3 hikes you have to do in Grand Teton National Park - Travel Eat Enjoy Repeat

3 hikes you have to do in Grand Teton National Park

After visiting Yellowstone, we headed to Grand Teton National Park. Driving up there, you can see the Tetons appearing in all their glory. The tallest mountain in the Teton Range gives his name to the park. The actual naming of the mountains originates from French-speaking trappers who called them ‘les trois tétons’ which translates into the three teats. Next to the mountains, there are also many lakes in Grand Teton National Park formed by glaciers.

Visiting the park for 2 days, we decided to do 1 ‘big’ hike and 2 smaller ones.

 

Taggart Lake – Beaver Creek Loop trail

Moderate hike
Area:
Taggart Lake
Distance (roundtrip): 3.9 mi / 6.3 km
Elevation Change: 500 ft / 152 m
Estimated Hiking Time: 2 hours

This 6km hike is an easy hike starting from the Taggart Lake Trailhead and going to Taggart Lake. From here you have a beautiful view of the mountains. We added the extra of the Beaver Creek for a longer hike then the normal Taggart Lake trail (5.3km). This was a nice walk to start our exploration of the park. This is a very popular hike so be there early if you like to enjoy the peace and quiet J.

river

Taggart Lake

walking in Grand Teton

 

String Lake Loop trail

Easy hike
Area:
String Lake
Distance (roundtrip): 3.7 mi / 6.0 km
Elevation Change: 325 ft / 99 m
Estimated Hiking Time: 2 hours

The second trail we did that day was the String Lake Loop trail. This hike is also around 6km round trip which should take you around 2 hours (if you don’t stop a lot like we do to take pictures). This was also an easy hike along the lakes. As this is also one of the easy hikes, this is very popular.

String Lake Grand Teton

String Lake Grand Teton

 

Death Canyon-Static Peak Trail Junction

Strenous hike
Area:
Death Canyon
Distance (roundtrip): 7.9 mi / 12.7 km
Elevation Change: 2100 ft / 640 m
Estimated Hiking Time: 6 hours

We wanted to do one more strenuous hike in the Tetons, and we opted for this one. We only went until the patrol cabin because otherwise it would be too long. Now it was 12.7 km instead of the 26km it would take to go all the way up to Static Peak Divide. When we started the hike, it started raining (and snowing further along the trail). We were so happy with the raincoat we packed.

To reach the trailhead, a car with 4-wheel drive is recommended. But if you don’t have one, there is a small parking area at the point where the paved road ends. After a moderate climb you reach Phelps Lake Overlook, offering a stunning view over Phelps Lake (even in the rain). From there you first go back to the valley floor before climbing again. Although we didn’t encounter any bears, you should keep an eye out for them and carry bear spray with you. We stopped at the Death Canyon Patrol Cabin before making our way back to the car. And surprisingly, the sun started shining again J. From all the hikes we did during this holiday, this was one of my favorites. I liked the different scenery and the views you had while walking. The weather could be better of course but it was still a hike I recommend doing when visiting Grand Teton National Park.

Grand Teton

Grand Teton

Grand Teton

Grand Teton

And then some final pictures of the Tetons.

Grand Teton

Grand Teton

Tetons in fall and mist

Horses riding towards grand Teton national park

You can find more information about Grand Teton National Park here.

 

More hikes in Grand Teton National Park

Name Difficulty Area Distance (roundtrip) Elevation change Estimated hiking time
Polecat Creek Loop Easy Flagg Ranch 2.5 mi / 4 km 80 ft / 24 m 1 hour
Flagg Canyon Easy Flagg Ranch 4.0 mi / 6.4 km 150 ft / 46 m 2 hours
Lakeshore Trail Easy Colter Bay / Hermitage Point 2.0 mi / 3.2 km 100 ft / 30 m 1 hour
Heron Pond & Swan Lake Loop Easy Colter Bay / Hermitage Point 3.0 mi / 4.8 km 200 ft / 61 m 2 hours
Hermitage Point Easy-Moderate Colter Bay / Hermitage Point 9.7 mi / 15.6 km 700 ft / 213 m 5 hours
Lunch Tree Hill Easy Jackson Lake Lodge 0.5 mi / 0.8 km 80 ft / 24 m 1/2 hour
Christian Pond Loop Easy Jackson Lake Lodge 3.3 mi / 5.3 km  250 ft / 76 m 2 hours
Two Ocean Lake Moderate Two Ocean Lake 6.4 mi / 10.3 km 400 ft / 122 m 3 hours
Emma Matilda Lake Moderate Two Ocean Lake 10.7 mi / 17.2 km 1100 ft / 335 m 6 hours
Two Ocean & Emma Mathilda Lake Moderate-Strenous Two Ocean Lake 13.2 mi / 21.2 km 1400 ft / 427 m 7 hours
Signal Mountain Moderate Signal Mountain 6.8 mi / 10.9 km 850 ft / 260 m 4 hours
Leigh Lake Easy Leigh Lake 1.8 mi / 2.9 km 40 ft / 12 m 1 hour
Trapper Lake Easy-Moderate Leigh Lake 9.2 mi / 14.8 km 400 ft / 122 m 5 hours
Holly Lake Strenous Leigh Lake 13.0 mi / 20.9 km 2600 ft / 792 m 9 hours

 

Grand Teton National ParkGrand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park

Some of these links are affiliate links. If you buy something through these links, Travel Eat Enjoy Repeat will earn a small commission. This will cost you nothing extra.

Pin It on Pinterest