United States, Wyoming – 22 months later, back to Grand Teton National Park!

Grand Teton National Park, one of our favorite parks in the United States! Stunning hikes, incredible campsites, and amazing wildlife encounters! This is our second time visiting, so will it live up to our memories? Spoiler: yes! 😀

Sunday, July 14^th, 2024

From Utah to Wyoming, it's just a step… or almost! From Salt Lake City, charming country roads take us through fields, pastures, and farms in Wyoming. We arrive in Jackson Hole in the afternoon. We had visited this little cowboy town during our previous trip to the area in September 2022. Today, we don’t linger and head straight to Grand Teton National Park. Without a doubt, it's one of our favorite national parks in the U.S. We wonder if our return will confirm (or not) our ❤️ for the park. But as soon as we pass the entrance gate, we find ourselves face-to-face with the Teton mountain range. And we already know that yes, we are going to love this park once again!

To stretch our legs after the long hours on the road, we set out on an easy 6-kilometer hike around String Lake. But first, it's time to bring out our bear gear! We grab our two bear sprays, which have never really left our side (we’ve slept with a bear spray every night of the trip...), and we dig out the bear bell from the depths of the Jeep, meant to alert any bears potentially hidden in the bushes to our presence! After that, we’re all set for the hike 🥾.

After our short warm-up around the lake, it's time to find a spot for the night. Of course, sleeping inside the national park is out of the question, as wild camping is strictly forbidden. But no worries, because at Grand Teton, we have a great spot: Shadow Mountain. This hill offers plenty of free camping spots. The only issue is that the place is very popular! It’s 6 p.m., and many spots are already taken. Well, taken is a bit of a stretch! Some campers arrive early just to leave a chair on a spot to reserve it. Ugh, not very fair play!

Fortunately, we find a spot at the bottom of the hill, nestled between a van and a tent. It's definitely not the best spot around, but it'll do for tonight. Plus, as we head up the hill, we get a beautiful view of the Teton Range! We spend a relatively rainy evening under the awning, then head to bed in the Jeep because tomorrow, we’re getting up early!

Monday, July 15^th

5:30 AM, the alarm goes off. By 6 AM, we leave our spot to head to Grand Teton National Park and the starting point of our hike for the day. This morning, we’re setting off on a 12-kilometer hike towards Delta Lake. The trail begins through the woods...

Then we cross the tree line and reach the blooming meadows. The trail climbs steadily in switchbacks, and around one bend, we see four hikers stopped. We look up and spot a mule deer, standing still and staring intently in one direction. Following its gaze, what do we see? A bear! It's just above the trail, nestled in a bush, eating berries. It's quite small, so for a brief moment, we worry about the protective mother appearing from the bushes. But the hikers ahead of us inform us that it's a juvenile, a cub from the previous year that's now independent. Phew! We watch it feed for a while, with no one daring to continue for fear of getting too close. Small bear, but still a bear! Eventually, it scampers off into the meadow, clearing the way for us.

Feeling thrilled after seeing the bear, we continue our hike. The final stretch toward the lake becomes especially steep and rugged.

But we eventually reach Delta Lake. The view of the glacial lake with its milky water is particularly stunning. In the backdrop, Grand Teton, the tallest peak in the park, towers over us with its full height.

After a quick snack by the lake, it’s time to head back to the parking lot. There, we enjoy sandwiches in the company of a few very unafraid American antelopes. Then, we’re off for our second hike of the day! This time, we embark on a 10-kilometer round-trip trail along Moose Lake (where we had indeed spotted a moose during our first visit) and then Jenny Lake. This trail is much busier, but we’re fortunate enough to briefly spot a bear with her two cubs! It seems we’re having a lucky day with bears.

We also spot a moose, standing still in the bushes as if it could disappear and escape the ecstatic crowd. We avoid disturbing it and continue our way to Hidden Falls. The falls are beautiful, but the crowd is dense, so we prefer to retreat. In the end, the less frequented trails are the most beautiful!

After these two hikes and 22 kilometers in total, we arrive at the Jeep feeling particularly exhausted. For the evening, it’s back to Shadow Mountain. This time, it’s earlier than the night before, so we hope to find a spot with a view. We drive up the hill, higher and higher. All the spots are taken or reserved, and only in the last few spots do we finally find our happiness. We don’t have a view of the Teton Range, but we do have a view of the valley on the other side. That works for us! For the second time on the trip, we take out our shower curtain to take a shower out of sight from the neighboring van. 

We spend the evening fighting against particularly voracious mosquitoes. Whether we’re showering, changing clothes, cooking, eating, or reading, there’s no respite! At 8 PM, it’s time for the sunset. For the occasion, we walk a few meters to admire it over the Grand Teton mountains. It’s a magnificent sight! 😍

Tuesday, July 16^th

Barely out of the tent, we decide to pack it up and leave our spot. It’s early, but the mosquitoes are already on full attack! So, we head down the mountain to have breakfast in the valley.

After that, it’s time for us to leave Grand Teton National Park. We’ve fallen in love with this incredible national park once again, much less known and less visited than its famous neighbor: Yellowstone National Park… where we’ll be spending the next few days!