While Grand Teton National Park is right below Yellowstone, it is still quite a drive (approximately 2 hours) from Yellowstone’s west entrance. We entered Yellowstone and followed the Grand Loop Road down the lower loop toward Grand Teton.
Lewis Falls
At the bottom edge of Yellowstone, we spotted Lewis Falls along the road. Lewis Falls is a 30-foot waterfall on the Lewis River. There were small gravel parking lots on either side of the road. You can view the falls from an overlook of boulders or the sidewalk on the bridge right before the falls.
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park
2019 Price: Free due to my Annual Pass (Fee would have been $35 for a 7-day pass)
There are turnouts all over Grand Teton National Park to take in the surrounding landscape.
Jackson Lake Overlook
Coulter Bay picnic area
Coulter Bay Village, located along the Northeast side of Jackson Lake, offers a visitor center, campground, stores, marina, and picnic area. These were some of the prettiest vistas in my opinion.
Willow Flats Overlook
Jackson Lake Dam and Reservoir
You can park at the dam and cross the road to either take a hike along the bank or sit on stone steps just past the bridge.
Signal Mountain Summit
On the road up to the summit we caught sight of a deer in the ravine and stopped to see if we could get a photo. She was prepared for her photo op!
Jackson Point Overlook
The overlook is a short walk from a parking area on Signal Mountain Road. It was an easy hike with a beautiful view.
Potholes Turnout
Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve
Near the southern end of Grand Teton, we visited the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve before turning around. Here we saw a herd of elk grazing along a creek.
On our way back up the main road we stopped at a few more turnouts.
Windy Point Turnout
Teton Glacier Turnout
Cathedral Group Turnout
Leigh Lake
It was getting late in the day, and we wanted to hike, so we chose the shorter, easier trails by String and Leigh Lakes.
String Lake
We started at String Lake. There were people swimming and kayaking in the main portion of the lake, so we didn’t spend much time there. As we moved away from the trailhead, String Lake had some lovely views.
The trail often changed from wider gravel/dirt paths to wooden plank boardwalks as we wandered through the trees.
Leigh Lake
We continued the trail toward Leigh Lake. The path followed the shoreline and then forked to the lake portage and the longer trail around the back of the lake.
Leigh Lake had less traffic than other areas, so it was very peaceful. The lake had stunning colors layered in the water. Some of the best views were on the back path up a hill, so push to keep going a little further to see crystal views and islands.
As we finished the trail and were on our way to the car, we ran into some critters – an inquisitive squirrel and colorful dragonfly.
After Leigh Lake, we journeyed back into Yellowstone. We had another traffic jam – at least 7 elk held up traffic for 30 minutes as they wandered across the road to Madison River.
As became our Yellowstone tradition, we ate dinner at Bullwinkle’s. I had the Idaho Rainbow Trout again.
Kelly Inn West Yellowstone
2019 Price: $1,236 for four nights
Heading Home
The next day we drove to Bozeman airport for our flight home. We ate lunch at the Copper Horse Restaurant in the airport. The trouble with flying back East is the time loss through time zones. Our flight left around 1 PM and did not arrive until after 11 PM.
All-in-all it was an amazing adventure, and we were incredibly lucky with the weather. A few weeks later there was a huge snowstorm that blanketed the area. I highly recommend Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and the National Bison Range as must-sees!