Trip Report Part 1 (Long)- Grand Tetons were Amazing

We arrived in Salt Lake City late Friday night and stayed in the Radisson Airport Hotel which we got on hotwire for $68. The room was fine. We drove around the city and got a glimpse of the Mormon temple from our car. Then we headed toward Jackson. We took the scenic route and drove through Bear Lake and the ';Land of SmallTowns';. It was a beautiful drive with constantly changing scenery and numerous interesting historical points along the way

We check in at the Wagon Wheel Village where we stayed in a Wyoming Suite. The hotel was really neat with a western feel. We had a balcony with a view a Cache Creek. The creek had a lot of ducks and geese which was both a blessing and a curse. The geese woke us up every morning around 6:00 AM. But it was a real treat when four gooslings showed up at the end of our trip.

Sunday was our first day in the park. We headed out early because we signed up for a 9:30 Snake River float trip with Solitude. The Tetons took my breath away from the first glimpse. I think the snow on the mountain tops made them especially beautiful. We saw our first moose before we even bought our park permit. It was in the trees just before the checkpoint.

The Snake River float was pretty relaxing. We took lots of pictures with views of the Teton from the raft. We saw Elk and a Bald Eagle on the trip. After the trip, we were ready for lunch. We thought we might try Flag Ranch which is just to the north of the park. It turned out that it wasn%26#39;t open yet. But on the way up, we chanced upon one of the highlights of our trip, our first bear jam. There were 4 bears just north of Pacific Creek clearly visible from the road. There was a large one and three smallers ones. We assumed that they were black bears since grizzlys are usually found only in the backcountry. We got pictures of both the bears and the crazy people. There were people standing on cars, cars parked in the road, and lots of lots of cameras. We couldn%26#39;t believe that we lucked into seeing bears on the first day in the park.

We ended up eating lunch at Signal Mountain Lodge. The Elk Chilli was really good. Around 4:00 PM we decided to do the Sting Lake loop hike. This ended up being our favorite hike in the park. We saw several animals we think were Marmoths. They were kind of like a fuzzy ground hog. We also saw a few Elk. We came upon a Moose in the woods about halfway through the hike. It was a bit unnerving as it was only 50 ft to 100 ft away and huge. Its belly was really fat and it may have been pregnant. Unfortunately, our camera battery gave out and we couldn%26#39;t get a picture.

After the hike we drove down took the scenic drive by Jenny Lake. Elk jumped cross the road in front of car several times. By this time it was late evening. LIke we had heard the animals were much more active in the evening than later in the day. We saw severa Elk, a few coyotes, and Proghorns on the way back to Jackson.

On Monday we set off to do the scenic hike around Jenny Lake and up to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. We noticed that the shuttle across the lake was operating. We had thought it would start on the 15th. So this was a surprise. We set out around the lake. It was a nice hike. We saw several more Marmoths. There were a few people on the trail. We felt rushed at times since the trail was a little crowded. Hidden Falls was absolutely breathtaking. The hike to Inspriration Point was pretty steep. My husband twisted his knee on the way up. We made it to the top. The view was nice and we found a spot to eat our picnic lunch. While eating, we looked up and found ourselves surrounded by chipmunks. They were persistant and wouldn%26#39;t leave even when we tried to shoe them away. They were cute, but were obviously expecting to be fed and a little too friendly.

The hike down was hard on my husband. We were originally planning to do the full loop around the lake. But his knee was still hurting. We ended up taking the one way stuttle back to the boat dock.

We decided to drive the outer loop after returning from the hike. The drive was nice like every drive in the park. We saw a few buffalo. Monday evening we ate dinner at Bubbas Barbecue which was recommended by several on this forum. It was good. We then drove to Teton Village just to see what it was like. We ended up taking the road from Teton Village into the park. The drive was bumpy but well worth it. We got a good look of a mule deer right by the road.

This morning (Tuesday May 15) we checked out of Wagon Wheel and went on our final drive through the park to Yellowstone. We saw a Moose on the north end of the park. Entering Yellowstone was likely going through a time warp from spring to fall. It was cooler and there was a lot more snow on the ground.

We have the rest of the week in Yellowstone and are now in Gardiner. We saw our first Grizzly Bear on the drive up. There were several cars parked by the road so we stopped. It turned our there was a Grizzly bear eating a bison carcuss. So our luck in Yellowstone has been good so far.

I will never forget the Tetons, the animals, and the great hikes and drives in the park. The weather was great (no rain, highs around 70). I really don%26#39;t understand why this is the low season. I don%26#39;t think our trip through the Tetons could have been much better.

We aren%26#39;t great photographers but have taken over 500 photos. I can%26#39;t wait to go through them. We really recommend a trip into the Tetons.

Trip Report Part 1 (Long)- Grand Tetons were Amazing

Sounds like you had a great trip. We leave in less than 3 weeks and I can%26#39;t wait!! I hope we are as lucky as you were seeing the wildlife.

Thanks for sharing!!

Trip Report Part 1 (Long)- Grand Tetons were Amazing

Loved hearing about your trips. It brought back many memories!

Thank you so much for your wonderful trip report. We are anxiously waiting for our trip this summer and reading reports like yours make the waiting a little easier. Looking forward to more of your reports!

I am still 54 weeks out from the trip that we are planning and your report makes me wish it was 2 weeks instead.

I saw the Tetons when I was 12 and still remember their beauty like it was yesterday. I can%26#39;t wait for my kids to see them next year and view the power of God%26#39;s creation.

Thanks for the report.

What a nice report - that%26#39;s great that you had such a good time. You were indeed very lucky to see such a wonderful variety of wildlife, and I%26#39;m so glad that you were kind enough to share your experiences. Come back soon!

How wonderful! Thanks for the great report. 1 month to go...can%26#39;t wait to see your pictures.

Thank you so much for your report. We leave Florida June 15 for our return to Yellowstone. We went this time last year and loved it so much are headed back in just a few weeks. Great animal stories! We didn%26#39;t have that much time in Tetons last year so hope to spend a little more time this year. Thanks again!!!

After seeing three black bears in Yellowstone last week in the Tower Falls area. I am pretty confident that the four bears we saw were not black bears but were grzzlys. Now must be a really active time for bears, especially in Yellowstone. During our trip we saw the four grizzlys in Grand Teton, three black bears in Yellowstone, and three more Grizzlys in Yellowstone. Many of the trails and side roads were closed in Yellowstone due to bear activity.

You are right. The bears in your bear jam pictures are grizzlies. There is a grizzly sow and her three yearlings that frequent that area.

Thanks for the trip report and pictures. My wife and I are heading out to the Tetons and Yellowstone on June 9th.

I know I am responding to a pretty old post but I can%26#39;t resist reading great trip reports. Thanks for posting!

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