Lakes
- Quick Facts
- Length: 9.8 miles (out and back)
- Elevation Gain: Approx. 3,000 ft
- Trailhead/Parking: Lupine Meadows Trailhead. Arrive early! Parking is fairly limited here. We were hiking before 8:00 AM.
- Link to NPS Site
This is a tough one! Out of all the hikes we did on our Glacier/Yellowstone/Grand Teton trip, I think this was the most challenging one. Though it was a challenge, it was well worth it for the fantastic views. We started out hiking through a forest on mostly flat ground and then turned and headed up into the mountains. From this point, it was switchback after switchback deeper into the mountains. As you hike up, you can turn around and see Bradley and Taggart Lakes below you. We saw a bear from a distance on this trail, but we kept our distance and it never even looked up at us.
The real reward is at the top when you reach the two lakes. Surprise Lake truly snuck up on us. It was so glassy and smooth at the time we visited. It was hard to tell where the water ended and the mountains began. Amphitheater Lake was larger and sat at the base of some of the mountain peaks. Both lakes were outstanding. We sat at the top for a while enjoying the view (and a few snacks) before heading back down.
Hidden Falls & Inspiration Point
- Quick Facts
- Length: Approx: 2 miles with the shuttle boat, roughly 6 miles without (out and back)
- Elevation Gain: Approx. 500 ft – 900 ft depending on whether the shuttle is used
- Trailhead/Parking: Jenny Lake Visitor’s Center. Arrive early! This is a large parking lot, but it still fills up quickly. We were hiking before 8:00 AM.
- Link to NPS Site
This is a cool area because of all the options available. It’s a bit of a “choose your own adventure” scenario. You can take the shuttle across the lake, hike around, and head back on the shuttle. You can hike around the lake to get to these points of interest and then hike back (either the way you came, or continue on around the other side of Jenny Lake). Finally, you can hike around the lake, see the sights, and then take the shuttle back. This is what we’ve done twice now.
We start at the visitor’s center and take the trail around the south/west side of the lake. This allows you to stop at Moose Ponds. Moose (allegedly) frequent these ponds, especially in the mornings. We have yet to see any here, but I’d still keep stopping by on future hikes.
Then we continue along the lake until we turn toward the mountains to get to Hidden Falls. This area tends to be fairly crowded, but it’s refreshing to hear the sound of the mountain falls. From here, we carried on a little further to Inspiration Point, which looks out over Jenny Lake. Finally, we hiked down to the dock and took the ferry across Jenny Lake. Our hike ended up being 4.7 miles.
Water Activities
Due to time limitations and the additional restrictions/requirements at Grand Teton, we did not take our paddle boards out on the water. The invasive species inspection process at Glacier National Park was quick, easy, and free. Grand Teton requires purchasing a permit and an additional inspection. For the few days that we were in the park, it didn’t seem worth it to us, although I’m sure the views would be amazing. For more info from the NPS about boating/floating in the park click here. There are also several beaches within the park. The beaches are rocky and the water is cold, but we did see people out enjoying the water while we were visiting.
Biking
Grand Teton has a designated paved bike trail: The Grand Teton Pathway. I think this is an awesome, and somewhat unusual feature of a national park. On our second visit, we brought our bikes with the intention of riding on this path. However, we spent more time on the hiking trails than we expected and biking got bumped this time around. If you enjoy biking, it’s worth taking a look.
Link to NPS info about biking in Grand Teton.
Scenic Driving
If you love a scenic drive with a view of the mountains but don’t like actually driving through the mountains, the Jenny Lake scenic drive is for you. It is a flat, one-way road near Jenny Lake with plenty of pull-offs for taking pictures or enjoying a picnic lunch. More details about the Jenny Lake scenic drive can be found here.
If you do want a mountainous scenic drive, the Signal Mountain Summit Road is for you. This road winds up Signal Mountain. It’s a narrow road with several twists and turns, so if that concerns you, you may want to pass on this one. No trailers or RV’s are allowed on this road. More details about Signal Mountain Summit Road can be found here.
Things to See
An excellent place to stop for some amazing pictures of historical buildings with mountains in the background is Mormon Row. We’ve stopped here on both our visits to Grand Teton. The Moulton Barn is an iconic historic barn that is often photographed early in the day to be lit up by the sun in front of the mountain backdrop.
Camping/Lodging
We travel with our camper (travel trailer). We usually aim to camp inside the park we are visiting, so we are even closer to our favorite park activities. This also reduces the need to drive in and out through the entrance stations each day – which could possibly result in waiting in a lengthy line. When we visited with our camper in 2022, we stayed at Colter Bay RV Park, which offers full hook-ups. It’s a pricey place to stay, but it is a great location right off of Jackson Lake. Next to Colter Bay is Colter Bay Campground, which has no hook-ups, but can accommodate RV’s as well as tent campers. For more information about our stay at Colter Bay RV Park, click here. A complete list of campgrounds inside the park can be found here.
When we visited for the first time (before we owned a camper), we stayed in a hotel in Jackson, WY just south of the park. If staying in town is more your speed, this is a great option. Our hotel was within walking distance from many restaurants and souvenir shops. There are also lodging options inside the park. A link to the Grand Teton lodging site can be found here.
Where to Eat
There are tons of good restaurants in Jackson, WY. However, our favorite restaurant in the area is probably Dornan’s Pizza Pasta Company. They have good food, but best of all, they have excellent views with huge windows on the first floor and roof-top seating available. Note that you must be 21 to go out on the roof. Dornan’s Pizza Pasta Company is located just south of the Moose entrance (southern entrance) to the park.
When to Visit
We’ve visited Grand Teton National Park twice: May 2018 and August 2022. It was cool to see all the snow on the mountains in May, but certain areas like Signal Mountain were closed due to snow. There were also areas of the park that were closed due to high bear activity. There was much less snow when we visited in August and it was much warmer. On this visit we were able to drive up Signal Mountain without any problems. I’ve also seen beautiful Fall photos from Grand Teton.
Wishlist
We’ve been to this park twice and there are still several items on my wish list for when we return.
- Hiking to Lake Solitude (via shuttle boat)
- Paddling on Jenny or Jackson Lake
- Biking on the Grand Teton Pathway
- Photographing Moulton Barn at sunrise
- Seeing a rodeo in Jackson, WY