Grand Teton National Park
For dramatic first impressions, it’s hard to beat Grand Teton National Park. At a distance, the jagged peaks of the mountains are a formidable feast for the eyes. But it’s from up close that the park is revealed to all the senses: the peep of a pika, the cool mist off a waterfall, the thousand shades of purple in a lupine field.
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Not far from the Visitor’s Center is the Chapel of the Transfiguration, with its log walls and an altar window framing the mountains behind. Nearby Menor’s Ferry on the Snake River is a replica of the original ferry built by William D. Menor in the late 1800s, back before there was a bridge across the swift Snake River.
Past these manmade sights is one of the park’s prettiest natural attractions: Jenny Lake, Grand Teton’s second largest lake. The South Jenny Lake area and campground is the starting point for many hikes. The walk around Jenny Lake itself is an easy, beautiful, 6.6 miles. Or you may take a shuttle boat across the lake to the west shore dock for a short walk.
The advantage of crossing the lake by boat isn’t just a matter of saving time and energy. Jenny Lake sits right at the foot of the Grand Teton, the largest peak in the range. There’s no better view of the gigantic granite spire than from the boat – unless it’s from the summit of one of the neighboring peaks.
A short hike up from the West boat dock leads to Hidden Falls (you’ll hear it before you see it), and anyone with time and energy should continue up the short but steep path to Inspiration Point, a fine spot to take a breather and look out over Jenny Lake.
Continuing north on the park’s inner road, there are plenty of turnouts to stop and gaze at the mountains from, maybe even to watch moose, elk or pronghorn antelope from a safe distance.
About 10 miles north of Jenny Lake, you catch your first views of Jackson Lake, an enormous expanse of water (by arid Wyoming standards) created by Jackson Lake Dam. Along its east shore are Signal Mountain Lodge, Jackson Lake Lodge, Colter Bay and several campgrounds and boat put-ins. The view of Mount Moran is especially impressive from Jackson Lake Lodge, while rental boats at Signal Mountain allow exploration of the far western shore and many islands and isolated points. Colter Bay is home to another Visitor’s Center and the excellent Indian Arts Museum, packed with artifacts and interpretive displays.
Returning south via the park’s outer road, visitors may see cowboys moving their herds through the sagebrush. Anyone who has seen Jackson only in the summer may find it hard to envision how severe our winters can be: The weather-beaten Cunningham Cabin, the remains of a homestead built sometime around 1890, serves as a reminder of what early valley settlers endured without the benefit of central heating, plumbing and four-wheel drive vehicles.
And there’s plenty more to see; some residents have been exploring the park nearly all their lives and haven’t seen it all. Can anyone really know Grand Teton National Park after just one day? Of course not, but you’ll see enough to want to know more and more and more.
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