Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

The Teton Range does something that few mountain ranges manage: it rises 2,100 metres above the Jackson Hole valley with almost no foothills. The transition from flat sagebrush plain to 4,000-metre peaks is abrupt in a way that the Alps or the Rockies further south are not. The Grand Teton itself reaches 4,199 metres. When you drive the valley floor, the mountains fill the windshield without preamble. It is one of the more striking entries in American landscape photography, and the thing that surprises most first-time visitors is how little the photographs exaggerate.

What’s Different in 2026

A fee change that matters: starting January 1, 2026, non-US residents aged 16 and older pay an additional $100 per person on top of the standard vehicle entrance fee at Grand Teton and ten other high-traffic national parks. That is a significant jump and worth budgeting for if you are visiting from abroad. The standard vehicle fee ($35 for a 7-day pass valid for both Grand Teton and Yellowstone) still applies.

For 2026, the Death Canyon Trailhead is closed all summer for road construction. If Phelps Lake or Death Canyon were on your hiking list, access via the Whitegrass Ranch alternate route instead. The northern segment of Taggart Lake Trail is also closed through November for rehabilitation. The Moose-Wilson Road section between the preserve and Moose opens June 20 but with delays. Check current conditions at nps.gov/grte before you arrive.

The Teton Park Road

The main road runs north-south along the base of the mountains, accessing viewpoints and trailheads. Snake River Overlook and Oxbow Bend are the standard photography locations – the bend through cottonwood trees with moose and the Tetons behind is one of the most reproduced landscapes in American nature photography, and there is a reason for that. The Mormon Row barns near Antelope Flats, particularly the Moulton Barn, are the foreground photographers want. Arrive before sunrise; the light comes over the Gros Ventre range to the east and hits the barns before it hits the peaks.

Jenny Lake

Jenny Lake is the central draw for most visitors, and rightly so. A ferry runs from the South Jenny Lake boat dock to the Hidden Falls trailhead (around $18 round trip), cutting 1.5km off the hiking distance. The Hidden Falls to Inspiration Point hike is 2.4km each way from the boat dock – Inspiration Point looks directly west across the lake and down into Jackson Hole. The trail continues into Cascade Canyon, which penetrates the main range; the first few kilometres are accessible without technical experience and the canyon walls close around you in a way that feels genuinely remote.

For something less crowded: Leigh Lake, north of String Lake, sees far fewer visitors than Jenny despite comparable scenery. The trail along the western shore is one of the better quiet walks in the park.

Wildlife

Grand Teton has excellent wildlife relative to visitor numbers. Moose are commonly seen in the willow flats south of Jackson Lake Lodge – you can sometimes see three or four from one car window. Grizzly bear sightings occur in the northern sections and on the Moose-Wilson Road. Elk congregate in the park in autumn, and the annual elk migration through Jackson Hole is one of the larger wildlife spectacles in North America. Early morning and late evening produce the sightings.

Accommodation and Eating

Jackson Lake Lodge has the best position in the park – the main lounge windows frame the full Teton Range at eye level, and watching the mountains change in the evening light from there is worth paying for. Rooms and cabins run around $350-600 per night in summer. Colter Bay Village is more budget-oriented. Dornan’s at Moose Junction has a genuinely good wine shop and a pizza bar that operates in summer; given the limited food options inside the park, it is more useful than its casual appearance suggests.

Jackson town, 10 minutes south of the park boundary, has the full range of restaurants and accommodation. Visitors who base themselves in Jackson save significantly on overnight costs while losing nothing in terms of park access.

Getting There

Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) is inside the park boundary – it is the only commercial airport in the United States located within a national park. Regular connections from Denver, Salt Lake City, and Dallas. Rental cars are available at the airport. No timed entry reservation is required in 2026, but purchasing your pass in advance at recreation.gov reduces entrance station waiting time in peak summer.