If you’re headed to Wyoming, you’re likely going to visit Yellowstone and the Tetons- together, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We spent four nights in the Tetons, and two nights in Yellowstone- here are our notes from the experience.
Grand Teton National Park
The Teton mountains are oriented north-south, with a dramatic eastern scarp dropping to a flat sagebrush wilderness (making for great views throughout the park) and a more gradual western slope (the Jedediah Smith Wilderness in Idaho). The core of the range stretches from Albright Peak to Mount Moran, and has several glacial lakes at its foot (Phelps Lake, Jenny Lake, Leigh Lake), while the massive Jackson Lake reservoir dominates the northern part of the park.
The main gateway town is Jackson Wyoming, though Teton Village may be more familiar to winter visitors to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.
Climbing and mountaineering
Each of the summits in the core of the range hosts a variety of climbing routes, from easy snow climbs to long difficult rock routes. Access and difficulty will change with snow/ice, so check with the climbing rangers at the current conditions blog, their phone line, or in-person at the Jenny Lake ranger station.
We love easy alpine climbs, and so were drawn to ridge traverses and easy scrambles:
- Upper Exum Ridge: This is the only climb we had time for- a big one-day push, but this is also commonly climbed from a base camp at the Lower Saddle between the Grand Teton and Middle Teton.
- The Full Exum Ridge: With six pitches of true 5th class before meeting the Upper Exum Ridge at Wall Street, this is one of the 50 Classic Climbs and is a long day rather than an easy scramble. Details here and here.
- Owens-Spaulding: This is the main descent route from the Grand, as well as the easiest route. The cruxes of this route are chimneys which are clogged with ice in the winter and early season; check conditions with the climbing rangers. This was our fallback if we got to the Lower Saddle and our bodies or the weather wasn’t ready for the Upper Exum Ridge.
- Cathedral Traverse: This linkup of Teewinot, Owens, and Grand Teton is a mega-classic big day, which we’ll be back for. Check out this beta-intensive post.
- Grand Traverse: traversing the entire core of the range, from Teewinot to Nez Perce- typically done as a multi-day trip, but the record on this is 6h32m!
We did the Upper Exum Ridge car-to-car in 13 hours: 4 hours to the Upper Saddle, 3 hours on-route, 3 hours descending back to the Saddle, and 3 hours from the Saddle back to the car. We brought a light alpine rack, climbing shoes, and 60m rope, but wish that we hadn’t brought the rack and had only taken a skinny rap line.
Hiking/Running
The Tetons are rugged- there are few passes over the core of the range. As a result, long runs need to connect with the Teton Crest Trail behind the range to create a loop. Death Canyon to Cascade Canyon offers a 26-mile one-way trip (stash a bike to get back to your car), or Cascade-to-Paintbrush canyons for a 20-mile loop. You can take the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort tram to access trails off the summit ridgeline.
Cycling
This is the best road biking destination we’ve visited on the trip: separated cycling paths connect Jackson to Jenny Lake, and elsewhere in the park there are generous shoulders, moderate speed limits, and good visibility. The terrain is generally flat, making it easy to move fast.
Looping the core of the park (42 mi) is a fantastic ride that is about half on dedicated bike trails, and half on roads- start and leave from Jackson to turn this into a metric century. From Jackson to the Yellowstone entrance gate is 57 miles, and West Thumb in Yellowstone Lake is 82 miles. Two other classic routes I’d love to check out are the ‘Around the Block’ route (108 miles; details here) and riding out-and-back to Togwotee pass (more details here).
Photography
Because the range is oriented north-south and with the park on the eastern side, sunrises are breathtaking, and most photographers try to find a place where the park’s mountains are reflected in water. Ansel Adams did this from the Snake River Overlook, but the view is now overgrown – instead, Schwabacher Landing and Oxbow Bend are the prime sunrise spots. However, get creative: anywhere in the park should offer breathtaking vistas.
For a rustic foreground, the Mormon Row Historic District has well-preserved historic houses and barns which provide a favorite centerpiece.
Wildlife
This area is part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, so has the same wildlife as Yellowstone: bears, bison, elk, moose, pronghorns, and bighorn sheep and mountain goats at higher elevations. Bison are most common near Moran, while Blacktail Ponds can be good viewing for bear and moose at dusk and dawn.
Parking and Camping
The municipal parking lots offer plentiful spaces, even on the 4th of July weekend- but no overnight parking. We spent our nights at National Forest dispersed campgrounds just outside the lake, or trailheads when we were planning an early start.
Note that popular trailheads inside the park (Jenny Lake, Taggart Lake, Lupine Meadows) can get crowded mid-day.
Food, Drink, and More
Our favorite workspace was the Jackson Hole Coffee Roaster, which offers WiFi, outlets, and good food and drink. Persephone Bakery offers fantastic food, but very few outlets.
One of the climbing rangers recommended happy hours at The Local, Gather, and at the top of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Gondola. While the tram is expensive, the gondola is free and offers similar views of the Tetons. The other dining option with grand vistas is the Jackson Lake Lodge, which was highly recommended for the views.
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone is a huge park, but a napkin sketch would show this: geysers in the southeast, lake in the middle, wildlife in the northeast, and hot springs in the northwest. This is a popular park: expect lots of traffic, and potential traffic jams when wildlife steps onto the road. We woke up for sunrise and took a mid-day siesta to avoid the crowds.
Geysers and Hot Springs
The Upper Geyser Basin (including Old Faithful) is worth a half-day of exploring, so get there early and get a parking spot, check out Old Faithful, then spend the rest of the morning wandering around the basin.
The Grand Prismatic Spring is stunning- when viewed from the platform accessed from the Clear Falls trailhead- the traffic and crowds at the main boardwalk are not worth it.
Wildlife
Big mammals are most active and visible in LaMar Valley, where grassy plains make it easy to spot elk, bears, bison, and antelope. Most of the big wildlife is active at dusk and dawn, so get up early! If you see a cluster of people on the side of the road with large spotting scopes, pull over and talk to them- they’re likely watching a wolf or bear! You can rent a spotting scope at Optics Yellowstone in Gardiner- the best are 20-60x magnification.
Photography
Sunrises and sunsets can create fantastic colors with the steam of hot springs: the West Thumb thermal basin is great for sunrises, as it offers steaming vistas over the lake, and the Norris geyser basin or Upper Geyser Basin is great for sunset.
You can shoot bison with a kit lens (30mm-70mm equivalent) as they will be close to the road, but for spotting bears and wolves in LaMar Valley expect to need a 100mm-400mm lens- and as these are most active at dawn and dusk, a fast lens is better.
Active Recreation
We spent most of our time on short hikes: there’s no climbing, no shoulders for cycling, and lots of bears. However, paddling on the park’s lakes is an option, and there’s an extensive trail network and backcountry camping for those with more time. The mountainous northeast of the park offers the most rugged terrain, with beautiful mountains, nice meadows, and lots of vistas.