Day 1: Grand Teton national park
We left camp early and headed south toward Jenny Lake.
The plan for the day was to do an out and back hike starting around Jenny Lake, stopping at Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point, and continuing on into the backcountry. After our Hike we headed to Mormon Row to see the park from a different perspective.
We left camp so early that when we started driving toward Jenny Lake it felt like we had the park to ourselves and we definitely took advantage of the empty roads.
Hiking Jenny Lake: Hidden Falls & Inspiration Point
Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point are some of the most popular things to do in the park. You definitely want to make sure you arrive early in order to get a parking spot. When we returned from our hike cars had poured out from the lots to the shoulder of the road.
When you start off your hike you have two options Leah and I coined these the: adventure route or relaxed route.
The Adventure Route means you’re going to hike from the parking lot/visitor center around the lake. The Relaxed Route means you’re going to pay to take a shuttle boat across the lake- it cuts down on a lot of time but you miss out on some great views.
After you pass the Jenny Lake Boathouse the paved path ends and you start walking along a packed dirt trail around the lake, you’ll stay on this trail for about two miles.
The views just kept getting better and better!
After walking for two miles you’ll come to a fork in the trail. To the left you’ll head toward Hidden Falls and to the right you'll walk a short way down the trail to the boat shuttle. We took the detour to check out what the shuttle stop looked like- big plus there was a bridge with a raging river going underneath and a great photo-op.
Once you leave the boat launch and head back up the trail it isn’t much further toward Hidden Falls. There’s a clearing that offers great views of the falls but keep in mind it gets quite crowded!
From Hidden Falls the trail steeply climbs to Inspiration Point. The views of Jenny Lake from the top are incredible.
After the long climb up to Inspiration Point there’s plenty of room to take in the views. It’s incredible just how much you can see. The majority of hikers and families will turn around here. If you’re up for more adventure, continue past Inspiration Point and follow the trail as it winds through the backcountry and into Cascade Canyon. There’s no set turn around point, it’s actually hard to want to turn around because the views just get better and better.
As you venture into Cascade Canyon the scenery constantly changes. The beginning is dense woods with steep mountains on either side. Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife, we saw two moose by the river. We did this hike in early June and there was still snow on the trail.
If you want to hike further into Cascade Canyon I would recommend taking the shuttle back instead of walking the two miles around the lake. We opted to hike back around the lake and about halfway we were absolutely exhausted and definitely jealous of those who chose to shuttle back!
This is a great hike with options to be family-friendly or to hike a DIY adventure. You can also turn this into a backpacking trip by hiking into cascade canyon then hiking out Paintbrush Canyon.