Avoiding Crowds

Our Favourite Hikes

Grand Teton park, just as the greater Jackson area, has seen an explosion in interest and visitation in recent years. Many of the most popular locations and trails within the park can become quite crowded and it is not uncommon to see parking lots overflowing. These places you have almost certainly already read about and include, Jenny Lake, Taggart Lake, and Phelps Lake. While all of these places are certainly beautiful, if you would rather not fight the crowds, here are a few suggestions. If you are however, determined to visit these places, I recommend you arrive early to find available parking and avoid the crowds.

String & Leigh Lakes

While String and Leigh Lakes are an increasingly popular area for visitors, you can still have a quiet experience there. String Lake is our favorite spot to swim in the park. The water is relatively shallow, which allows for it to be much warmer than other lakes, and its generally soft bottom is much more attractive than the rock beach found at Coulter Bay. It can be quite busy in the heat of the day, but is often nearly deserted by the evening making for a perfect cap to a long day of hiking in the park. Non motorized boats are allowed on both String and Leigh lakes, but Grand Teton specific boat permits are required and can be purchased at the visitor centers in either Moose or Coulter Bay. Boat access to Leigh lake is via a portage from the northern end of String Lake. There is a trail that follows the eastern edge of Leigh lake around to its northern edge and allows access to Bearpaw and Trapper lakes. The trail is relatively flat and it just over 9 miles roundtrip, making an excellent trail for a morning before enjoying swimming in String lake. Bearpaw and Trapper lakes are small lakes surrounding by meadows and the trail offers excellent views of Mount Moran. There is a large parking area at String Lake, but it fills up quickly, arrive early or late in the afternoon to give you a better chance at finding a parking spot. Alternatively, this area is on the northernmost end of the bike path through the Park. This path connects all the way to Jackson for the dedicated cyclists, but is also accessed through any number of parking areas and pullouts to allow you to tailor how long you’d like to ride. After the initial climb from Jackson and agin from Moose Junction into the Park, the path is relatively flat.

Two Oceans & Emma Matilda

Two Oceans and Emma Matilda lakes are accessed from within Grand Teton National park. There is an unsigned parking lot just past Jackson Lake Lodge on the east side of the road. In addition, Two Ocean Lake Trailhead, accessed from Pacific Creek Road provides an alternate starting point. From either of locations there are a series of loop trails that can take as little as one hour or last nearly all day. Depending on where you decide to go, you can be treated to views of Jackson Lake and the Tetons, forests, open meadows, and the smaller Emma Matilda and Two Ocean lakes. If you are looking for a shorter hike, starting at the parking area just past Jackson Lake Lodge and heading towards Christian pond is a good option. This area is also excellent to view the early and mid season wildflowers. As a whole these trails are some of more unused in the park and you can often go seeing only a handful of people all day. This makes it an excellent trail to view wildlife and get away from how busy the rest of the park can be. Expect some elevation gain in sections, but enjoy the dappled shade the trail provides. Note, that like most of the park, this area is also very popular for mosquitos, so be prepared and don’t let it upset your experience here.

The Signal Mountain summit road winds narrowly up before opening up to a summit parking area and overlook. This affords sweeping views of the Tetons, Buffalo Valley, and is one of the easiest ways to gain a high vantage point in Teton Park. The road is just south of Signal Mountain Lodge, on the east side of the road. The road is not accessible by RVs or those pulling trailers. Elk and deer can often be seen grazing in the forest understory as you make the ascent to the top. There is also a trail that goes to the top for looking to make the ascent by foot.

Rendezvous Park

Those looking for a mild option, Rendezvous park in Wilson offer a variety of loop trails along the Snake river. It’s major attraction is a piece of instillation art from Danish artist Thomas Dambo. It is part of his series of wooden trolls and placed near the water and allows for viewer to interact with it. The park is dog friendly on the perimeter and connects to a pedestrian bridge over the Snake river, an extensive bath path network in Jackson and Wilson, and privately held levee that is open for the public to walk on top of.