A beautiful drive into the Tetons as we left cattle and farmland and got into the Snake River  and the touring snow capped mountain of Wyoming. 

Phelps Lake

Phelps Lake Hike was a perfect first hike in the park. This year, it is only approachable from the south since the Moose Highway was closed for annual construction in 2026.  About a 30 minute wait for the small parking area as a cue had formed and people were let in as others left.  The lake was clear and sparkling in the sunlight, and then a big crack sound from a large lodgepole pine put us at high alert although nothing came crashing to the forest floor.  I had heard the statistic that more people die from falling branches than bear attacks.  We were quite bear aware and people on the trail in front of us saw one and started sounding off to warn us, but he must have retreated in the opposite direction because we never saw one, although I had my safety off the bear spray, ready to shoot.  We decided that numbers were the best defense and stayed pretty close to the large family who we had met earlier and sounded the warning as we hiked back.   This was close to a 5 mile day as we went a bit further to Huckelberry Point on the Phelps Lake Loop. 

Teton Biking

In the Moose / Jenny Lake area there are paved bike trails that are separated by at least 10 feet from the roads,  making riding so relaxing as you gaze across to the Grand Teton Mountains, not worried about getting run over by a motorist who is doing the same.    I had heard the bike paths are incredible, but the thing that really is the bees knees is that you can park along the road, close to the overcrowded trail head parking – like at Jenny Lake and just ride a mile or so without having to deal with the parking nightmare.  We had parked at the Dornans Village Center, but one could also park at the Craig Thomas Visitors Center to pick up the 7 ½ mile Grand Teton Multi-use Trail (GTMT) to Jenny Lake and further.  It is a bit uphill, but made the return after the Boat Shuttle and Inspiration Point Hike (5 mile roundtrip) very welcoming.  Generally, the trail was just a gradual uphill and we passed only about a dozen riders to Jenny Lake in this first week of June timeframe. I never even had to do the push-push because inclines were so gradual.

On this 7 miles Bike trail to Jenny Lake,  we passed trail heads for Taggart Lake, Glacier Point and Lupine Meadows all of which could have been hikes without depending on parking areas all with the incredible surrounding of the Tetons. We rode all the way to Jenny and decided to take the shuttle across the lake to hike Inspiration and Hidden Falls Trails.  

The volunteer told me that this day was not crowded at all compared to July and August, but the trail was pretty crowded and the hike had some steep rocky cliffs that look more scary in the photos. 

Shuttle Boats run continuously, but one can always make the two mile hike around Jenny to the trailhead if you missed the last shuttle or don’t want to wait in line. 

The top not only had an incredible view, but also we found very forward chipmunks who climbed upon a resting John. 

Luckily the Edge Police of Kauai were not to be found as we made our way along a drop off section that looks much worse on the video and I didn’t fall over the cliff while videoing it.   We had to wait in line for about 30 minute to use the return shuttle.  The white caps on Jenny were rolling as the wind had picked up considerably.  We were glad to be riding the 7.5 miles back on the gradual down hill.

The Silver Dollar Saloon in the Wort Hotel was recommended by our water shuttle gal.  We usually go by recommendation and were able to take in the Stanley cup play-off where the trailing Caroline Panther (0-4) all of a sudden tied the game. Generally, the people in Jackson were not so friendly when it comes to wait staff except for our Silver Dollar Bartender, even a couple from Central Michigan were not to be engaged. 

On Sunday we decided to try and find wildlife, of course we are generally too late because they are out early and at dusk when it’s cool.  I had another plan and as we drove past some of the famous point like the Moulton Barn that makes for a sure pretty pic.

Bison Search

Schwabacher’s Landing Trail along the Moose River where I had a plan to fry up sausage and onions and from a perfect spot in the parking lot in hopes to attract a bear.  Even though I did a double batch in preparation for Potato Kale Soup – no big browns to be seen, but some beautiful reflections on the Snake River.  

Oh well, we continued on to Snake River Overlook (Ansel Adams famous photo, but nowadays some pines blocking the view he had).  

Making our way north to Signal Mountain Campground, Oxbow Bend and Cattleman’s Bridge where only some Ducks were to be found.  

Just before coming to the Moran Entrance of the park, there was a huge herd of bison grazing.  

They are so awkward when they run and the baby bison had the zoomies and were trying to get the others to play along.  We got Signal Mountain Campground #41, right along Jackson Lake where drop off to the lake was 25 feet down a steep dirt embankment and the wind was blowing. 

Wildlife Day Tour and More

Wildlife Day would begin on Monday.  As I sat on the high bank and had my coffee, a fox scurried down, took a quick drink and off he went back up. 

It gets better as I made breakfast,  John noticed some movement in the bushes in the next campsite and it was non-other than “Hollywood”. He is a huge Elk with full set of seasonal fur horns.  

He was laying down chewing his cud.  We watched him for about 2 hours as he eventually rose and wandered less than 20 yards to new fauna to chew.  We would later learn that he has hung around Signal Hill Campground for years and does not join other Elks in their annual routines.  He is quite content to be the star of the Campground and hence named “Hollywood”

We continued our day and would do an official Wildlife Eco Tour later that evening in which the highlight was our Grizzly viewing off the John D Rockefeller Jr Parkway,  just north of Leeks Marina Rd. 

The Bear Police were out preventing tourists from coming too close and trying to clear a path for him to cross the road.  He was just doing what bears do, digging up his favorite plants to eat pretty much unaware of his growing audience.  He did stand up on his hind legs and look across the street inquisitively, but just went back to foraging.  We were able to observe out of the rooftop hatches of our tour van for almost 30 minutes before he moved toward us and we were asked to clear the path to the road where we had parked.

Among other wildlife we saw far off through the scope were huge Sand Hill Cranes, Great Blue Heron Nest, Two Eagles, Mule deer and an American Prong Horn which is evidently related to the giraffe. Our guide was a wolf fanatic and learned much about the wolf pack lifestyle, where there was only one breeding pair and the pack mayhem that results when one is shot since hunting is legal outside the park boundaries.  Managing wildlife is certainly a many angled issue.  Evidently a bear made its way into the center square of Jackson the evening prior!  You just never know when one is around the corner and we carry bear spray that you point toward their feet when 15 to 30 feet away if they appear aggressive. 

String and Leigh Lake Hike

String and Leigh Lake came between our Hollywood and Grizzly Encounters on Monday.  String Lake is an ideal Paddling Lake with two big parking lots and many places to put in the SUP, I can imagine it is a zoo on the weekend, but on Monday afternoon it was delightful.   Evidently, it is relatively shallow and not the hypothermia risk like the larger Jackson Lake.  It is narrow and runs under the beautiful snow capped peaks.  One cannot cross to Leigh Lake and must carry the vessel for ¼ mile of so to enter a very nice ramp to carry on with your paddling.  

Signal Mountain Overlook

Rainy days happen, and we decided to find the Signal Mountain Lodge Restaurant where we met Sloan from New Orleans.  She knew of our favorite venue Fritzels and the Three Muses.  This was not enough coincidence as she was also friends with Xochi from the Three Muses who provided us with such a memorable cocktail mixing evening that she was in my blog. Such a small world.  Well after our delightful dinner of filet mignon, the skies were clearing and we decide to drive up to Signal Mountain Overlook for a view of the Snake River and the non-Teton side of Park. 

Grand View Point Trail

Ventured out in the afternoon as the day was slow to start due to threatening clouds and sprinkles.  More beautiful views and wildflowers, but no wildlife.  Found spot 100 at the Colter Bay Campground as the rain turned to snow.  Luckily no accumulation, but the night was cold with temperature dropping to freezing.

Snake River Raft Trip

Sun was in the forecast for the next days and the Snake River was on our agenda. The morning drive presented a mid level cloud layer on the Tetons. 

The many bald eagles were the highlight of this trip.  

A very pleasant float during this mid afternoon with some osprey, a red tail hawk, beaver homes, Canadian geese, and ducks.   We preferred the van tour because you could stop and look more easily unlike the raft where you were on the move and sometimes lost it before you could find it.  Dad Joke collection: Why do ducks have tailfeathers?   to cover up their butt quacks.  We were going to do another raft trip in a more northern section of the Snake, but the mornings when wildlife was active was freezing during our stay at the Tetons, and we were good with the floating. 

Cutty Grill – Eagles Bar

When John sits with a bunch of people for any length of time, it is always known that an Eagles Fan is present, especially since we saw so many in the wild.  Brennon recommended that we go to Cutty’s Grill for cheesesteaks because the owner is from Philly.  Well the place turned out to be a true Eagles Bar and there were all kinds of Eagles paraphernalia and posters around the place not to mention Flyers and Phillies to a lesser extent. Got to chat with the owner and friendly wait staff about everything Philly !   We now know of the official Eagles Bar Map of the US and further.

Jackson 

Jackson is almost an hour from Colter Bay and we decided to walk the town a bit, but first a nap under a perfect flat parking spot under a tree near a quiet park after rafting and those cheesesteaks.  The iconic antler horn photo was in order as the four corners of the town square is entered through these great antler archways.  We were stopped by at least half a dozen “Go Birds” salutes as John walked with his Eagles T-shirt through town.  We had a lovely tapas and wine libation at the Italian restaurant, Orsetto.  John is turning to red wine these days – although the Snake River Brewery was on the list, this quaint Italian Bistro called to him and we had delicious fare.  There were tons of places to eat, ice cream. Not much live music on this Thursday night, but I liked the fact that the stores were no designer but more western wear and art.  Jackson like Key West and Vail are one of those very expensive places to stay.  The Jackson ski slopes came right down to the center of  town much like in Mammoth.

String Lake Paddling 

We had seen the stiff winds on both Jenny Lake and Jackson Lake and decided we had better opt for String Lake as it is the calmest.  There is a huge parking area here and multiple places to float a SUP from a nice gravely shoreline.  The paddling under the massive Teton mountains was beautiful and we even saw an eagle.  We had gotten permits for our paddle boards at the inspection station at Moran Entrance Station ($25 each but we were in regs) This paddle was among the most beautiful and relaxing of all times, although the late afternoon winds would blow so we were careful on which direction to head out.  

Paddle Colter Bay, Jackson Lake

Spot 100 at Colter Bay Campground was perfect,  and we took the adjoining 2 min path to the Lake to find ourselves in the towering majesty of Tetons.  

The day was balmy and the sunny but relatively cool weather had arrived – perfect for paddling without a swim.   

We paddled out to a tiny island looking for a moose like we had seen at Lilly Bay State Park in Maine, but only found some agitated robins.

In the late afternoon, we took the 3 mile hike around Colter Bay and had dinner at the Restaurant where we had our first delicious bison burger and I had a huckleberry margarita.  Huckleberry is big in these parts.  Our neighbors from Colorado invited us to their fire,  Mandi and Jordan Ruiz who told us to look them up if staying in the Colorado Springs Area.  Very nice firefighter and speech pathologist, with two young children who were traveling with his  sister and her two kids from Santa Barbara.  

Taggart Lake Trail

This hike was highly recommended, so we didn’t want to miss out although it was in the opposite direction from Yellowstone, our next accomodation.  It did not disappoint and again the alpine lake was tucked up against the Teton Range.  We found that going to these popular hikes around noon is not bad because the early birds are leaving and scattered parking becomes available in the lot and not on the highway where there were throngs of parked cars. The trail had many scenic views, but was at 7000 feet elevation where the air is thin and the re-oxygenating is necessary by frequent rests.  

This was a excellent way to culminate our the Grand Tetons and now off to Yellowstone which is only about 50 miles up the Parkway.