How to spend a day at Grand Teton National Park
Everyone is high on travel in 2021 or as they say "revenge travel". In 2021, It has been more of a strategic planning than a vacation getaway to visit national parks. But we all know how to make the best of the nature that surrounds us. I have always thought of national parks as a buffet , you have all sorts of dishes(activities) to pick from and what ever you choose , you are going to enjoy it nevertheless.
We spent a total of 17 hours at Grand Teton National Park in last week of June 2021. This post will give you our itinerary to spend a whole day and some tips that helped us. On a whole, I believe that Grand Teton National park is duly underrated compared to Yellowstone. This may be mainly due to sheer proximity of both these gems.
Protip: Plan ahead and select your hike. Look at recent reviews in all trails to see what times folks have visited and what was the most frustrating part. More than ever you will realize it will be getting a parking spot.
To avoid the crowd and the scotching heat, we started at 6 AM from Dubois, Wyoming. We have to use microwaved oats and banana as our breakfast so that we have an early head start. We drove for an hour to start our hike at Jenny Lake parking lot. Our goal was to do the Cascade Canyon trail as far as we could. It's a total of 11 miles if you cross the lake in a boat. If you opt out of the boat ride, you will have to walk for 2 miles round the trail to reach the trailhead and back. The boat starts at 8:30 AM and has a long queue so come early. We decided to opt out of the boat ride on our way in and take the boat back on our way out. We parked at the Jenny Lake visitor center at around 7:30 AM and it was already 3/4th full.
View of the 2 miles around Jenny Lake
I am glad we decided to hike and cross the Jenny lake on foot. Thats beacuse we had our first encounter with a black bear. It was like 10 feet away from us munching and scraping on a fallen branch. Everytime we tried to cross it with our cat feet , it would sense us and try moving towards us. We waited for like 10 mins to get him busy with its food before crossing. I wish I had taken a snap but sometimes experience like these are just to live by.
After walking for 2 miles , we reached a point where folks from the west boat dock joined us . From here. , its uphill and full of switchbacks till you reach the inspiration point. There is also an option to hike to hidden falls as an alternative to inspiration point. At inspiration point , we took a break , snacked a bit (I highly recommend Katie's real food) and then decided to continue towards the Cascade canyon trail. We hiked for like 3 miles inside. Every mile after the inspiration point opens scenic views of the cascade canyon as you get closer to the teton peaks. The untouched and surreal flow of water is truly mesmerizing. You will have a lot of places in between to relax, unwind and snack. After 3 miles inside , you can continue going but we had made up our mind to turn back as we take in views of the teton peaks.
Pro Tip :At around 2 miles , you will reach a point where you can take the view of the teton peaks in while you rest on a stream. That was my best moment in the park.The view is in the image below.
We took the boat ride back to cross the Jenny lake this time and it was a good experience. Our guide also pointed us to one of the Teton peaks that looked identical to a calling wolf. We reached the parking lot at 11:30 am. Now was the time to start going to all the overlooks of the national park.Below is my recommended order. To be honest , the view is going to be the same of the Teton peaks but with a different angle .So get your photographic skills ready.
Osbow Bend
Willow Flats Overlook
Schwabacher Landing
Big Elk Refuge
Drive through the Big Elk Refuge road if you are traveling around or in the winter time. In summer months , the elk move from the refuge area into the mountains and forest and come back in the winter to the refuge to feed. If you want all the information visit the big elk refuge visitor center at Jackson Hole.
To recover post the hike, we splurged at Liberty Burger in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. As we drove towards Jackson Hole, I think its airport is really cool . I wish my flight would have either landed or taken off here , because you can literally see the Teton peaks right there. Anyways if you decide to fly in to visit Grand Teton National Park , Jackson Hole is your best bet. Also do try the huckleberry shake at Liberty Burgers or any restaurant in the area. We drove back to Dubois and called it a day.
