Grand Teton National Park
WHO
Our family of four went on this road trip in late July 2020, when Averhy was 16 and Eden was 13 years old. This was a great time to take a road trip to Grand Teton National Park because the weather was mild and the wildflowers were in bloom everywhere!
WHAT
We decided to take a road trip this summer because the COVID-19 outbreak cancelled our original overseas vacation plans. What better way to socially distance by spending time in nature - away from people as much as possible! We used two Motherlode Backpacks and one full-size suitcase for clothing. We ended up purchasing bear spray later during our trip, because our cabin in the Tetons actually had bear spray we could carry with us on our hikes! Because we were using our own van for the the entire trip, we could pack some extras (like card games, Sky’s guitar, pillows, and a cooler for food) and these other essentials:
Inflatable kayaks and life jackets
New hiking shoes for Averhy and hiking boots for Eden
Camelbak Helena & Daystar backpacks & water bladders
You may want to buy an Annual National Park pass for this road trip. The $80 pass covers entrance fees at national parks for a driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle at per vehicle fee areas (or up to four adults at sites that charge per person). The pass is valid for one year from the end of the month you purchase it - so if you buy a pass on July 1, 2020 it will expire on July 31, 2021. You can purchase the pass online, or at the entrance to most national parks.
WHEN
We took this road trip during the middle two weeks of July. Late July is a great time to visit Grand Teton National Park and sites in the northern Rocky Mountains because the temperatures are still mild. There were some places with snow still on the ground, which added to the fun!
WHERE
For this road trip, we slowed down a bit and stayed 6 nights in Grand Teton since there is so much to see. We stayed at Budges Slide Lake Cabin #4, which is a 30-minute drive from the Moose Entrance of Grand Teton. This was the same cabin that Sky’s family stayed in the last time he was here, when he was 16 years old! The cabins are on Lower Slide Lake, located at the bottom right corner of the map, just past Kelly WY.
The map shows the trailheads and locations for all the activities we did at Grand Teton National Park. We also went to Jackson WY every evening to pick up dinner, which is further south on the map, following route 191 south about 20 minutes.
WHY
We enjoyed this road trip because most of the drive is filled with beautiful views. Grand Teton National Park is especially stunning, and I now think it is my favorite of all the national parks we have visited. I know that long road trips can be intimidating if you’ve never done one before, but it is doable. We have done multiple long road trips over the years, starting with a 24-hour drive to Arizona when Averhy was 2 years old. The key is to be patient, flexible, and have lots of snacks! I wrote about some of our strategies for traveling with kids in this post. We didn’t do an overnight drive for this trip because we had enough time to break up the long driving days with sightseeing.
HOW
Day 1: Driving to Grand Teton
We knew that there would be limited grocery store options and no cell service when we arrived, so we stopped in Riverton, WY to load up our cooler with groceries for the week.
We arrived at our cabin on Slide Lake at 10pm and got settled in for the week. No complaints about this view and the stars at night were amazing!
Day 2: Hike to Surprise Lake
Grand Teton National Park has a lot of awesome trails and lakes to explore, but the signage at the trailheads is a bit lacking. Be sure to read the maps carefully - our first hike to Surprise Lake turned out to be about 8 miles round-trip and rated “strenuous” (which we didn’t notice before we started!)
The trail begins at the Lupine Meadows Trailhead, and the parking lot was nearly full when we arrived at 11am. The first part of the trail is through forest, then a steady incline through alpine meadows with gorgeous views of the valley.
The trail has multiple switchbacks as you gain elevation, which takes you in and out of the trees.
After about 2 hours of hiking, covering 3 miles or so, the girls were ready to take a long break. They sat in the shade while Sky and I continued the last mile to Surprise Lake.
Near the top, the trail gets more rocky and flattens out, with some large patches of snow covering the path..
Pressing on through the trees, we arrived at Surprise Lake and stopped for a snack.
There are lots of boulders around the edge of the lake where you can sit and enjoy the view.
If you want to hike another mile total, you can continue to Amphitheater Lake (which we did not do). We hiked back down to the girls, then back to the parking lot.
This hike was a total of 5.5 hours and 8 miles. The trail was well-trafficked, but did not feel crowded. In the evening we picked up dinner from Liberty Burger in Jackson and took it back to our cabin. Delicious!
Day 3: Jenny Lake, Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point & Cascade Canyon hikes
The next morning we decided to tackle a few connected trails. The parking lot at Jenny Lake fills up VERY quickly, as do the parking lots at String Lake and Leigh Lake. We lucked out and found a spot at the Jenny Lake overlook on the east edge of the lake at 11am. Our first mile of hiking was all flat and easy.
After crossing the bridge at the String Lake trailhead, it’s another 1.7 miles of fairly easy hiking to get to the west shore boat dock, and then .5 miles to Hidden Falls. The trail from the dock to the falls is more uphill, but still fairly easy.
The view of the falls is worth the hike, which means this area can be crowded.
If you don’t want to hike around Jenny Lake, there is a shuttle boat that goes between the Jenny Lake visitor center and the west boat dock. The cost is $10 adult / $8 child one-way, or $18/$10 round-trip. Due to social distancing guidelines at the time we traveled, they limited the number of people per boat - which meant the line to get on the boat was LONG. (We considered taking the shuttle back to the visitor center after we finished all of our hikes, but we realized the wait would have been over 2 hours… while the hike back would take only 45 minutes. We chose to hike.)
Continuing past Hidden Falls, the hike to Inspiration Point is another 0.5 miles of steep uphill trail and steps. This section is more difficult, but the view at the top is great. We stopped here for a lunch break. It was pretty windy too, so hold on to your hats!
Another 1.5 miles of hiking brought us into Cascade Canyon, with beautiful views and a rushing river in the valley. It was worth the extra hiking.
After Cascade Canyon, we headed back to the dock (where we noticed 2 hour wait for the shuttle boat) so we continued hiking 2.5 miles of the Jenny Trail loop back to the visitor center. The trail was mostly flat and easy. Eden and I took a short detour at the Moose Pond loop trail and saw a moose in the pond! Back at the visitor center, Sky walked the final mile to get our van while the girls and I used the restroom and waited.
Total hiking today was 5.5 hours and 11 miles.
Day 4: Jackson Lake & Bar-T5 Cowboy show
We brought inflatable kayaks with us on this road trip to enjoy the views of the mountains from the water, and this was a perfect day to do that! Jackson Lake is huge, so we decided to put in at Spalding Bay on the south end of the lake. The road to get here is one-lane rough gravel with plenty of potholes, which meant we had the parking area almost completely to ourselves!
Before putting your boat in the water, you need to get it checked near the park entrance and purchase an Aquatic Invasive Species decal and possibly a WY boating permit. Check the National Park Service site for details specific to your boat.
We spent several hours on the water, enjoying the views and even stopping for a few snacks. Another boater let us know that the wind picks up around 1pm, so stay near the shore after that time.
We finished kayaking by 3pm and then headed back for our evening activity - a cowboy dinner and covered wagon ride at Bar-T5 Ranch in Jackson WY!
Although we tend to avoid touristy activities during our trips, this one was fun and entertaining. They did a great job of complying with COVID-19 regulations (masks, social distancing, reduced capacity, and everything was outdoors). We enjoyed the covered wagon ride and the food & musicians were great too!
Day 5: String Lake & Paintbrush Canyon hikes
After taking a day off of hiking yesterday, we were ready to hit the trails again today! We parked at the String Lake picnic area, which was almost full at 11am on a Wednesday.
Today we combined two trails: String Lake and Paintbrush Canyon. The first portion of String Lake trail is fairly easy, going through the woods around the lake. When it splits, continue on the trail toward Paintbrush Canyon. The majority of this part of the trail is through wooded areas, so we kept our hands on our bear spray and called out “hey bear!” as we walked. The view is rather monotonous until you reach these awesome waterfalls and the path crosses the water several times. There were very few people on this trail - just how we like it!
About a mile past the big waterfall, the canyon really opens up into wildflower meadows without much shade. We kept walking another mile to this overlook in the Lower Paintbrush Canyon backcountry camping zone. What a view!
Day 6: Colter Bay hike & String Lake kayaking
After sleeping in a bit, we drove all the way to the north side of Jackson Lake to check out Colter Bay. This area had a huge parking lot, a boat marina, and camping areas. We walked the 1 mile Lakeshore Trail before driving back to String Lake. The full trail is an easy 2 mile loop, but we wanted to get out on the water, so we didn’t spend much time here.
Unfortunately, the parking lots at String Lake were all full by the time we arrived at 1pm. This is a very popular spot for families (both tourists and locals) so arrive early, be patient in the parking lot, and be ready to share the rocky shoreline with others.
We had a great afternoon playing in the water and exploring the lake by kayak. The water in String Lake is so clear and shallow that it looked like our kayak was floating on air!
Day 7: Mormon Row
For our last morning in Grand Teton, Sky and I got up at 5:30am to drive and see the iconic Mormon Row barns at sunrise. The weather cooperated and gave us some great views!
After packing up the van, it was time to get on the road for our one full day at Yellowstone.
Some photography tips for Mormon Row… this area is very popular at sunrise, so be ready to share the space with other photographers. Try to be aware of those around you, and don’t walk right in front of the barns! If you want to get the iconic barn photo, you’ll need to use a zoom lens from the middle of the field across from the barn, or even back on the road away from the barn. The sun comes up quickly. You’ll only have a few minutes where the barn is really lit up, so don’t be late!
Final Tips
Road trips like this one require you to be FLEXIBLE and PATIENT. Everyone gets uncomfortable being stuck in a van after a few hours, so extend some extra grace to yourself and your family. You can read more tips in this post.
Of all the National Parks we visited on this road trip, Grand Teton was probably our favorite. There are so many options for adventure: hiking, boating, whitewater rafting, horseback riding, skiing in the winter… and the mountains are just so impressive all on their own!
Be prepared for ZERO cell service in most of Grand Teton. This also means that the “traffic” setting in Google Maps won’t show how busy the parking lots might be…
Downtown Jackson WY is also very busy during the summer. Be patient with traffic and park away from the main street. It’s a small town and easy to walk wherever you need to go.
What road trip questions do you have? Let me know in the comments below!
