We are very excited for this stop – Grand Teton National Park. Dramatic mountain vistas, glistening blue alpine lakes, wildlife and spectacular hiking. We expect this stop to be one of the highlights of the trip and it doesn’t disappoint us!
Even the drive to the park from Cody is spectacular. We drive through Yellowstone National Park to get to Grand Teton (located in northwest Wyoming). We pass mountains, fields of wildflowers and stunning blue lakes. We even pass several buffalo. We will be headed back to visit Yellowstone afterwards so this is just an appetizer.
Happily, our ride takes us only three and a half hours and we have no incidents. We are a little concerned because this is the first time we have overridden our trusted RV navigation. It has our Airstream’s dimensions in it and is good about making sure we don’t end up stuck under a bridge or on a narrow mountain road. But this time, it has routed us completely around Yellowstone, turning our 3.5 hour drive into a 5.5 hour drive! We think that it is because our RV navigator won’t route us through the National Parks due to the fees, and that seems to be the case, as we make it to the park without incident.
We are staying in the park, in the Colter Bay Campground (with full hookups!) on Jackson Lake. The site is a little bit unlevel but after some adjustments with our levelers we were all set and ready for four nights in the park. We have a lovely shaded site and we are a five-minute walk from the Colter Bay Visitor Center and Jackson Lake.
As usual our first stop is the visitor center for Elle’s junior ranger book, maps, hiking advice and our passport stamp. When we arrived at the campground, we were given the instructions on securing food and trash from bears; we also notice that every trailhead has bear warning signs. We ask the ranger if we really need to have bear spray if we are planning on hiking the more popular trails. We aren’t planning on heading out to remote areas. “I wouldn’t hike without it” is her reply. We immediately go over to the park store and make our purchase.
Colter Bay has a small swimming beach, and we walk over just to see what it’s like. It’s a pebble beach that leads into the cold mountain-fed water, with stunning mountain views across the lake. Elle cannot resist joining the children already in the water and just pushes up her leggings and dashes in. Even in July the water is ice cold, but she doesn’t care. She splashes happily and this becomes a daily routine for all four nights.
Our first day, we start off bright and early with an 8:30 ranger-led hike to Taggart Lake. On the drive to the trailhead we spot some pronghorn wandering among the sagebrush on the valley floor. The Taggart Lake trail is a beautiful 3-mile hike with mountain views and a crystal blue lake.
We see the park’s namesake, the Grand Teton at 13,770 feet high, the highest peak in the Teton Range.
That afternoon we relax back at the Airstream, doing laundry while Elle works on her junior ranger booklet. At dusk we take a drive looking for animals, one of the best time to view – we see some distant elk but nothing else appears.
The next day we hike part way around Jenny Lake. Again, we get an 8:30am start and, as a result, have the trail to virtually to ourselves – this is normally a good thing, but in the back of our minds we are thinking… bears! DT keeps a good grip on the bear spray, but of course there is no sign of any bears. Nevertheless, we are glad we have the spray. By 10:30 the trail is filled with hikers.
After we finish our hike, we continue on to Menor’s Ferry historic district: a small chapel, the old ferry, and an operating general store.
We leave the park to check out the ski town of Jackson, Wyoming. Cute but very touristy town, jammed with shops, restaurants and bars. We take a walk around town, have lunch and then return to the peace and serenity of the park.
Back in the park we stop at the Laurance Rockefeller Preserve. Beautiful – both the preserve as well as the visitor center (that seamlessly blended into the landscape). While we’re there Elle participates in a junior ranger program.
We continue on the scenic drive through the park, we spot some distant moose (they look more like black dots), and some shaggy, close up buffalo. We visit the old homesteads on Mormon Row, and admire the timeless beauty of the park.
Our last day, we drive the narrow, winding road to the top of Signal Mountain and admire the views and on the way down we get stuck in a traffic jam… not any traffic jam but a bear jam! Apparently, there is a mom and a cub, but we only catch a glimpse of the cub as it scampers up a tree then off into the woods!
After a light lunch in the Airstream we walk down to the Colter Bay dock and rent a canoe and spend the afternoon rowing along the shore of Jackson Lake. Elle loves it. As we are canoeing, a bird swoops right over our head and lands in a nearby tree on the shore – it’s an eagle! Amazing. It really is relaxing and a perfect last afternoon in the park…
Tomorrow we will make the short drive north to our much-anticipated stop in Yellowstone!