A Teton 3-day-er

3 day itinerary

This stunning corner of Wyoming more than warrants three days exploring it! With plenty of lakes to hike, wildlife to see, views to tick off and the famous town of Jackson Hole to wander, you'll be sure to have a fantastic time!

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Day 1

Start your trip in Grand Teton National Park with a hike around one of over a hundred lakes on offer. While quite a few are in the high alpine or backcountry regions, many are extremley accessible. If you're staying at Jackson Lake, then Two Ocean Lake or Emma Matilda Lake are both beautiful options, giving some low elevation routes with the Teton range poking just above the treeline in places.

Alternatively, Amphitheatre Lake, Surprise Lake & Delta Lake are accessible from Lupine Meadows Trailhead, and while providing much tougher tests, are worth the effort. Delta Lake has a challenging boulder field scrambling section, so is only really recommended to more experienced hikers. The other two come in at on a hike of about 10 miles out-and-back with 3000 ft of elevation gain, so only tackle if you have some experience of hiking at higher elevations. Bears are not uncommon on the Valley & Amphitheatre Trails which take you to these lakes. Make sure to hike in pairs or a group if possible, keep making noise, and ideally carry bear spray. If you do see a bear, never run and instead walk backwards slowly, always facing the bear, and keep making noise!

If you choose one of the shorter hikes for the morning, then drive down to the Jenny Lake Visitor Centre to learn more about this fantastic park. You can either hike again in a loop around the lake, or just enjoy a short ferry ride across it instead if you're visiting in summer! On the other side you can opt to see Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls. Dip your feet into the refreshing/freezing (we'll let you decide!) lake waters before heading back.

End the day by crossing over the main road at Moose Junction to arrive at the Mormon Row Historic District. Dating back to the 1890s, these barns were built by Mormon settlers who travelled from Salt Lake City, UT. They decided on the land as it had high fertility, access to the Gros Ventre River, and was relatively sheltered from the prevailing winds from the west. A popular spot with photographers at both sunrise and sunset, you know it'll be beautiful!

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Day 2

Spend much of today in Grand Teton's nearby town, Jackson Hole! Begin your day with some adrenaline fuelled white water rafting, with Snake River making for a brilliant ride cascading down the parks main river. Venturing mostly through neighbouring Bridger-Teton National Forest, class II and III rapids such as The Lunch Counter, The Big Kahuna, and even a bubbling rapid aptly named Champagne means that your ride will certainly thrill! If white water rafting isn't for you though, then you should definitely float on a different section of the river on a relaxed scenic raft instead, spotting wildlife on the way!

Grab some food in Jackson either before or after your excursion (timings dependent) before returning north into the park. Or our pick - head up the nearby aerial tramway via gondola to get an entirely different perspective of the park, viewing it from Rendevous Mountain! What's even better is that you can get waffles at the top at Corbet's Cabin - dreamy!

Depending on how long you spend at the summit, for the rest of the afternoon, complete what you started this morning by following the rest of the Teton Park Road around. Take your time, with plenty of viewpoints! There's also some trails which you can pop around if you fancy - Taggert Lake & Bradley Lakes are reasonable length hikes. You can combine them and reach both lakes with a 6-mile loop!

Visitors every year end up injured and risk the safety of animals by not respecting their space in an attempt to get the 'perfect picture'. Please make sure to stay at least 100 yards from bears & wolves, and at least 25 yards from all other animals, ideally more. Wild animals are unpredictable & always deserve our respect.

Be particularly aware of bears when in Grand Teton - when on the trails, keep making noise, stay vigilant, and ideally carry bear spray, especially if hiking in back-country areas. If you come across one, keep making noise, and walk back slowly while making sure to always face the bear. Never turn your back or run!

End your day with a couple of special views! Along the main road through the park lies Schwabacher Landing and Snake River Overlook. Both are stunning and will be perfect for sunset! Our personal choice is the latter, as it has a little more parking and wider vistas, to really capture the changing colours! For dinner in Jackson Hole, consider Bin22 for some delicious small plates & a fantastic choice of wines. Or if you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, then Liberty Burger provides pretty good value for Jackson Hole standards!

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Day 3

Start your final day with a pastry and iced coffee picked up from Persephone Bakery before embarking on the 42-mile scenic loop drive which circles much of the park. Whilst you'll have covered many sections of it already through various drives on the trip, fully complete it and see all its beauty on the way. Make one of your first stops String Lake, just north of the larger Jenny Lake. In the mornings String Lake can be a little quieter, but quickly becomes one of the most popular swimming spots in the park.

Continue along Teton Park Road to Jackson Lake, the biggest in the park. Signal Mountain rises close to the lake, and you can drive up it to reach some fantastic views of the Tetons. Signal Mountain & Jackson Lake Lodges are both very close by, offering food options, gift shops and watersport activities.

There's another opportunity for a relatively short hike near Jackson Lake, with multiple loops and branches meaning you can be creative with your distance based on how tired you are! It is day three after all! From Colter Visitor Centre, Colter Bay, Heron Pond and Swan Lake are all easily accessible. Sometimes the breeze off Jackson Lake can make this a pleasant area for an afternoon hike!

Finish off the scenic loop for the day by stopping at Oxbow Bend turnout, Elk Ranch Flats turnout, and either (or both) of Snake River Overlook and Schwabacher Landing if you missed them from the previous day for a final look at these special, striking mountains!

If you've enjoyed this three day itinerary of Grand Teton National Park, check out our full national park guide! You can also check out our other guides for parks in the Rocky Mountains if you're in love with this area of the world as much as us! Neighbouring Yellowstone is always a popular choice!