We were excited to get to Grand Teton National Park in northwest Wyoming at the beginning of June. One of the top 10 national parks, Grand Teton was established in 1929 and is comprised of 310,000 acres of amazing valleys, meadows, lakes, and mountain peaks. It is named for Grand Teton, the tallest mountain in the range with a height of 13,775 feet. The naming of the mountain range is attributed to early 19th century French trappers who called them “les trois tetons” (the three teats) after the breast-like shape of its peaks. Gotta love those Frenchmen!
The beauty of these grand mountains is a sight to behold as you enter the park. Everywhere we looked was so pretty—I couldn’t stop taking pictures! One of the best ways to see the many beautiful viewing spots throughout the park is to drive the 42-mile loop around the park. We went counterclockwise and found that we avoided most of the crowds. It took us about 4 hours to do the route, stopping at all of the numerous pull-out spots and parking lots for the must-see attractions.
Some popular stops along the loop:
Early Mormon settlers from the Salt Lake Valley established a community of 27 homesteads in the fertile area near the Gros Ventre River in the southern part of the park. Now known as Mormon Row, this area is a popular destination for photographers because of the historic buildings and the spectacular Teton Range in the background.
Schwabacher Landing is a spot along the Snake River, just east of the Grand Tetons. The terrain flattens out allowing for easy access to the river for rafters and fishermen. An easy hiking trail meanders along the banks providing opportunities for wildlife viewing.
The Snake River Overlook is a spot where the Snake River curves with the peaks of the Tetons behind it. This location was made famous by Ansel Adams’ black and white photograph in 1941. He was commissioned by the Park Service to capture nature in photographs in national parks to help promote and protect the wild western landscapes from development.
The Signal Mountain Summit Road is a 5-mile drive that climbs almost 1000 feet above the valley floor to the summit. Two overlooks provide views over Lake Jackson and the Teton Range as well as the Snake River Valley area.
Chapel of the Transfiguration is a rustic Episcopal Chapel that was constructed in 1925 to provide spiritual refreshment to dude ranchers and tourists. This beautiful chapel still draws people today and services are held every Sunday during the summer months. What a view!
Jenny Lake:
Lake Jenny is one of the most visited and busy areas in Grand Teton National Park, so going early in the day will help you avoid crowds and lines (we did this on a separate day from the loop). It has one of the park’s 3 visitor centers as well as a park gift shop and a shuttle boat that goes across the lake. We took the shuttle across and then hiked up to Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls. We also hiked an additional 4 miles into Cascade Canyon where we saw rushing rivers, thick forests, snowmelt waterfalls, and even snow. You can spend a whole day or more in this scenic area.
Jackson:
Just south of the park, Jackson is a town in Wyoming’s Jackson Hole valley and home to 3 ski areas. We enjoyed a few hours at Teton Village where we took a 12-minute gondola ride up 2700 feet above the valley floor. At the “top of the world” you can eat at one of three restaurants, sit on the deck and watch paragliders, or walk one of several hiking trails.
We also visited the town square which features an arch made of elk antlers at each of the 4 corners. About 7500 elk spend their winters at the nearby National Elk Refuge and local Boy Scouts pick up the shed bull antlers each spring to be auctioned off in the square. We enjoyed some shopping, good meals, and great ice cream at Moo’s Gourmet Ice Cream where we were introduced to the local specialty flavor huckleberry.
Vacation Races:
Mike discovered something called Vacation Races, a whole organization dedicated to putting on races in the world’s most breathtaking destinations. He chose to do the half marathon races at some of the national parks we planned to visit and completed the first one at Grand Teton.
On a final note, we saw numerous warnings to be alert for wildlife inside and outside of the park. The park newspaper and website, the rangers, and every roadway cautioned us to beware of bear, elk, moose, and bison. We kept a sharp eye out for animals and hiked with our bear spray….and yet we were disappointed that our total sightings were a few bison and deer.
We did, however, meet another kind of wildlife…. a fun group of Rvers who hung out with us at our campground each night at Grey’s River Cove campground! We enjoyed comparing the day’s adventures and sharing RV experiences with new friends.
Wow, running a half marathon at a high elevation is no joke. Nicely done! Your photos of Grand Teton are beautiful. It really is a stunning place where you can go nuts with your camera. It’s funny you mention the lack of wildlife sightings. Oddly enough, GTNP stands out in that category for us because it was the only place we’ve ever seen a moose. Safe travels!
Hi Laura,
We still have yet to see a moose, but did see a few more animals in Glacier than we did at GTNP. Mike is a running nut–he is doing 4 of the half-marathon vacation races during this trip (Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Glacier, and Mt Rainier). I don’t know about you, but picture sorting and management takes up a lot of my time! It’s been wonderful seeing so many amazing places though, so I guess its worth it.😊 Safe travels to you too!
This place is on my Vacation Goals List ! What spectacular views you captured. The Chapel with the mountains in the background is very spiritual and I felt it. I would love to spend time in the Teton Village too. What an exceptional and magnificent park. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Hi Sandi,
You will love Grand Teton National Park! The beauty is everywhere you look. I am currently working on my blog post for Yellowstone National Park and then Glacier National Park. They are equally as amazing as Grand Teton–I recommend going to all 3!
I would have loved to go into that Chapel of the Transfiguration. I love hearing about your adventures. Keep it up, Robin!
Thanks Pam–the simple chapel and its beautiful mountain backdrop really was a very amazing place.
Robin We are in COS through the 19th. We would love to meet up with you and our daughter Kasia ‘99 grad who now lives out here wants to meet you. We have plans to attend USAFA game Saturday 18 Sept. Give me a call 405-650-2701.
Hi Kathy, So glad you reached out while you were in Colorado Springs. We really enjoyed getting to see y’all after so many years and getting to meet Kasia and the boys.