Awesome Grand Teton and Jackson Hole

I hate to admit this, but I didn’t know where Grand Teton National Park was located. I thought it was more in the eastern part of the U.S. so I was surprised when I began researching a visit to Yellowstone to see Grand Teton National Park just south of Yellowstone. Obviously we needed to visit there as well.

Since we flew into Bozeman, Montana, it was quite a trip down to Jackson Hole, which is at the southern end of Grand Teton National Park. One of the first things I discovered in researching our trip was that Jackson is a very expensive place to stay. I was surprised. I couldn’t find anything acceptable for less than $200. That made me look further afield, and in the end we stayed at a place in Victor, Idaho. It was about 40 minutes from Jackson over the Teton Pass, but we saved enough money to make the trip worthwhile.

Grand Teton National Park is really about two things. One is the mountains, which tower above the surrounding area. The other is the lakes. I realized on this trip that in terms of photography, the beauty of a lake is tied to its surroundings. For example, a picture of a flat section of water is really not very interesting. However, if one adds mountains or other landscape elements around it, the photo becomes much more interesting. The lakes help make this park particularly beautiful.

From Jackson we began our exploration by traveling north on highway 191. Along the way there are a number of viewpoints with great picture taking opportunities. Eventually the Snake River flows beside the highway making for a more interesting scene.

Shortly after we turned north from highway 26, which travels east, we came to the entrance booth to enter the park. From the entrance the highway continues west until you reach an area on the Snake River known as Oxbow Bend. This is a wonderful place to stop. We saw a spectacular view of the Snake River and the mountains. Because it was September, we enjoyed great fall color along the river’s edge.

A little further north we came to the Jackson Lake Junction. Here the Teton Park Road turns south and connects to the main sites of the park. We, however, continued north a few miles to the Colter Bay Village. This is a fairly large park area with a number of amenities. There is a nice gift shop and some food service as well as camping sites. It’s on Jackson Lake, but the main lake is hidden from view by a peninsula that juts out creating the bay.

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Jackson Lake is a pretty big lake. The following day when we were going north back to Yellowstone, we were able to see more of the lake. There are a number of opportunities to stop along the lake next to the the highway. There are picnic spots as well as scenic viewpoints. When we got to the north end of the lake, we had some very dramatic clouds that did produce a little bit of rain.

This day, however, we turned back south after our stop at Colter Bay, to visit the other areas of the park. Our next stop was Willows Flats Overlook which has great views of the mountains with colorful fall foliage in the foreground. From there we continued on to the dam across the Snake River. Here we walked a short distance along the lake shoreline and looked out over Jackson Lake. One can also cross to the opposite side of the road and explore the river flowing down from the lake.

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A unique location to visit is the Chapel of the Sacred Heart, which is a rustic log-built Catholic church. Unfortunately we were not able to go inside. From the chapel it is a short drive to our final stop along the lake, Signal Mountain Lodge. This is a smaller visitor spot with a few amenities including food and a gift shop along with the lodge.

A short drive south of the lodge brings one to the Signal Mountain Road. This is a narrow and steep road that winds its way to the top of Signal Mountain. While one can see quite a ways from the top of the mountain. the view is more easterly and not mainly of the mountains. There are actually two viewpoints, but I think the first one offers the more interesting views.

Jenny Lake is the next stop, and this was my favorite part of the park. There are two places to stop. The first is a drive off the main road. The sign will indicate Jenny Lake Lodge. However, the one way road eventually leads down to an overlook. This is a classic view of the Tetons. Here visitors will see the Cascade Canyon between the two mountains with the lake in front. It’s amazing.

Unfortunately, we were there when the smoke from the fires was pretty thick, and so the details of the mountains were greatly diminished. We ended up going back the next day on our way back north to get some clearer pictures of the scene. It was just too beautiful to not get the best picture possible. However, then the clouds had rolled in, but there was generally more detail in the mountains.

When we came back out to the main road, it was a short jaunt to the Jenny Lake Visitor Center. This was a very crowded area with people even parking along the main road. This location has a lot of hiking options. There is also an opportunity to take a shuttle boat across the lake and either hike back or hike from that point farther into the park. It was late by the time we got there so the shuttle trip was closed for the day. Maybe next time.

Jenny Lake is near the end of the Teton Park Road. Just before it rejoins Hwy. 191, there is a visitor center and an historic district. We didn’t explore the historic district but did stop briefly at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center.

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From the Visitor Center travelers can return to Jackson via Hwy 191. An alternate route is to turn right just northwest of the Visitor Center onto a narrow road which ends just west of Jackson. This works especially well for those staying in Idaho rather than in Jackson.

Jackson itself is an interesting town to spend time in. It has a town square at its center with an entrance at the four corners created from antlers. The town has a western theme to it with covered boardwalks in some places around the town square. Of course there are plenty of restaurants as well as tourist shops to explore. Parking can be a bit tricky, but there are designated parking lots which are free so it wasn’t too bad. Highway 191 goes through the middle of town so traffic can be heavy.

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Grand Teton is one of those parks that one can explore by car in a day. However, there are plenty of opportunities to explore the area further with hikes or boat trips. It is a beautiful area, and one can relish the wonder of a creative God as you see these amazing mountains.

Have you visited Grand Teton National Park? What was your favorite memory? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comment section below. Also, I hope you’ll subscribe if you haven’t done so already.