Grand Tetons National Park

Aaron Gurley
Aug 10
3 min read

After a visit to the massive park that is Yellowstone, we were ready to get back to our favorite mountain range... the Rockys and visit Grand Teton National Park! We chose to take the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway which connects Yellowstone to Grand Teton NPs and the drive and views did not disappoint!

Trip Details:

Where: Grand Teton National Park

Campsite: Virginian RV Park in Jackson, WY - This campground had a fantastic pool and outdoor area! There were plenty of large fire pits around the pool and hot tubs. They also had yard games, live music and s'mores nights! We highly recommend this campground.

Length: 4 days

Itinerary:

Day 1 - Travel Day/Pool Time

Day 2 - Jackson Hole/Pool Time

Day 3 - Grand Teton NP Hiking and Paddle boarding/Pool Time

Day 4 - Grand Teton NP Hiking and Paddle boarding/Pool Time

Highlights:

Paige: Loved taking the gondolas up to the top of the mountain to see the views from the skywalk!

Charlotte: Loved the long hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point to see the sights from above!

Mary: Seeing the Tetons! Love me some snowcapped mountains!

Aaron: Hiking Taggart Lake Loop trail, having the lake to ourselves!

Once we set up camp, the kids ran to the pool for a full afternoon and evening swim. Katie and I even brought charcuterie dinner for everyone at the pool that evening and enjoyed the fire pit near the hot tub!

So this portion of the trip was originally a 2 night stay, but after learning more about the national park and looking at it longer, we were worried we'd fall in love with it and would want to stay longer. So we extended it for 2 more night and loved this decision. The Grand Teton National Park is breathtaking!

The first full day, we chose to visit Jackson Hole and purchased a Summer Sightseeting Family Pass (up to 2 adults and 4 children) to ride the 2 gondolas (Bridger and Sweetwater) and an Aerial Tram. We first went up the Bridger Gondola and enjoyed a pizza lunch on top of the mountain at Off-Piste Market. We could not have gotten better luck with the weather. It was sunny with a little breeze and was perfect to sit out and enjoy lunch with a view.

We then went to the Aerial Tram and went on the Grand Teton Skywalk! This skywalk gave us some fantastic views of the mountain range and being over 10,000 feet high, we felt like we were on top of the world!

After watching a couple people paraglide off the side of the mountain, we headed over to Corbet's Cabin for their famous waffles! You need to make sure to get there before they close as they stop making waffles at 4pm! At closing, they make a few to sample for those who didn't make it up in time! Max loves waffles and found his happy place!

After this long day, let's just say things were getting a little crazy.... and then the pool again.

Our next day took us into Grand Teton National Park. We got up early and went into the park to hike Taggart Lake Loop. This is a pretty popular hike, but we were lucky enough to get there early and enjoy the lake to ourselves for a little bit. This hike is almost a 4-mile loop and took us 2.5 hours to hike and enjoy it.

After lunch, we met up with the Kuhlmans and enjoyed swimming and paddle boarding at String Lake (right near the famous Jenny Lake).

Our final day in the national park took us right back to hiking in the morning and paddle boarding in the afternoon. However, our morning hike turned into a morning and afternoon hike. We parked at String Lake again, and hiked Jenny Lake Loop Trail (from String Lake area) to Hidden Falls to Inspiration Point! Needless to say, this was a good 6.5 mile hike that took us over 4 hours! The views were worth it!

Pictures below are from String Lake to Jenny Lake Loop Trail.