Welcome to Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park is located in Northwestern Wyoming, just north of the town of Jackson. The park is approximately 310,000 acres and encompasses 40 peaks from the Teton Range. Another famous park, Yellowstone, is connected by the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway and 10 miles north of Grand Teton. In 1929 Grand Teton National Park protected the Teton Range’s significant peaks. Around that same time, Rockefeller (Jr.) started buying up land and planned to donate it to the U.S. Federal government to add to the park. Mr. Rockefeller fell in love with the area and wanted to preserve it as much as possible.

Today, Grand Teton National Park is one of the country’s ten most visited National Parks. I can see why. The beauty in this park is second to none, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time here.

Over the next few weeks, I will share our trip and provide insights, tips, tricks, and more. I hope you come along for the ride.

What if I only have one day in Grand Teton National Park?

No problem! Unlike its sister park to the North, Yellowstone, it is possible to hit a good portion of the park in one day. It takes getting up early and staying out late, but believe me; it is worth it! This can be done in one of two ways. You can go on a tour or hire a guide to do it independently. Because it was our first time visiting the park, we did both. We had a private tour on our first full day in Grand Teton. We were picked up bright and early and returned home in the evening. The tour included both breakfast and lunch. The next few days, we explored the park independently and saw the sights we did not see the first day or revisited some of our favorites, like Jenny Lake.

As always, before heading out, don’t forget to check out the National Park Service website for up-to-date information on road closures and other important announcements.

Where to go first in Grand Teton National Park.

As I advised earlier, you need to start the day early! This is for two reasons: you want to squeeze as much as possible in your one day, and two, to beat the crowds. Please keep in mind this itinerary assumes you are staying in Jackson. If staying in other areas of Wyoming or if in the park, you may need to move things around. I would recommend heading to one of two places first, Mormom Row or Gros Ventre Road along the Gros Ventre River.

Mormon Row

Mormon Row is a historic district located in the park. According to the National Park Service website

“Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, sent parties from the Salt Lake Valley to establish new communities and support their expanding population. Mormon homesteaders, who settled east of Blacktail Butte near the turn of the 19-century, clustered their farms to share labor and community, a stark contrast with the isolation typical of many western homesteads. These settlers first arrived in the 1890s from Idaho, establishing a community (named Grovont by the U.S. Post Office) known today as “Mormon Row.”

Homesteaders established 27 homesteads in the Grovont area because of relatively fertile soil, shelter from winds by Blacktail Butte, and access to the Gros Ventre River. Despite the harsh conditions of Jackson Hole, Mormon settlers grew crops by using irrigation. These hardy settlers dug ditches by hand and with teams of horses, building an intricate network of levees and dikes to funnel water from central ditches to their fields between 1896 and 1937. Water still flows in some of these ditches.”

Mormon Row Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 as a Historic District.

This area is known to photographers for its amazing sunrises over the barn and the Tetons. Hence, this may be an area to visit first when exploring the park. We did not see it at dawn. Instead, we went back one evening and caught the sunset.

Gros Ventre Road

Our first stop was a drive down Gros Ventre Road, where we pulled up alongside the Gros Ventre River. Early in the morning is prime time moose-watching!

We saw a few moose and many photographers trying to get that perfect shot.

Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls

After stopping for this beautiful view of the Tetons,

we headed to Jenny Lake.

Jenny Lake is one of the most popular spots in Grand Teton. It has beautiful views of the Teton mountains and many gorgeous hikes. We loved it so much we went back a couple of days later and hiked the lake to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. I will go into more detail on that hike at a later date.

Once at Jenny Lake, head over to the boat dock and purchase tickets to take the boat over to the other side of the lake. Shuttles run every 10-15 minutes throughout the day. The shuttle boat offers several options. One can take the shuttle round-trip (over and back with hiking time between); One-way from either East or West dock (ride the boat one way and hike one way). It is possible to hike to Hidden Falls and then take the shuttle to return to the East side of the lake. Hop on the next boat and pay at the counter on the East Dock.

Our tour included a round-trip shuttle boat ticket. It was a nice ride with gorgeous views of the mountains. Once docked at the other side, it is about a 1-mile hike up to Hidden Falls. It was a great hike, and due to time constraints, we decided to come back on a different day and do a much longer hike. Here are some of the views we saw on the hike up to and back from Hidden Falls.

Drive up to Signal Mountain

From Jenny Lake, we drove to the top of Signal Mountain. Signal Mountain Road is a five-mile, 1,000-foot climb of switchbacks to an observation area at the top of Signal Mountain. At the top, we were treated with a view of Teton Valley, Jackson Lake, and the Teton Mountains. The wildflowers were pretty amazing as well.

Lunch at Colter Bay

After an entire morning and early afternoon of activities, stop at Colter Bay for a bathroom break and lunch. Nestled along the banks of Jackson Lake, this is a great place to take a rest. There are picnic benches to sit and eat a packed lunch. Or there are a couple of different restaurants in which to grab a bite to eat. The view alone is worth the stop.

Snake River Overlook

The views from the Snake River are just stunning, especially from the overlook. If you are not too tired from the day, I highly recommend a float ride down the river. It makes for a perfect ending to a perfect day. However, if you have more than one day in Grand Teton as we did, I would save this for later.

As you can see, Grand Teton National Park has so much to offer. For those planning multiple days in this park, check back for my next post, where I explore two and three-day itineraries in Grand Teton National Park.

Until next time, happy adventuring!