How many days should you spend in Grand Teton National Park?
Whether you are planning a trip in Grand Teton National Park, or whether you are just curious about a possible future hike in the Teton Range, it is safe to ask yourself how many days you should spend in Grand Teton National Park. So, how many days should you block on your agenda?
If you want to enjoy the Teton Range from the road, you can totally do it in one single day. Indeed, simply head to U.S. 191 and drive along the Grand Teton National Park. However, if you want to see the Teton Range from closer and hike in it, you should stay at least two days.
Can you spend only one day in Grand Teton National Park?
As mentioned in the introduction, it all depends on your plan. Basically, you can drive through the park very quickly.
If you follow the U.S. 191, you can drive through Grand Teton National Park in 30 minutes, and still enjoy incredible views.
For example, if you drive from Moran to Jackson, you will have the Teton Range on your right during the route.
But then, if you want next-level pictures, you should stop.
To do that, the best would be to enter the Grand Teton National Park and pay the entrance fee.
How much does it cost to enter Grand Teton National Park?
The price to pay is based on the seating capacity of the vehicle. The bigger your car is, the higher the price will be.
| Seating capacity of the vehicle | Price |
| 1-6 | $25 |
| 7-15 | $125 |
| 16-25 | $200 |
| 26+ | $300 |
Seating capacity of 1-6 is $25 PLUS $15 per person; 7-15 is $125; 16-25 is $200 and 26+ is $300. Note that every person inside the vehicle also costs $15.
Hence, if you have a little car and an SUV, choosing the little car could be a good option, if you are not a lot of passengers of course.
Where to stop once you are in Grand Teton National Park?
Now that you entered the park, you should stop at the right points. Indeed, this paragraph is still about a 1-day trip to Grand Teton National Park, and we have no time to lose.
Jenny Lake is definitely the best place to stop once you are in Grand Teton National Park. If you are lucky with the weather, you can enjoy incredible reflections in the water.
And even if the weather is poor, it is still a lovely place to relax. The lake offers an incredible view on Mount St John and Grand Teton.
You can spend a few hours walking around the lake and enjoying the shadows of the pine trees.
Why is it better to spend 2 days to visit Grand Teton National Park?
As we discussed before, it is totally possible to visit Grand Teton National Park in one day: it is relatively small, and you can enjoy great views from the road and Jenny Lake.
However, if you plan on hiking in the area, you need to know that those mountains are high. Hence, to enjoy great views while hiking (without pine trees hiding it), you will need to reach the altitude where there are no more pine trees.
To be able to have those kind of views, you will need to hike a bit.
If you want to plan your trip with Google Maps, I have one thing to tell you: be careful about the estimated time!
Indeed, it will take you way more than 50 minutes to do this itinerary. First of all, the itinerary does not start at the Visitor Center. Then, it does not end in Storm Point. Finally, Google considers that you are walking non-stop.
It takes at least 2 hours to get there and have some great views. Hence, camping could be a great option.
Indeed, if you are coming from somewhere in Idaho, Wyoming, or Montana, you already drove a lot during the first day, and it would not be responsible to drive again the other way.
Choosing to camp in the Teton Range is the best idea at that point.
Camping in Grand Teton National Park
Camping in Grand Teton National Park is fairly easy. After some research, I found the Official Camping Website of Grand Teton National Park. Here is the system.
All individual campsites inside the park are first-come, first-served, and advance reservations are not available. Please refer to the chart below for historical fill times.
Source: Official Camping Website of Grand Teton National Park
As mentioned on the website, it’s a first-come, first-served service, which means that you should arrive early. If you are not sure what “early” means, there is another incredible piece of data on this website. It is a table telling the time the campsites filled recently.
| Updated 8/28/2020 | Filled Friday Last Week | Two Days Ago | Filled Yesterday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jenny Lake Campground | 7:44 AM | 7:30 AM | 7:30 AM |
| Colter Bay Campground | 9:45 AM | 6:00 PM | 4:10 PM |
| Gros Ventre Campground | 3:04 PM | Did Not Fill | Did Not Fill |
| Headwaters at Flagg Ranch Campground | 12:00 PM | 8:15 PM | Did Not Fill |
Read more about Grand Teton National Park
I hope that this article was helpful and that you now know how many days you should spend in Grand Teton National Park, considering what you want to do there.
If you want to read more about this place, and for example about the wildlife there, I recommend that you read the other article I wrote about Grand Teton National Park.
In this article, I answer several questions you may be asking yourself right now, like:
- How high is the Teton Range?
- What animals can I see in the area?
- Where to land?
- Where to sleep?
- What temperatures to expect?
The answers will help you to plan your trip accordingly. Indeed, even if you know how many days to spend in Grand Teton National Park, there are still lots of things to plan before your trip.
See you somewhere in the world!
