How to Spend One Day to One Week in Grand Teton

Grand Teton National Park is located in western Wyoming. From a broad plain, flattened by the winding Snake River, from dark green forests with moose and elk, the Tetons rise suddenly. These mountains are truly grand, pyramids of stone that pierce the blue sky and wrangle clouds with jagged peaks.

Grand Teton is famous for its breathtaking natural scenery and attracts millions of visitors every year. It is one of the Top Ten most visited National Parks in United States, a pristine travel destination for anyone who loves nature. 

There is something for everyone in Grand Teton. The short, easy walks to incredible views of the alpine mountains, a boat tour across Jenny Lake, and easy hikes that lead you to hidden waterfalls are perfect for families. Magnificent mountains with reflections in the winding Snake River create picture perfect views for photographers. The rugged mountains and hidden glacial lakes beckon, with the ultimate backcountry experience for avid adventurers. 

Visitors usually spend from one day to a week or more in Grand Teton. In a day, you can drive the scenic Teton Park Road to the best views of alpine mountains at turnout points, take a boat ride across Jenny Lake, and hike a short, easy trail for some hidden falls. If you love hiking and have more time to explore, Grand Teton offers over 250 miles of trails that take you through mountains, canyons, valleys, and to stunning glacial lakes.

We spent three and a half days in Grand Teton National Park. Our adventure included the scenic drive and two spectacular trails. We want to share our itinerary with you and provide more trails from our research for you to choose if your timeline is different or you want to explore more. We designed itineraries to cover how many days you plan to visit Grand Teton, from one day to one week. Download them and modify them and enjoy your trip!

A very useful app NPS (National Park Service) provides up-to-date information, including park and road closures, information on COVID19 masking advisory, popular activities status. Download the app and check the updated information before you visit.

If this is your first time visiting Grand Teton National Park, check out our other article including all travel details to Grand Teton that will help you plan your trip smoothly.

One-Day Itinerary in Grand Teton National Park

If you only have one day in Grand Teton, let’s make the best of it. 

Morning	Drive the scenic Teton Park Road
Early Afternoon	Take a boat ride across Jenny Lake and hike to Hidden Fall and Inspiration Point
Late Afternoon	Drive Signal Mountain Summit Road

The turnouts along Teton Park Road offer the most famous, iconic, and scenic views in Grand Teton.

The trail to Hidden Falls starts from Jenny Lake boat landing dock. It is 1.1-mile out-and-back easy hike. From Hidden Falls, you can continue and hike to Inspiration Point, which is one of the best spots overlook entire Jenny Lake. It is a short hike, less than 2 miles from Hidden Falls, but has one short steep session.

Signal Mountain Summit Road is a four-mile drive to the summit of Signal Mountain overlooking the valleys and Teton ranges.

Two-Day Itinerary in Grand Teton National Park

Day 1

Morning	Drive the scenic 42-mile loop along Teton Park Road and US Highway 26/89/191
Late Morning	Take a detour off Teton Park Road drive along the one-way Jenny Lake Road
Early Afternoon	Drive the Signal Mountain Summit Road to the summit of Signal Mountain
Late Afternoon	Take a scenic drive along Moose-Wilson Road, a 16-mile one-way drive perfect for spotting wildlife

Day 2

Morning	Take a boat ride across Jenny Lake
The Rest of The Day	Hike to Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point and continue hiking along Cascade Canyon Trail

Boat operation hours vary in different seasons, so be sure to check Jenny Lake boat for operating times for the day you plan to go. If there is no boat available, see below “Trail Information for Cascade Canyon Trail without Boat Ride.”

Trail Information for Cascade Canyon Trail via Boat Ride Across Jenny Lake

• Trailhead: Jenny Lake Trailhead Via Jenny Lake Boating Dock
• Length: 9.1 miles
• Elevation Gain: 1102.4 ft
• Difficulty Level: Moderate
• Estimated Total Hiking Time: 4 hours

Trail Information for Cascade Canyon Trail without Boat Ride

• Trailhead: South Jenny Lake Trailhead
• Length: 11.5 mile
• Elevation Gain: 1102.4 ft
• Difficulty Level: Moderate
• Estimate Total Hiking Time: 6.5 hours

This is the trail we hiked. As the earliest boat ride starts at 10 am after Labor Day weekend, we hiked part of South Jenny Lake Trail to the trail to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point, followed by the beautiful Cascade Canyon Trail. In the afternoon, we took a boat ride back to South Jenny Lake Trailhead Parking Area, which saved us two miles of walking. We highly recommend taking a boat ride, even just a one-way ride: after a long day of hiking, two more miles of walking can take forever to finish. 

For avid hikers, from the end of Cascade Canyon Trail you can continue on and hike to Lake Solitude, which adds an extra 5.4 miles to the total length.

Three-Day Itinerary in Grand Teton National Park

Day 1 & 2

Follow the Two-Day Itinerary in Grand Teton National Park

Day 3

Hike Surprise, Amphitheater and Delta Lakes Trail 

Trail Information

• Trailhead: Lupine Meadows Trailhead 

• Length: 11.5 miles

• Elevation Gain: 3667 ft

• Difficulty Level: Hard

• Estimated Total Hiking Time: 7.5 hours 

This is a very rewarding trail. You can see three stunning glacier-fed lakes in one hike. Each lake has its own unique color and character. Delta Lake is considered one of the most beautiful glacial lakes in Grand Teton National Park by many hikers and photographers.

The trail to Delta Lake is unmarked and unofficial, which means the condition of the trail is harder than official trails. This part of the trail is about two miles long, including two major boulder rockfalls and a steep dirt path. 

As this part of trail is not marked, we found it very helpful to use an offline map from AllTrails to navigate. This is a very popular trail, so unless you hike in early morning, you will likely encounter other hikers. You can ask, or team up with other hikers if you have a hard time finding the path. 

The hike to Delta Lake is the hardest part in entire trail, but once you get to Delta Lake, the reward is worth all the effort. My husband is an experienced hiker, but I had never hiked a trail more than 10 miles in a day before, nor at this difficulty level, and we made it to Delta Lake. We want to encourage you to get on it. Be prepared and be cautious, and you can make it!

I will have another article that includes more details on how to hike this trail.

Four-Day Itinerary in Grand Teton National Park

Starting with previous Three-Day Itinerary, you can choose another hike from the following trails or spend a day in the city of Jackson Hole.

Day 4

Hike Holly Lake via Leigh Lake Trail to Paintbrush Canyon Trail

This trail starts at Leigh Lake Trailhead and will lead you through another canyon valley, Paintbrush Canyon.

Trail Information

• Trailhead: Leigh Lake Trailhead 

• Length: 13 miles

• Elevation Gain: 2713.3 ft

• Difficulty Level: Hard

• Estimated Total Hiking Time: 7 hours

Five-Day Itinerary in Grand Teton National Park

With the previous Four-Day Itinerary, add one more day to go hiking, biking, or fishing.

Day 5 

After three hiking days, you can plan a day for relaxation and give your legs a little break.  Enjoy a pleasant stroll around Leigh Lake trail and explore Jackson Hole later in the afternoon.

Trail Information

• Trailhead: Leigh Lake Trailhead 

• Length: 7 miles

• Elevation Gain: 111 ft

• Difficulty Level: Easy

• Estimated Total Hiking Time: 2 hours

Alternatives:

Biking along the Grand Teton Pathway

Go Fishing. There are many places to fly fish in Grand Teton, and here you can get detail information and rules for fishing in Tetons. Some of the best places to Fly Fish are Snake River, Jenny Lake, Leigh Lake and Jackson Lake.

Six to Seven Day Itinerary in Grand Teton National Park

Day 1-5

Follow the Five-Day Itinerary in Grand Teton National Park

Day 6

Hike Bradley and Taggart Lakes via Valley Trail and Lupine Meadows

Trail Information 

• Trailhead: Leigh Lake Trailhead 

• Length: 13 miles

• Elevation Gain: 2713.3 ft

• Difficulty Level: Hard

• Estimated Total Hiking Time: 7 hours

Day 7

Hike Death Canyon and Phelps Lake Loop

Trail Information 

• Trailhead: Death Canyon Trailhead 

• Length: 7.6 miles

• Elevation Gain: 1279.5 ft

• Difficulty Level: Moderate

• Estimated Total Hiking Time: 4 hours

An alternative option for backpackers

Day 6 & 7

Hike the Teton Crest Trail. This trail has it all, including canyons, glacial lakes, and mountain peaks. You can combine this trail with other trails to create your own unique backcountry experience in Grand Teton. 

Trail Information for Teton Crest Trail 

• Trailhead: Jenny Lake Trailhead at Jenny Lake Boat Landing Deck

• Length: 25.7 miles

• Elevation Gain: 3828 ft

• Difficulty Level: Hard

• Estimated Total Hiking Time: 14 hours 

Tips for hiking in Grand Teton National Park

• Wear professional hiking boots instead of sneakers 
• Wear fast-dry clothes as you will get sweaty along the hike and the weather gets cooler and windier by the lakes
• Trekking poles can be very helpful. They take weight off your legs when going uphill and release some pressure on your knees going downhill.
• Pack enough water. We packed 3 liters of water each on the 11.5-mile hike and felt that it was more than enough. 2 to 2.5-liters of water per person should be enough for a not super-hot summer day.
• Pack lunch and snacks. We packed deli sandwiches, jerky and protein bars. Pack some candy that can immediately raise your blood sugar – this can be very helpful on a hike.
• Bring a first-aid kit. 
• Pack a light rain jacket. Not a rain poncho, instead, get an outdoor style water-resistant, wind-breaker jacket.
• If you hike in the late fall when the weather is cooler, pack a hat, a neck gaiter, and gloves.
• Bring bear spray. Hiking in bear country, bear spray is your life insurance.
• If you use your mobile phone for navigation, download offline trail maps.
• Highly recommend bringing a battery bank. Offline trail navigation consumes a lot of battery. By late afternoon, our phone often had less than 20% of battery left.
• Bring sunscreen.
• Bring your camera!