Our recent trip to Grand Teton National Park was, unfortunately, not nearly long enough. We really only spent a day and a half in the park. As you saw in my last post, one full day was spent driving a giant loop through the park and stopping at all the viewpoints and historic sites.
For the remaining half day, it was time to do some hiking. While there are multiple options for half-day hikes, we chose what is by far the most crowded and popular option: Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point.
As you know if you’ve followed me for any length of time, I tend to gravitate away from crowds of people. Far away.
This trail is popular for a reason, though, and I have a feeling once you see the photos, you’ll understand why we chose it. It’s also a good option for if you don’t have a lot of time and/or you’re not used to hiking at higher elevation (the lowest areas of the park are over 6000 feet (1830 m) above sea level).
Because of the crowds, we knew if we were going to do this hike we’d need to start early. By mid-morning, the parking lot at Jenny Lake overflows. By afternoon, cars are parked for at least 0.5 miles (0.8 km) down the road in either direction, and the line for the boat shuttle is 1-2 hours long.
We had absolutely no interest in being a part of any of that.
So we set our alarms for an early morning start and pulled into Jenny Lake just before 8:00am. There was plenty of parking still but, despite that, the line for boat tickets was already 30-40 minutes long (you can’t buy tickets in advance, they must be purchased at the dock immediately prior to boarding). In retrospect, we should have been about 30 minutes earlier.
Luckily, it’s a scenic location to stand in line.
I should also mention, there are no bathrooms, water spigots, or any kind of amenities at this dock or at the one where the boat will drop you off, so be sure you have everything you need before you get in line.
Boats depart approximately every 10-15 minutes, though we found the reality of that to be very imprecise; there was a 20 minute span with no boats and then two in quick succession. We made it onto the second boat.
Finally, we were on our way!
The ride across the lake takes less than 20 minutes. We spent the entire journey listening to the narration from the boat operator and enjoying the lovely views of the imposing Teton Mountains.
We disembarked at the west side dock at the mouth of Cascade Canyon. From here, there are multiple trails.
To the left and right is the trail that encircles Jenny Lake.
For Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point, head straight(ish) up Cascade Canyon. There are trails on both sides of Cascade Creek. We opted to stay on the north (right) side, as this is the most direct route. It’s also closer to the creek, which allowed us to stop and admire the many cascades. The quantity of water rushing down the creek was truly astounding.
After 0.3 miles (0.5 km), the trail crosses the creek on a bridge. A short distance later, we reached a junction. For Hidden Falls, head left. For Inspiration Point, head right.
We opted to start with Hidden Falls, which is just a couple minutes up the trail. In fact, we could already hear it, which caught me by surprise. I’d been to Hidden Falls before but it was more than 20 years ago, and in my head it was a fairly small waterfall. I began to wonder if I was misremembering.
(I was.)
After thoroughly enjoying the waterfall, we retraced our steps back to the junction and headed the opposite direction, following signs for Inspiration Point. It was a steady climb, gaining about 300 feet (91 m) of elevation over the next 0.4 miles (0.6 km) up to the viewpoint.
Inspiration Point was just as crowded as Hidden Falls had been. Solitude was definitely not to be found on this hike. Thankfully, the overlook is large, so there was plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the view.
Aside from having to shoo away a few chipmunks who were determined to procure some snacks, we enjoyed our time at Inspiration Point.
Between the throngs of hikers at both destinations and the steady stream of people on the trail, I was worried we’d be spending the rest of our day waiting in line for the boat back across the lake. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. Once we arrived at the dock, we waited maybe 30 minutes.
Of course, we didn’t have to take the boat at all. We chose to do so for the experience, and for the fact that it cuts off about 2 miles (3.2 km) in each direction, making this a substantially shorter hike. If you don’t want to take the boat, you can simply walk the trail around Jenny Lake in either direction (south/left/clockwise is shortest) and then head up to the waterfall and viewpoint.
For an even greater challenge, you can continue beyond Inspiration Point, following the trail up Cascade Canyon. It’s a hike I would love to do one day.
For now, though, it was time for us to board the boat for the ride back across the lake.
Our time at Grand Teton National Park was coming to an end. We would be spending one last night in the park before returning to Yellowstone (more to come on the Yellowstone part of our trip eventually).
But first, we had one more stop to make: Jackson Hole. Stay tuned for that adventure next week!
The Important Stuff:
- Getting there: whether you take the boat or hike the whole thing, this hike begins at the Jenny Lake boat dock. Parking is at the Jenny Lake Visitor Center. For best results, arrive early. Otherwise, expect to park along the road and spend quite a bit of time waiting in line.
- Fees and passes: there is a $35/car entrance fee (good for 7 days) to Grand Teton National Park; America the Beautiful passes are accepted. No timed entry tickets are needed for this park.
- Boat tickets: Jenny Lake boat tickets can only be purchased at the Jenny Lake boat dock immediately prior to your ride. Tickets are $20/person round-trip for adults, with lower prices for children and seniors. Note that the boat for this hike is called the shuttle. Scenic boat tours are a separate item and those do need to be reserved in advance.
- Hiking: with the boat shuttle, roundtrip distances are as follows:
- Hidden Falls only: 1 mile (1.6 km) with 250 feet (75 m) elevation gain.
- Inspiration Point only: 1.6 miles (2.6 km) with 570 feet (175 m) elevation gain.
- Both: 1.7 miles (2.7 km) with 575 feet (175 m) elevation gain
- Without the boat shuttle, add 4.6 miles (7.4 km) and about 500 feet (150 m) of elevation gain to the distances above.
- Safety: Grand Teton National Park is grizzly country. Even though this is a popular hike, bears are frequently seen near the trail and boat dock. People on the boat before us saw a bear on the dock just before their arrival. Everyone should carry bear spray and know how to use it.
- Where to stay: there are seven campgrounds in Grand Teton National Park, as well as various cabins and lodges. In addition, camping and other lodging options are available outside the park in the towns of Jackson, and surrounding national forest lands. Be sure to reserve in advance; park lodging fills to capacity almost every night in the summer.
- Other: there are no bathrooms or amenities of any type at either boat dock, so be sure to use the bathroom, fill your water bottle, etc. before you get in line. When deciding how much food, water, sunscreen, warm clothing, etc. to carry, keep in mind that you will be standing in line for probably at least 30 minutes at each dock with no shelter from the weather of the day.
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