Grand Teton National Park includes the major peaks of the 40-mile-long (64
km) Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as
Jackson Hole. Soaring over a landscape rich with wildlife, pristine lakes,
and majestic alpine vistas, the Teton Range stands as a testament to generations
of stewards. For over 11,000 years, communities have thrived in the Jackson Hole
valley, turning these mountains into more than just peaks—they embody
imagination and enduring human connection. Efforts to preserve the region
as a national park began in the late 19th century, and in 1929 Grand Teton
National Park was established, protecting the Teton Range's major peaks. The
valley of Jackson Hole remained in private ownership until the 1930s when
conservationists led by John D. Rockefeller Jr. began purchasing land in Jackson
Hole to be added to the existing national park.
Getting there ...
We had a direct flight from SFO (11:40AM) to JAC (3PM). Jackson Hole
Airport (JAC) is the only commercial airport in the United States located inside
a national park. Although it is very convenient to be able to fly into a
national park directly, it is indeed a controversial subject since the area is
noise sensitive (and the airport area is a popular mating ground for the rare
sage grouse). We got our luggage and rental car, and drove less than
5 miles to our cabin at Dornans in Grand
Teton National Park.
- Chapel of the Transfiguration
After a short break, we drove a short
distance (~ 2 miles) to the Chapel of the Transfiguration (if we could cross
the river, the distance from our cabin to the chapel is only about 500 ft).
The rustic Episcopal Chapel of the Transfiguration, constructed in 1925,
offers spectacular views of the Teton Mountain Range and a majestic place to
pray. However it was too cloudy today that the Teton Range was hidden
behind the thick clouds.
- Dornan's Spur Cabins
Dornan's is an inholding on private land which has the only year-round cabin
accommodations and related facilities in the park boundary. “Dornans”
has remained a family-owned and family-run business through the last 100
years. I booked a one-bedroom cabin, but we were given a free upgrade
to a two-bedroom cabin. I think we were the only guests at the entire
resort (there are total 12 cabins) for the first 2 nights here.
Day 2 (12/19) ...
- Snowshoeing at Colter Bay, Grand Teton
After a lunch at Dornans, we
headed north to start the 2nd part of the tour, snowshoeing adventure at
Colter Bay. Since there was a snowstorm in the last few days (before
we arrived in Grand Teton), the trail was covered by fresh snow without any
sign of human footprints. We were the first to break the trail using
our own snowshoes (well, our guide Rob did all the hard work). It's an
amazing experience to be in such a beautiful place with only your own
footprints (like we were the explorers...).
Day 3 (12/20) ...
- Sunrise at Teton Point
The sky changed color for a few minutes before
sunrise. However, the sun was covered by too much cloud and the golden
hour did not really happen...
- Elk Ranch Flats
After breakfast, we drove along the HWY 89/126/191 to
take pictures at a few vista points to enjoy the views.
- Cross Country Ski
I booked another half-day
Cross Country (XC) Ski Adventure form
Jackson Hole EcoTour for
this afternoon. It turned out we had 2 guides (Tyler and David) for two
of us. We went to the Teton Park Road at the Taggart Lake trailhead
where the road was closed for winter and groomed for winter activities.
The last time we tried XC ski was back in
2007 (in Kings
Canyon) and we did not really learned well at that time. Tyler and
David first taught us some basics on the groom trails and led us ski slowly to
let us feel the rhythm for sliding. After about 1 mile on the
groomed trail, we left the Teton Park Road and headed west on the End
Highlands Road which was totally covered by fresh snow (the "road" was not
recognizable at all). Like snowshoeing yesterday, we had to break our
own trail on the fresh soft snow. I also took turns to lead and break
snow, and it's really fun and also very tiring. I think this was a real
"cross country" experience!
Day 4 (12/21) ...
- Sunrise at Teton Glacier Turnout
It was a very foggy morning.
When I got to the viewpoint, I could not see anything in front of me.
When I made a U-turn in the parking lot, I saw the tip of the Grand Teton
above the layer of fog. I decided to stay and I was rewarded the
beautiful golden light on the Teton Range. Ten minutes after the
sunrise, the fog thickened and covered the mountains again. It was
very cold in the morning that the lowest temperature was 2-degree F shown on
my car's thermometer.
- Mormon Row
Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, or Mormons, sent parties from the Salt Lake Valley to establish new
communities and support their expanding population. These settlers
first arrived in the 1890s from Idaho establishing a community (named
Grovont by the U.S. Post Office) known today as “Mormon Row.” Homesteaders
established 27 homesteads in the Grovont area because of relatively fertile
soil.
We drove to the Antelope Flats Road at about 9:30AM although it
was still very foggy. The road closed at about 1 mile and we had to
walk for another mile on the snowy road to get to the Mormon Row.
Today, two picturesque barns highlight Mormon Row: John Moulton Barn (north)
and T.A. Moulton Barn (south).
We went to the northern barn first (~10:10AM) and took
some pictures when it was still foggy
everywhere. Then when we walked to the southern barn (~10:40AM), we
started to see the peak of Grand
Teton. The fog dissipated quickly and a
fog bow (or called white
rainbow) appeared low in the sky. It was a very dramatic moment to see
this iconic historic structure with the Teton Range changing every second in the
background. By 11AM, it was all clear and we walked back to the northern
barn to get a few more pictures with mountains. When we walked back to our
car at ~ 11:30AM, it became cloudy and the blue sky was gone. We could not
be more luckier!!!
- Sleigh Ride at
National Elk Refuge
After lunch we drove to Jackson to take the sleigh ride at the National Elk
Refuge. The Refuge was established in 1912 to provide, preserve,
restore, and manage lands for wintering habitat for numerous iconic species,
including elk, bison, wolves, trumpeter swans, bald eagles, and bighorn
sheep. With a total of 24,700 acres (10,000 ha), it is home to an
average of 7,500 elk each winter. When we climbed into a horse drawn
sleigh that took us for a ride onto the National Elk Refuge, we found
ourselves in the middle of a western adventure unlike any other. It
was the best way to get closer encounters with the largest migrating elk
herd in North America.
- Chapel of the Transfiguration
We went back to the Chapel of the
Transfiguration before we returned to our cabin because we did not see the
mountains when we visited the chapel on the first day. With good
afternoon sunlight, it was a nice view of the chapel with the Teton Range as
the backdrop.
Day 5 (12/22) ...
- Taggart Lake
Taggart Lake trail is an easy 3.2-mile round-trip with ~
300 ft elevation gain (we did not take the loop because it will add more than
half a mile and 100 ft elevation gain). The trail was well packed with
soft surface snow and was not icy at all (it was very cold in the last few
days after the storm). We decided not to take our snowshoes. It
was a pleasant hike in the snow with best views of the Teton Range. It
took us about 2.5 hours (from 8AM to 10:30AM) to finish the hike with plenty
photo time at the lake.
We checked out of our cabin after 11AM and drove to the
Town of Jackson to have a nice lunch at the Bunnery Bakery. It was cloudy
but much warmer than previous few days, and snow had started to melt along the
pave roads around the town square.
- National Museum of Wildlife Art
After lunch, we drove by the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Since we
did not have too much time, we only stopped to take a few pictures with some
outdoor sculptures and did not pay the tickets to visit the museum.
Going Home ...
It's time to go back to JAC airport to catch our flight at 4PM. When we
were ready to board the plane, it began to have light snow falling from the sky.
We had been extremely lucky for our trip to Grand Teton: several days of
snowstorm before our trip, 3 full days of nice weather during our stay, and a
full week of forecast cloudy/snowy days after we left. The winter in Grand
Teton was majestic and magic as well. From the wildlife encounters (moose,
bighorn sheep, elk, etc.), the experiences of snowshoeing and cross country
skiing through the fresh snow, to the incredible landscape of the Teton Range
and iconic historic buildings, all made this Grand Teton winter visit an
unforgettable memory.
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