Grand Teton National Park

The camping in Yellowstone Park was $28, which included two showers and dumping use, but did not include any hook-ups. After paying for two nights we were interested in finding a cheaper place to live, if not free. On our way down to the Tetons, we remembered that our friends at the Our Take on Freedom blog had been this way previously, and they had found a great boondocking spot between Yellowstone and the Grand Teton NP. We decided to check it out, and it turned out to be great!

There is a road right off the main highway between Yellowstone and Grand Teton, called Grassy Lake Road. The first mile of the road is paved, and then it becomes a level, gravel road. About 2 miles in there is an improved camping area with 4 camp spots. Another half mile in is another camping area with 2 camp spots. We parked in area #3, where there were 2 more camping spots. If you continue further down the road you will find 4 more camping areas, all spaced about half a mile apart. Our spot was overlooking a river and meadows, with mountain views in the distance. There was a vault toilet there and a fire ring, but that was it. The location of this camping area and the cost made it a perfect place to park our trailer while we were visiting the Grand Teton National Park.

Driving on Grassy Lake Rd

Our parking spot at #3

We took a down day the first day we were on Grassy Lake road. We slept in, ate a long breakfast outside on the picnic table, and then walked our dogs down to the river. I’m pretty sure Chloe and Sam thought that this parking spot was EPIC. They had the river all to themselves, and we let them off leash, so they got to run around as much as they wanted. The remainder of the day was spent reading and going for a walk along the Grassy Lake road.

The view from campground #3

Playing with the pups in the river

The second day we finally drove down to see the Grand Teton Park. The $25 admission you pay to get into either Yellowstone or Grand Teton is good for both parks, for 7 days. Since we had the Annual Pass, we again got in with no wait and no cost. Grand Teton Park is also a driving park, where you have to drive long distances between the points of interest, but it is much smaller than Yellowstone. There is only one loop. Coming from Grassy Lake road, we drove just over 90 miles that day.

Welcome to Grand Teton National Park

Immediately after we got to the park, we saw our first moose. We hadn’t seen any moose in Yellowstone, so I was excited to spot our first glance of this animal.

Thirsty moose

We drove clockwise around the park loop. The east side of the park is pretty sparse in terms of points of interest, but does offer some great views of the Tetons. The day we visited the park there were wildfires going on in Idaho, and the drifting smoke enveloped the mountains, preventing any good panoramas. On this side of the loop we found Mormon Row, an old Mormon farming settlement. We parked and walked around to see the old buildings, set in the fields with the dramatic views of the Tetons behind them.

The view of the mountains from the east side of the loop.

On Mormon Row

Historic Mormon barn

Buffalo sunning by Mormon Row

On the southern extremity of the loop we crossed through Moose Junction, and guess what we saw there? Yup, another moose, but this time he had a massive rack and was much closer to us.

Huge moose!

The west side of the loop is much closer to the Tetons, and follows the contour of two area lakes, Jenny Lake and Jackson Lake. We’d heard that one of the more popular day hikes in the park was a 6 mile round trip hike to Inspiration Point, so we decided to join the masses and hike there. There are two ways of doing the hike: you can either trek your way around the west side of Jenny Lake, or save yourself 2 miles of hiking one way by catching a ferry across the lake ($7 one way, $10 round-trip). Since we like to hike (and to save money), we chose option one. After rounding the lake, we hiked a half mile into the canyon and found Hidden Falls, a 200 foot waterfall deep in the forest. Another half mile of hiking up into the canyon, and we got to Inspiration Point. From there you get a (so-so) inspirational view of Jenny Lake and the park meadows that stretch out from the Tetons. We ended our drive around the loop by stopping for at the Jackson Lake Lodge, where there is free wi-fi, lots of comfortable couches to sit on and a nice outdoor patio for drinks that has an epic view of the mountains and lake.

Hiking around Jenny Lake

Hidden Falls

Inspiration Point is just around the corner

In the Jackson Lake Lodge

To see more pictures of Grand Teton National Park, click here.

Happy Grand Teton,

M.