Jenny Lake, which sits at the base of Cascade Canyon is one of the highlights of a visit to Grand Teton National Park. You can boat, hike, camp or picnic at Jenny Lake.
The lakeshore is split into two self-explanatory zones: South and North Jenny Lake. The South Jenny Lake area has more amenities and is the location of the visitor center, ranger station, campground and docks. The north area features a boat launch, picnic area, and trailhead but on the whole, North Jenny Lake is a bit quieter and has less crowds.
Like most locations in Grand Teton National Park, Jenny Lake is easy to find. Multiple signs indicate the North and South recreation areas from the Teton Park Road.
After you've gotten your pass and parked your car, there's only one question left: What to do?
Hiking around Jenny Lake gives you unique views of the Tetons without the demanding climbs typically required to explore the backcountry and the opportunity to witness various wildlife. Due to time constraints however, we opted to take the Jenny Lake shuttle across to the North side. The ferry departs from South Jenny Lake roughly every 15 minutes. We nearly had to hike back around the 7.1 mile Jenny Lake trail loop however, as we were running to catch the last ferry back across the lake.
There are several short and longer hikes from the Jenny Lake trailheads. At the start and throughout our hike we encountered many cute Chipmunks. The day of our hike, the weather was very hot, so ensure you take lots of water.
Phelps Lake Overlook - A mirror-like lake, extensive woodland views, and the crags of Death Canyon are ample rewards on this moderate hike. By adding another mile and a half, you can sit on the sandy shores of Phelps Lake or follow the trail along its edge to find the “Jumping Rock.” It’s easy to pick out once you’ve heard the enthusiastic squeals of fellow jumpers.
We ended up hiking for around 8 hours that day. The views were absolutely amazing.
We stopped for lunch and were joined by a small group of fellow hikers, all in their 70's and John celebrating his 75th birthday that day.
The Inspiration Point & Hidden Falls hike is one of the most popular hikes in the Tetons.
This Pika decided to take a quick peek from under his rock, to see who his new visitors were.
We continued through this stunning scenery until we reached the waterfall and then had to quickly hike back, as we were hoping to catch the last ferry back to the other side of Jenny Lake.
After our day of hiking we opted for some water time. We hired a motor boat at Coulter Bay and went searching for animals. We were hoping to spend the day on the lake, but after a couple of hours saw dark clouds forming and the loud rumbling from the lightning bolts ensued. The inevitable "call back" over the Walkie Talkie came, as the storm approached very quickly. A mad scramble to try and cover the camera gear under our waterproof gear, lead to the camera gear staying dry and us - "well you can imagine".
Lunch in our Tee Pee, at Coulter Bay.
This gorgeous fawn was watching us closely.
