Hiking Grand Teton National Park
This has to be hands down one of the most special places I’ve visited in my life.
Not only is this park full of incredibly large mountains, valleys full of wildlife, and sparkling lakes, but Jackson Hole is the cutest little town to hang out in after a long day in the park.
In this blog, I’ll explain to you all of the highs and lows of my first experience in the park, in the summer of 2020 (Covid times).
CAMPING
We arrived in town around 7pm on a Thursday night in mid July. We drove to Gros Ventre Campground with fingers crossed for an open spot (over 300 sites here), but we were out of luck. I must note that we went in the summer of the virus, and they said it was incredibly crowded and unusual compared to previous years. We used this website to check how quick the campsites were booking. They booked full by noon, so we made last minute arrangements at Mountain Modern Motel in downtown Jackson Hole - which ended up being perfect for us. I highly recommend this spot if you don’t want to camp, but are looking for a cheap(er), nice, and easy place just to crash at night.
Friday morning we made it back to Gros Ventre by 6:30am, we were probably 15th in line, and waited an hour and a half for the ranger station to open for reservations. We got two nights! The rest of our experience at this camp was perfect. They supply you with a padded rock tent site, a bear locker, a picnic table, and a fire pit. We got a site that bordered the forest - it was super quiet at night!
DELTA LAKE
VIA AMPHITHEATER LAKE TRAIL
Length: 8 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,330 ft
Route Type: Out and Back
Time Up: 1 hr 45 mins
Time Down: 1 hr 30 mins
All Trails Link: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/wyoming/delta-lake-trail
This hike is absolutely amazing. That cloudy/milky teal water is 100% real and the view of Grand Teton peak in the background just adds to the beauty. If you hike often or are active in general, this hike is very doable. The only tough part is at the last half mile or so, when you come across two boulder fields. The first field you climb across, and the second field you have to climb up like a ladder to the lake. It’s tough, but Delta Lake is right at the top and the view makes you immediately forget about the trek up. We started the hike at 9am (we usually start at 7 but had to grab a campsite first), and it was mildly trafficked. There were quite a few people, but not enough to get in the way of enjoying what this spectacular place had to offer!
JACKSON LAKE
This lake is absolutely massive, and there’s no way you’d find a spot with a bad view. You can stop at several different lookout points, hike to others, and swim in the lake. We decided to go to the Colter Bay Area and walk (in flip flops) around their Lakeshore Trail which was stunning. You park at a marina full of paddle boards, kayaks, and speed boats in the water with the mountains in the back, then walk on flat ground out to areas that don’t have many people and feel like you are in total wilderness. We decided to walk along the shoreline instead of taking the last part of the path so we could enjoy the view and get a spot to ourselves on the lake.
LAKE SOLITUDE
VIA CASCADE CANYON
Length: 14 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,375 ft
Route Type: Out and Back
Time Up: 3 hr 30 mins
Time Down: 2 hr 50 mins
All Trails Link: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/wyoming/lake-solitude-via-lake-solitude-and-cascade-canyon-trail
I’m going to start this off by saying: if you plan on making it all the way to Lake Solitude, this hike is absolutely worth the long miles. If you don’t plan to go to Lake Solitude, I don’t think it’s worth going more than a mile into the canyon past Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. Don’t get me wrong, it’s gorgeous and the initial views of the massive mountains are spectacular, but it’s a lot of hiking through thick forests and ‘similar’ mountain views as you walk 5+ miles until you turn to go towards Lake Solitude. That’s where the views really get incredible.
This was hands down my favorite hike of our trip, but it’s definitely long and takes a while to do. We did both the Delta Lake hike and Lake Solitude hike back to back days and we ended up logging 28 miles of hiking in just above 30 hours. It’s a lot but it’s absolutely doable.
We arrived to the Jenny Lake boat launch at about 6:45am to catch the first boat to the trail. If you don’t catch the boat, it can be an extra 4-5 miles round trip added to your hike to get from the trailhead to your car. If you are able to make it on the first boat at 7am, it only costs $5 cash per person versus $18 per person the rest of the day. We took the Jenny Lake Shuttle Boat across the lake and made it to the trailhead under ten minutes. Since we were on the first boats, we were able to experience Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point (within one mile of the trailhead) all to ourselves. This was key to a good experience, because on the way back these places were flooded with hundreds of tourists.
After Inspiration Point, it’s a straight shot on almost entirely flat ground until you take a right turn to head to Solitude (with about 2.5 miles left to the lake). You walk through beautiful forests with great shade, while simultaneously following the Cascade Creek with the Teton mountains towering over you. I can’t even put into words how small you feel when in this valley! We were lucky enough to come across two moose grazing about halfway through.
Once you take the turn to Solitude, hike up to the first major opening in the trees and turn around. You won’t believe your eyes! The view you get of Grand Teton left us speechless - and it gets better as you hike up. There are a few boulder fields and rivers to walk across, but they are all very well maintained and it’s a nice hike aside from the 1,000ft of elevation you gain in the quick two miles.
Lake Solitude had no ice on it when we arrived, and there were probably 25 people already there basking in the sun. It’s a fairly large lake with a ton of room to spread out, so it didn’t feel crowded. We ate lunch, took a nap on the boulders, and enjoyed the spectacular views for about an hour and a half.
On the way down we got to see another moose in the river! There were many more people on the trail, especially as you got closer to the dock. Hundreds if not thousands of people were on the trails - families, little kids, overnight backpackers, everyone. We made it to the boat dock around 3:00 (about 7 total hours after starting from the trailhead), and we ended up having to wait about 45 minutes in line to get on a boat even though they had four running. They are only filling every other seat because of the virus, causing a lot of backup in wait lines. The last boat leaves at 7pm.
MORMON ROW
We didn’t spend too much time here, but it’s a beautiful spot for people to watch the sunrise and sunset. We arrived 10 minutes before sunrise and got to watch the Grand Tetons light up pink and orange as the sun rose. It’s a beautiful experience, especially if you find a spot further away from the photographers capturing the famous homes on the row. Soak in the fresh mountain air, watch the Tetons come to life, and listen to the stream. I promise it’s a great way to start any day.
JACKSON, WYOMING
STILL WEST BREWERY - We went here after completing all of our hikes and couldn’t have picked a better place to eat good food and drink some good cocktails and beer. If you get a spot on the deck, they have a beautiful A-frame view of the ski hill.
ROUNDHOUSE BREWERY - We didn’t go inside for dinner, but we got to purchase a beer out front, sit on the large set of wood stairs outside next door, and people watch with a tasty beer. 10/10 experience.
THE LOCAL - Went here for an after dinner drink and loved it! A nicer place with great service and menus. We tried the Cassandra (spicy tequila drink) and it was great! Worth trying one to split.
THE WORT HOTEL’S SILVER DOLLAR BAR - A fun hotel and bar in downtown Jackson that has open windows to Main Street, live music, and a good menu.
MOUNTAIN MODERN MOTEL - Where we stayed last minute when we couldn’t get a campsite! An old motel converted into a modern hotel-style location. Large TV, bathroom in the room, nice amenities, free coffee, clean room, parking, and more.
PERSEPHONE BAKERY - The cutest little modern bakery in downtown Jackson. We stopped here for a coffee and breakfast sandwich before heading home, and it was incredible. They have a large, beautiful outdoor seating area and heaters for those chilly mornings. Highly recommend!
OVERALL NOTES:
Whatever you do - do it EARLY. Like, sunrise early.
Do your research and check/call ahead for openings and closures
WEAR A MASK
