EXPLORING Grand teton and yellowstone national parks
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For a week-long summer adventure exploring Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks from Denver, consider this itinerary. Like the Colorado and Utah road trip, this adventure was planned and shared by my daughter, and involved renting a camping van for the week from Outdoorsy. Campsite reservations in the parks were made over 6 months in advance (check the park website for exact dates as to when sites are released). The trip starts and ends in Denver, Colorado, exploring several lakes in Grand Teton and stops in Yellowstone including Old Faithful and the Grand Prismatic Spring.
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Here is the general itinerary they followed for this 7 day adventure from Denver to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks in a rented camper van. Similar to the Colorado to Utah adventure, they share their twenty-something point of view and adventurous activities (some hikes are for experienced hikers). Before planning any road trips, check the individual national park websites for the most current information about any closures within the parks and plan ahead to see if entrance reservations are required. Always carry extra water and emergency supplies for your road trip. Download the National Park App and save the parks for offline use before you head out to access maps and available trail information! Always stay within your hiking limits based on your own experience.
Day 1: Drive from Denver to Grand Teton National Park, stopping in Jackson Hole. Camp at Gros Ventre. (between 7.5 and 8 hours from Denver to Jackson Hole)
Day 2: Hike to Delta Lake in Tetons. Camp at Colter Bay.
Day 3: Jenny Lake Ferry, hike Cascade Canyon, Jenny Lake Swim beach. Camp at Colter Bay.
Day 4: Kayak String & Leigh Lake. Dinner at Leek’s Pizzeria. Camp at Lizard Creek.
Day 5: Drive from Tetons to Yellowstone. Old Faithful geyser, Grand Prismatic Hot Spring, + all surrounding geysers/hot springs/basin walks. Camp at Madison Campground.
Day 6: Artist Paint Pots, Mammoth Hot Springs, wildlife viewing in Lamar Valley. Camp at Canyon Campground.
Day 7: Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Lower Falls. Drive back to Denver. (~10-12 hours)
Day 1: Drive from Denver to Grand Teton National Park, stopping in Jackson Hole. Camp at Gros Ventre. (between 7.5 and 8 hours from Denver to Jackson Hole)
Day 2: Hike to Delta Lake in Tetons. Camp at Colter Bay.
Day 3: Jenny Lake Ferry, hike Cascade Canyon, Jenny Lake Swim beach. Camp at Colter Bay.
Day 4: Kayak String & Leigh Lake. Dinner at Leek’s Pizzeria. Camp at Lizard Creek.
Day 5: Drive from Tetons to Yellowstone. Old Faithful geyser, Grand Prismatic Hot Spring, + all surrounding geysers/hot springs/basin walks. Camp at Madison Campground.
Day 6: Artist Paint Pots, Mammoth Hot Springs, wildlife viewing in Lamar Valley. Camp at Canyon Campground.
Day 7: Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Lower Falls. Drive back to Denver. (~10-12 hours)
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Day 1: We left Denver to drive approximately 7.5 hours to Grand Teton National Park. Stopped for dinner in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which is 15 minutes from the park entrance. Checked out the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar and Antler arches in the town square before grabbing dinner at Jackson Drug & Original Soda Fountain. Highly recommend the Huckleberry-Oreo milkshake! Heading into the park, we caught a spectacular sunset over the Tetons at Mormon Row before settling into our Gros Ventre campsite. We did not yet pass a park admission station until the next morning.
Day 2: Woke up during sunrise and drove to the trailhead to ensure snagging a parking spot before it filled up. We kicked off with a hike from the Lupine Meadows Trailhead to Delta Lake (7.2 miles), which is an unmarked trail but has become very popular via the internet and was still pretty busy. This hike is hard and for experienced hikers but very rewarding with stunning views of an alpine lake at the base of the Grand Teton! On the way back down, we took a detour to see the larger, Bradley Lake. Make sure you always carry bear spray that is easily accessible- a grizzly bear walked right past us, about 25 feet away from us. We ended up hiking 10 miles with our added detour and ended the night stargazing in our campsite at Colter Bay.
Day 3: Took the ferry across Jenny Lake ($20 round trip) where we hiked to Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point, and through Cascade Canyon. This trail is an out and back that was a total of 9 miles. You can add on Lake Solitude after the Canyon for a total of 14 miles. After the return ferry, we jumped in the Jenny Lake Swim Beach to cool off and catch amazing views of the Tetons. On the way back to Colter Bay, we stopped at the photogenic String Lake bridge, a short walk from the parking area. We stayed two nights at Colter Bay. This campsite is great since it has great marina views, a general store, gas, a restaurant, a central location, and laundry and showers (for a fee). On our last night, we watched the sunset over the Tetons from Colter Bay Swim Beach.
On the 4th day, kayaked String Lake and Leigh Lake. String Lake has the best surrounding mountain views, with clear/glassy water if you get out early enough! We needed to exit the water and carry our kayak (portage) about 100 yards to Leigh Lake. Leigh is much bigger and has a bit more of a current. We spent some time searching the banks for wildlife. String Lake became a swimming destination for many families in the afternoon, so we took some time to swim and cool off. Once dried off, we stopped for dinner at Leek’s Pizzeria overlooking another marina and the Tetons. Finished off the night at our final campground in Tetons, Lizard Creek.
On day 5, we drove about an hour into Yellowstone, to reach the Old Faithful Geyser. The Old Faithful Visitors center has the next predicted eruption times displayed, if you don’t want to sit and wait like we did. After we saw Old Faithful erupt once, we wandered around the surrounding basin to see hundreds of other geysers! Some are predictable, most are not and we luckily caught a few going off. Our surprise favorite eruption we caught was from Castle Geyser. We took off on the drive up Yellowstone’s lower loop, stopping at attractions like Grand Prismatic Hot Spring, the Paint Pots and Firehole Canyon Road. While in Yellowstone, it’s important to always stay on the boardwalks and designated trails! Took a sunset stroll through the Madison Picnic Area before settling into Madison Campground for the night.
Tip: If you plan to visit several national parks that charge a fee, consider purchasing an America the Beautiful Pass either before you go or at the first park you visit.
Day 6: Drove up towards the North side of Yellowstone, stopping at the Artist Paint Pots and doing the surrounding basin walk. Stopped for lunch at Terrace Grill in Mammoth before exploring the Mammoth Hot Springs. Mammoth is one of the only areas inside the park with reliable cell service but it is never a guarantee! Continuing our drive, we saw a waterfall and hiked down the Hellroaring Trail to the Yellowstone River Suspension Bridge (short, but hard), before the wildlife viewing portion of the drive. Most of the wildlife we encountered were on the North loop of the park, away from the geysers. Shortly past Tower Junction, we ran into our first bison herd! There must have been almost a thousand bison, causing a famous Yellowstone traffic jam when a few decided to cross the street. We got such a good view from our car, we didn’t even need our binoculars. Once done hanging with the first herd, we kept driving through Lamar Valley which is famous for housing much of Yellowstone’s wildlife. We saw hundreds more bison and a lone wolf along the road! Our last campsite was Canyon Campground, and the road from Lamar Valley turns into a super windy, high elevation road past tons of wildflowers and peak views.
Day 7: Canyon Campground is located right next door to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, so we made sure we checked out the views early in the morning before hitting the road back to Denver. We stayed on the South Side and got to hike down to Lower Falls Brink, as well as view the falls/canyon from multiple overlooks. Once satisfied with our last views, we headed back to Denver. Our drive home took about 10 hours with stops for food/gas (allow up to 12 hours).
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