🥾 ActiveLong weekend · from Jackson, WY
Grand Teton & Yellowstone: Canyon, Geysers & Lamar Valley
Three days that use Jackson's position between two of the world's most spectacular national parks — Grand Teton immediately north, Yellowstone 2 hours north through the park. The Cascade Canyon circuit on day one establishes the Teton scale. Yellowstone's Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring on day two are the park's most iconic thermal features: Old Faithful erupts to 100-180 feet on an average 91-minute interval; Grand Prismatic is 370 feet across and 121 feet deep, the largest hot spring in the United States and the third largest in the world, its rainbow of microbial mats visible from the spring-side boardwalk. Lamar Valley on day three is Yellowstone's wildlife corridor — the Serengeti of North America, with the highest concentration of large mammals in the lower 48 states: bison herds of hundreds, gray wolf packs (visible from the road with spotting scopes), grizzly bear, elk, pronghorn, and coyote.
Day 1 — Grand Teton: Cascade Canyon, Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point, overnight Teton VillageDay 2 — Yellowstone: Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, Firehole Canyon swim, overnight Canyon VillageDay 3 — Lamar Valley wolf/bison wildlife, Hayden Valley, return to Jackson
Day 1 — Grand Teton NP — Teton Village
Day 1 — Grand Teton NP — Teton Village
🚗 30 min driving📍 4 stops
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Morning
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Drive
Jackson, WY → Jenny Lake South Trailhead, Grand Teton NP
30 min8:00 AM → 8:30 AM
Jenny Lake — Boat Shuttle & Hidden Falls
★ 4.9The boat shuttle across Jenny Lake to the Hidden Falls trailhead — 10 minutes across the glacially carved lake, then 0.5 miles to a 200-foot waterfall in Precambrian granite. The standard start for the Cascade Canyon circuit; boats run from 7am throughout the summer.
8:30 AM📍 See location
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Lunch
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Inspiration Point & Cascade Canyon
The Inspiration Point overlook (360-degree view of Jenny Lake, the valley, and the Tetons) followed by the Cascade Canyon trail into the glacier-carved interior between the Grand Teton and Mount Owen. Moose and black bear frequent the willow flats; marmots and pikas on the rocky slopes above. The canyon extends 4.3 miles to the north-south fork; return by the outer shore trail.
9:30 AM📍 See location
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Afternoon
Jackson Lake Dam Overlook
★ 4.9The 1916 Jackson Lake Dam and its downstream view of the Snake River — with the Teton Range reflected in the lake surface to the west and the Yellowstone plateau rising north. A convenient stop on the drive from Jenny Lake toward Teton Village, and the best view of the full lake and mountains from the park's main road.
12:00 PM📍 See location
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Evening
Jackson Lake Lodge
★ 4.3The Grand Teton National Park Company's flagship lodge on Jackson Lake — a 1955 building with 60-foot floor-to-ceiling windows in the lobby framing the direct view of the Teton Range and the lake, one of the most dramatic hotel lobby views in the country. Willow Flats in front of the lodge is one of the park's best moose-viewing areas. Positioned for the early morning Yellowstone drive.
5:00 PM📍 See location
Day 2 — Yellowstone NP — Canyon Village
Day 2 — Yellowstone NP — Canyon Village
🚗 1 hr 30 min driving📍 4 stops
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Morning
🚗
Drive
Jackson Lake Lodge, Grand Teton NP → Old Faithful — Yellowstone NP
1 hr 30 min8:00 AM → 9:30 AM
Old Faithful Geyser — Yellowstone NP
★ 4.7The world's most famous geyser — erupting to 100-180 feet on an average 91-minute interval (predicted within 10 minutes by rangers at the visitor center). Old Faithful has erupted reliably since at least 1870 and has erupted over 1 million times. The eruption lasts 1.5-5 minutes; the boardwalk amphitheater holds thousands of viewers. Morning eruptions are best before the crowds. The Upper Geyser Basin surrounding Old Faithful contains the greatest concentration of geysers on Earth.
9:30 AM📍 See location
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Lunch
Grand Prismatic Spring — Midway Geyser Basin
★ 4.9The largest hot spring in the United States and the third largest in the world — 370 feet across, 121 feet deep, and 160°F at the center. The concentric rings of color (deep blue center, through green, yellow, and orange at the margins) are created by different species of thermophilic bacteria adapted to each temperature zone. The boardwalk circles the spring but the full rainbow pattern is visible only from the hillside overlook trail 0.5 miles away. One of the most photographed natural features on Earth.
10:30 AM📍 See location
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Afternoon
Firehole Canyon — Swimming Area
★ 5A 2-mile scenic drive through a basalt canyon on the Firehole River — with a designated swimming area where geothermally warmed water creates one of the few swimmable rivers in Yellowstone (80°F in midsummer). The Firehole Falls viewpoint is the canyon highlight; the swimming hole below is the only sanctioned swimming spot in Yellowstone NP.
12:00 PM📍 See location
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Evening
Canyon Lodge — Yellowstone NP
★ 3.8The Yellowstone National Park Lodges property near the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone — rebuilt in 2016-19 as one of the most modernized lodging facilities in the park, with comfortable motel-style rooms and a full dining room. The location near the Grand Canyon gives early morning access to the canyon views before the day-visitor crowds. Positioned for tomorrow's Lamar Valley drive from the northeast.
5:00 PM📍 See location
Day 3 — Lamar Valley — Return to Jackson
Day 3 — Lamar Valley — Return to Jackson
🚗 2 hr 30 min driving📍 2 stops
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Morning
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Drive
Canyon Village, Yellowstone → Lamar Valley — Northeast Entrance Road
30 min8:00 AM → 8:30 AM
Lamar Valley — Wildlife Morning
★ 4.9The Lamar Valley in Yellowstone's northeast section — the richest wildlife corridor in the contiguous United States. Bison herds of hundreds graze the valley floor; gray wolves from the Lamar Canyon and Junction Butte packs hunt the valley regularly and are frequently visible from the road with spotting scopes (the Yellowstone Association's wolf-watching spotting scope stations are staffed most mornings). Grizzly bears, elk, pronghorn, and coyotes are daily sightings. Dawn is the peak activity window; the valley road runs 15 miles through unobstructed wildlife habitat.
8:30 AM📍 See location
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Lunch
Hayden Valley — Yellowstone River
★ 4.8A broad thermal valley traversed by the Yellowstone River — comparable to Lamar Valley for bison but with the addition of white pelicans on the river and more extensive thermal features in the valley floor. The drive from Lamar Valley south through the Tower-Roosevelt area and Dunraven Pass to Hayden Valley covers the full wildlife spectrum of the park. Midday grizzly sightings are more common here than almost anywhere else in the park.
9:30 AM📍 See location
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Evening
🚗
Drive
Yellowstone NP → Jackson, WY
2 hr5:00 PM → 7:00 PM
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