Grand Teton National Park

Don and I drove 5 1/2 hours from Steamboat to Grand Teton National Park on our way to Yellowstone National Park. Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP are two adjacent national parks with literally just a few miles between them. Grand Teton NP is small compared to Yellowstone NP, but its mountains are unique. The Grand Teton mountains don’t have any foothills…they jut right out of the ground for a very “grand” view. You can enjoy the view just driving by on the way to Yellowstone, but we went into the park for a hike around Jenny Lake. This hike is probably the most popular hike in the park. We arrived mid-day and got our bearings before starting a 6 mile round trip hike around Jenny Lake to the Hidden Falls. After the hike, we stayed one night in the town of Jackson which was a very nice mountain town. We will definitely go back to enjoy the town for longer next time.

This photo was taken in the morning with the eastern sun lighting up the mountains…a truly awesome view.

Jenny Lake is a very popular area of the Grand Teton with a visitor center, lake, and several hikes.

After 3 miles, we were rewarded with a beautiful waterfall. Then, we had to hurry to hike back the return 3 miles before it got dark. We heard reports of a bear on the trail, but never saw him…Whew! Grand Teton and Yellowstone are home to both Brown Bears and Grizzly Bears!

I’ve learned that this is called a “boulder field”, but it just looks like a rock slide to me. I couldn’t help but think it may slide again at any moment.

In Jackson, we stayed at the very swanky hotel, Cloudveil, thanks to my Marriott discount.