Hello, majestic beauty!

The Tetons are a breathtaking mountain range in northwestern Wyoming, known for their dramatic, jagged peaks rising sharply above pristine lakes, forests, and wide-open valleys. This is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places we have visited to date in America. We are always ranking and reranking our Top 5 National Parks, and within one day, the Tetons had officially raced to the top of both of our lists and all the way to #1 on Christina’s. We will see where John eventually lands.

We had one week to explore this area, and we were determined to make the most of every minute. We arrived late on a Wednesday, got the rig set up, and started planning for the next morning.

We woke to a beautiful, crisp morning with just enough chill in the air to remind us that summer does, in fact, have limits. We had a quick breakfast and were off to drop Mack at doggie daycare so we could hit the trails.

Delta Lake - *a classic glacial tarn. A tarn is a small mountain lake or pool formed in a cirque dug out by a glacier.*

We set our sights high for day one—literally!

We decided to hike to Delta Lake, a trail that Instagram has made quite popular, and for good reason. All along the way, you are treated to beautiful views, and once you reach the lake, you’re rewarded with one of the closest and most impressive views of the Tetons you can get.

The trail starts off deceptively easy by being both flat and paved. If you aren’t careful, you can find yourself wondering why so many people stress how hard this trail is. Gradually, the trail begins to climb the mountain, but even then it seems it won’t live up to all the hype. Then you reach the switchbacks. That’s when the trail basically says, “Oh, you thought we were just out for a nice little walk?”

The climb gets real, but the beautiful views of Bradley Lake make it worth stopping every now and then — allowing you to pretend you stopped for the scenery rather than because your legs were questioning your life choices.

Around 3.25 miles in, you’ll reach yet another switchback. At this point, you can choose to keep going on the official, maintained trail, or you can turn off into the great unknown…a/k/a the unofficial, unmaintained trail. This is, of course, the path to Delta lake. It begins with some rough-hewn “steps leading down” to a much rougher trail. This leads you to your first major obstacle… a field of boulders that you’ll need to cross. And in this case “cross” means scrambling over rocks of various sizes while occasionally wondering if your hiking boots have made the same poor choices you have.

Crossing the field of boulders is so much fun you get to do it a couple more times, and, unfortunately, you quickly learn that this was actually the easy part of the hike—aside from the paved section at the beginning. Such trickery!

From there, you find yourself working your way across the face of a very steep incline, with sections offering little in the way of rocks, footholds, or any convenient places to plant your feet, let alone trying to find a rock to rest on. Once past that you keep climbing and climbing and climbing, until you turn another corner, and think, this must be it! But NOPE.

You are then greeted by what must be a 60-degree slope for the final push to the lake. The slope is mostly dirt with the occasional rock or root to step on or grab to keep from sliding back down. At one point, we watched a fellow climber come around the corner, look up the hill, noticeably slump, and say, in a very defeated way, “Jesus!” That pretty much sums it up.

This was, without a doubt, the hardest climb we have ever completed.

Now, we are by no means expert hikers, and I’m sure there are people reading this thinking, “60 degrees? Please. That’s Tuesday.” And to you, we salute you. But we promise you, we saw far more people struggling on this trail than breezing through it.

When you finally reach Delta Lake, though, all of that complaining, sweating, scrambling, and questioning your decision-making disappears, and you immediately realize it was so worth it!

The lake is absolutely stunning, surrounded by towering granite peaks that make you feel very, very small—in the best possible way. You stand there looking around thinking, Okay…this is why we did this, and we are so grateful we did!

If you find yourself in the Tetons and are considering this hike, we definitely recommend coming prepared. Bring hiking poles, plenty of water, snacks—or even a lunch—and take some time to understand how the altitude may affect you. And last but certainly not least, don’t forget your bear spray.

We didn’t see a bear…But the guy who made it up just after us did.

So apparently, he wasn’t looking down, wondering if his wobbly legs were going to carry him the last 15 steps to the top. I guess that’s what happens when you’re 30 years younger than us!

Scenic Drive

The Tetons aren’t lacking on things to see and do, and you could easily spend a week there. If, however, you are short on time but still want to see several of the park highlights, the recommended scenic drive is a great option. We spent most of a day on the drive and really enjoyed getting to see the park from so many different perspectives. Also, our legs were thanking us!

The park offers a newspaper which they change by season, and it’s a great resource to have while you’re there. They have a list of all the points of interest on the scenic drive and a handy map to boot.

Heads up: Make sure to pack a lunch because a picnic in the park is quite magical, and most important, don’t forget your camera or phone. Also, if you get an early start, you have a great chance of catching some wildlife along the way.

Jackson Hole Eco Tours

To tour or not to tour…that is the question!

Well, it probably depends on your personality and your quest for knowledge and understanding of the park. Christina isn’t a big fan when it comes to tours, but occasionally, she deems them worthy. In this case, we booked a sunrise wildlife tour with Jackson Hole Eco Tours.

Given it was a sunrise tour and the fact that our campground was 40 minutes away, we were forced to wake up way before a civilized hour. Even the sun thought it was too early to rise and shine!

The goal of the tour was, of course, to see some wildlife. Like all wildlife tours though, you’re at the mercy of the animals and whether they decide to make an appearance.

We were greeted by a friendly guide who equipped us with all the essentials for an early morning quest. Binoculars…check. A light breakfast snack…check. And, most importantly, COFFEE. Now we were ready!

Our first encounter was a herd of elk, probably about 20 to 30 of them. All of them were female with the exception of two bulls. One bull was older, and the other was a youngster who the ranger suspected was just over a year old. We were told that the older bull would eventually run off the younger bull. As we watched, we saw the older bull rounding up all the females. It was honestly quite humorous to watch. We quickly learned the reason for this behavior was the bull was planning on mating with them. Yep, no joke…he mates with every single one. Since this story is rated PG, we will spare you the details.

Up next, and our personal favorite of the day, was a bull moose. It was pure luck—and the sharp eyes of one of our fellow passengers—that we saw him at all. He was coming out of the woods right as we drove past. We made a quick U-turn and piled out of the van. He was feeding on willow bushes which are the Moose’s favorite food, and working like crazy to scrape the velvet covering off of his antlers. He looked like he was sporting bloody dreadlocks as pieces of the velvet dangled in the air. After several minutes, he disappeared behind a hill, and it was time for us to move on.

Does anyone know what kind of animal this is?

The rest of the day was less eventful. We spent a while watching a herd of bison and spent several minutes discussing the appropriate use of the terms bison and buffalo! We wrapped up the day by spotting a bald eagle.

All in all, it was a great morning, and in addition to the excitement of the wildlife, we were able to catch some beautiful views as the sun rose over the Tetons.

Triangle X Ranch Float Trip

It was Labor Day weekend, and the tourists were out in full force, so we were looking for something that would get us away from the crowds. As usual, we were up at o’dark thirty and on our way to the park by 7:00 a.m. We had an hour’s drive from where we were staying, plus we needed to drop Mack off at doggy daycare before heading into the park. So, an early start was a must.

Our first stop was Taggart Lake. This is a popular hike to a beautiful alpine lake, and for good reason. The short, 3-mile roundtrip trail winds through a lush forest and opens up to beautiful meadows along the way. Everyone on the trail seemed to have bear spray strapped to their hips and ready to go. We had to laugh—I’m not sure a bear would have wanted anything to do with the crowds of people we were seeing!

We didn’t spot any wildlife, but we did hear elk bugling somewhere over the hill. As we reached the lake, we were rewarded with a stunning view of the Tetons reflected in the calm water. It was one of those views that makes you stop for another photo and of course to pinch yourself.

After a quick hike back down, we jumped in the truck and headed off to our next adventure—a float trip with Triangle X Ranch.

Now, don’t get too excited. This wasn’t a white-water rafting trip. No…John didn’t go overboard like he did on our last rafting adventure!

This trip was quite different. It was a leisurely float down the Snake River through Grand Teton National Park. As the morning progressed, so did the temperatures, making it a perfect day to be out on the water.

Our guide had been doing this for more than 40 years, so needless to say, he was a wealth of knowledge. As we floated down the river, he shared stories and information about the history, wildlife, and landscape of the area. We learned about the formation of the Tetons and the Jackson Hole Valley. He talked about the massive role the glaciers played in the topography of the area. And, we learned about the history and functioning of “drift” boats!!

Once again, we were skunked when it came to wildlife. Other than a few bald eagles, we didn’t see much. Of course, our guide had plenty of stories to make up for it. He shared videos and stories of a grizzly bear and her cub, along with two bull moose that were sparring along the river’s edge.

Speaking of moose…did you know that moose are excellent swimmers? They can actually dive as deep as 18 feet to feed on aquatic plants growing at the bottom of rivers and lakes. That absolutely fascinated us!

The float was peaceful and relaxing—a perfect way to spend an afternoon surrounded by the Tetons.

Jenny Lake

No trip to the Tetons would be complete without a visit to Jenny Lake. It’s the most popular spot in Grand Teton National Park, which also means you should prepare yourself for plenty of people. Since we always try our best to avoid the crowds and long lines, we were once again up early and on the boat shuttle by 7:00 a.m.

Tip: The shuttle boats run every 15 minutes and take you across Jenny Lake, giving you access to Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point, and Cascade Canyon.

Our first stop was Hidden Falls. The hike is moderate and takes you to the beautiful waterfall. From there, you can cross a wooden bridge and continue along the 2.2-mile trail toward Inspiration Point. The trail winds through the forest and along the mountainside, with beautiful views of Jenny Lake and the surrounding peaks opening up along the way.

Be prepared for some rocky terrain, though. The trail becomes steeper and more rugged as you get closer to the top. But the effort is worth it. At Inspiration Point, you’re rewarded with a panoramic view that stretches across Jenny Lake and the surrounding mountains. It’s the perfect place to stop, catch your breath, and take in the grandeur of Grand Teton National Park.

We decided not to continue onto Cascade Canyon because we were short on time and wanted to squeeze in another adventure—a bike ride!

Grand Teton National Park offers an abundance of biking opportunities, and we didn’t want to miss the chance to explore the park on two wheels. The pathway stretches nearly 30 miles from the town of Jackson north to Antelope Flats Road, offering amazing mountain views and plenty of fresh mountain air along the way.

Since we were already at Jenny Lake, we hopped on our bikes and headed down the path. There are six hubs along the route with parking and bike racks: Gros Ventre Roundabout, Blacktail Butte, Dornans, Moose, Taggart Lake, and Jenny Lake.

You could easily spend an entire day exploring these pathways at your own pace. Next time, we’ll definitely pack a lunch and make a full day of it!

Goodbye, Tetons

And just like that, our time in the Tetons came to an end. We were sad to say goodbye, but we know it’s only goodbye for now—not forever!

This is definitely a park we want to return to. There is so much to see and do, and honestly, we don’t feel like we even came close to seeing half of what we wanted to.

So, for now, we say goodbye to this majestic place. Thank you for the incredible views, the adventures, the wildlife, and the memories.

Until next time, Tetons.

Grand Tetons