Grand Teton National Park

Day One

Up and at ‘em! We only had a day and a half in Grand Teton, so we needed to make it count. By 7 am we were parked and walking toward the Jenny Lake dock to take the shuttle boat across the lake.

But don’t think we forgot about how gorgeous the drive into the park was – our first look at the majestic Tetons.

The boat ride across lasted only about 5 minutes (masks are still required on all boats within the three parks we visited), and once we were on the other side, we were eager to start our first official hike!

The amazing scenery didn’t take long to appear. Cascade Creek was the first waypoint, and if the sign would have said it was a river, I would have believed it – who knew creeks had this much power and water!

Hidden Falls followed quickly after. You could hear the falls before they came into view, but I’m glad they did. They were a gorgeous and refreshing site to see and experience. I also want to point out here that buying a tripod for my phone was one of the best purchases I have ever made! Most of the pictures with my mom and I together are taken by us 🙂

Only a mile into the hike and we were standing at Inspiration Point. You can see why they call it that – it is truly inspirational.

Most people will turn back there, but with a recommendation from a friend, we decided to continue into Cascade Canyon. The great thing about this hike is it can be as long or as short as you want it to be. It’s 4.5 miles to the fork at the end of the canyon, and from there much longer hikes are accessible into the backcountry. We only ended up going about halfway through the canyon, as I had a wardrobe malfunction – side note: make sure all of your hiking clothes don’t have holes in them before venturing out or be prepared with an on-the-go sewing kit. Thankfully, the general store back at Jenny Lake had us covered!

With about 5.5 miles under our belt, it was time for some scenic drives. We drove the Jenny Lake Scenic Drive with two significant stops: The Cathedral Group comprised of Teewinot Mountain, Mount Owen, and Grand Teton herself; and the Jenny Lake Overlook that offered views back across the lake.

Back on the Teton Park Road, there were many other turnouts and overlooks to stop at, each one breathtaking and awe-inspiring.

The next stop was a drive up Signal Mountain, a short drive gaining 900 feet in elevation, making it 7,713 ft at the summit and the highest road in the park.

There are two different overlooks at the top of the mountain: The first is Jackson Point Overlook where you can look across the valley that is Jackson Hole that was once blanketed by Ice-age glaciers that last retreated 14,000 years ago. What they left behind were lakes, rivers, deep canyons, and jagged peaks that all make for stunning views.

Mt. Moran can be identified by its flat top

The second overlook was at the top of Signal Mountain facing away from the Tetons to get a view of the Snake River cutting through the valley and the summer wildflowers in bloom to add a nice splash of yellow.

We continued the park loop down the east side (89/126/191) – this is the side of the loop that follows Snake River, while the other side follows along the Teton Range. Of course we had to stop at all the famous turnouts – Oxbow Bend, Snake River Overlook, Schwabacher Landing, and Mormon Row. The first one we came to was Oxbow Bend. The pictures look fake – it looks like a painting or postcard, but I can assure you these are 100% real. The turnout is famous for its stunning view of Mt. Moran towering above a bend in Snake River.

Jill taking pictures of all her flowers – I could dedicate a whole post just to all her flower photos!

Here’s some of the many Grand Teton flora photos from Jill’s collection:

On our way down to the next stop, we had our first wildlife encounter! Let me tell you, the first time you see a buffalo in person is actually insane! Living on the east coast my entire life, pictures and movies were the closest things I ever got to these gigantic beasts, so when I read about how we should be prepared for traffic jams due to buffalo herds crossing the roads, I thought “if only we’d be so lucky.” Then it happened to us on our first day! [side note: “Home on the Range” was stuck in my head the entire trip]

Don’t worry, there’s MANY more buffalo to come!

Cunningham Cabin was the next stop. J. Pierce Cunningham was one of the settlers in Jackson Hole in the 1880s, who became an advocate to protect and preserve this land. His cabin is one of the only remaining homestead cabins, but picture this style of home spread across the valley when settlers made their way out west. Also, can you imagine having this view right outside your window??

The second of the infamous overlooks on this side of the park is Snake River Overlook. Popularized by an iconic black and white photo by Ansel Adams, the Snake River winds its way below the Tetons. As you can see, the trees have grown, so the exact image is no longer copy-able, but we still get to take in the same amazing views 79 years later.

Perhaps the turnout I was most excited for, Schwabacher Landing was the next on the tour. We took a short gravel road to a parking lot and a short hike to the iconic spot. And my initial thought was “this looks nothing like what I had seen in pictures.” I was flooded with disappointment that maybe the trees had become overgrown or there was too much wind so the mirror image of the mountains on the river wasn’t possible today.

What I realized the next morning when we went again, though, was that I really should have trusted the internet and only gone in the morning. I won’t make you wait for the pictures – the way the light hits the mountains in the morning creates the perfect mirror on the calm waters of Snake River. It was so peaceful and majestic to be some of the only ones out there in the early hours of the day – it’s one thing to see the pictures; it’s a whole other thing to actually experience it.

Our last stop of the day was Mormon Row. While we did not get the iconic T.A. Barn sunrise shot, it was still really cool to walk through this historic district and see the buildings from another time still standing. Mormon pioneers from the early 19th century settled here to create a new community, so in these photos, imagine 27 more homesteads, a church, and a school all clustered here together. Only 6 homesteads now remain.

We left the park and grabbed dinner from Bubba’s Barbecue, where we met the nicest old man that happened to be part of the Auburn Family (we really are everywhere!). It was then time to pack up to leave tomorrow morning to continue our journey north.

Day Two

We arrived back at Schwabacher Landing just before 7 am. On the hike out to the iconic photo spot, the local ducks gave us a show! A mamma Mallard and her ducklings all hurried across the river while a group of male Mallards went ‘bobbing for apples’ as I like to say.

Again, the views of the Teton Range framed by the trees are magical – and the reflection of them in the water only enhances it. (By the way, the NPS website has a link if you want to plan a wedding in the park – apparently this is a popular site to do so). After seeing how amazing these views were in the morning, we stopped back at Snake River Overlook and Oxbow Bend before heading north (scroll through below to see these at the end).

To round out our morning wildlife adventures, we saw the cutest either ground squirrels or pikas, some ravens (that are ALL OVER the parks), buffalo (of course), and some antelope grazing at Elk Ranch Flats Turnout. Oh! and some actual Elk! But they were far away, and it seemed like we were the only ones who didn’t bring a telephoto zoom lens with us.

After our morning on the east side of the park came to a close, we enjoyed a quick visit to the Jackson Lake Lodge that gave us some amazing views of the entire Teton Range, Jackson Lake, and Willow Flats, and then headed north toward Yellowstone.

While savoring the last few hours of Grand Teton, we stopped at Colter Bay to do an easy 2 mile Lakeshore Trail that passes by the Colter Bay Marina and loops around a small outcrop overlooking the bay and Jackson Lake.