Grand Teton in September: how to make the most of your 24 hours

Grand Teton National Park is a beautiful nature park in the American state of Wyoming. I was there in 2013 and recently returned to Grand Teton in September 2024. It’s a particularly beautiful place where nature lovers and hikers can fully enjoy themselves. In this article I will tell you more about how to best spend your time here when you have just 24 hours. I will also give you tips on where to stay on a budget and which hikes in Grand Teton are worth it when visiting in the fall. Enjoy reading!

Grand Teton National Park is a relatively small national park and is located to the south of the much larger Yellowstone National Park. Although the parks are adjacent, they are very different from each other. What makes Grand Teton National Park so special is the beautiful Teton mountain range: out of nowhere, these mountain peaks seem to rise almost vertically from the ground. The national park is named after the highest peak Grand Teton, which is 4.197 meters high. At the moment, there are still 11 active glaciers in the national park, several of which can be seen from the road. Also famous is the Snake River that runs below the mountain range.

Although you could easily spend a few days in Grand Teton National Park, 24 hours is a good amount of time to get a good feel of what the park has to offer. I spent about 24 hours in the park on my recent trip and it looked like this:

15:00 Arrival from Yellowstone National Park
16:00 Colter Bay and drive on Route 191
19:00 Check-in at the accommodation
09:00 Visit Mormon Row
10:00 Off to Jenny Lake and hike to Moose Ponds
13:00 Moose Wilson Road to Teton Village
14:00 Gondola from Teton Village
16:00 Jackson

Chances are that you are driving to Grand Teton from Yellowstone National Park. If this is the case, you will enter the national park on the north side. The best place to make your first stop is at Colter Bay. There’s a visitor center here and you can get information about the ranger programs, activities and pick up a newspaper with all the information about the park.

After Colter Bay you can choose between two routes to the south. The first is the Teton Park Road and the other option is to continue on the 191. We choose to drive south on the 191 this afternoon because we will be doing the Teton Park Road tomorrow. There are numerous stops along the 191 that you can make, including the Snake River Overlook and the Teton Glacier turnout.

If you decide to do this route in the afternoon and you like taking pictures, it is useful to know that the sun is behind the mountains, which means that you are looking into the sun and taking pictures. This is also the reason I returned the next morning to take pictures of Mormon Row.

When you visit Grand Teton in September days already get significantly shorter, something to consider for sure when planning your visit and arrival!

If you google Grand Teton National Park you will most likely come across pictures of an old barn with the mountains of the Teton Range behind it. Mormon Row is a group of houses and farms that were built around 1890 by Mormon settlers. The area is now on the National Register of Historic Places and it’s a good place for photographers.

If you drive up from the 191 you can go two ways. The parking lot on your left is probably the most logical stop, but the most famous barn is on your right. It is also useful to know that it is best to go there in the morning because otherwise you are looking into the sun. It can be quite chilly in the early morning still though, definitely something to consider.

We wanted to do a half-day hike and the hike to Moose Ponds was recommended to us by the ranger at Colter Bay. This trail starts at the Jenny Lake visitor center. It was already quite busy when we arrived (we were there on a sunny Saturday) so I advise you not to arrive too late if you still want to be able to park your car.

I was a bit shocked at first when I saw all the tourists as I didn’t think Grand Teton in September would be super busy. However, most of them came for the boat trip on Jenny Lake. Jenny Lake is the most famous lake in the park. There are several stops and as a hiker you can also use this boat if you don’t want to walk the same route there and back, for example.

After we left the hustle and bustle of the boat behind us, it quickly became quieter on the trail and we hardly encountered any other tourists. Very nice, but also exciting because of the chance to encounter bears!

The Moose Ponds are two small lakes where, as the name suggests, you can see moose. Although I was skeptical, we soon heard from an oncoming hiker that there was indeed a moose at one of the lakes. The trail isn’t very long and when we arrived at the lake, we indeed saw a moose standing in the water. She did not seem to care about the hikers. A little later, two more moose even appeared from the bushes. There even seemed to be a bull moose (male) with enormous antlers, but he was hiding in the bushes.

We stood there watching for quite a while and eventually we walked on and back to the car. The entire circular walk is about 6 kilometers long and takes you about two hours excluding breaks. It took us longer because we spent some time watching the moose.

Tip! If you want to walk further and make it a day hike, you can continue to Inspiration Point and Cascade Canyon. I did this route in 2013 and it is highly recommended. You can optionally be dropped off or picked up at the lake by boat.

In the afternoon we drive to Teton Village, here we get up the mountain with the Jackson Hole Aerial Tram. You go to an altitude of over 3.000 meters but to be honest, I wasn’t super impressed. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that you can also do this in Europe where I live, so for me it didn’t feel like something unique although I can understand why it was for many other visitors. It was also cold at the top and there was still quite a bit of snow, so you don’t have a lot of options for things to do. The Skywalk is nice, but you have seen that in five minutes. In retrospect I would have preferred to do another hiking trail instead of this.

Then it’s time for dinner! We decide to go to Jackson, the main hub for Grand Teton National Park. It’s a tourist town with all sorts of hip people, lots of nice shops and above all: expensive accommodations. We therefore stay elsewhere (more about that later) but do go for a bite in Jackson, at Snake River Brewing. They have a casual menu and a lovely terrace, so highly recommended!

You will also come across the name Jackson Hole a lot. Jackson Hole refers to the entire valley in which Grand Teton and the town of Jackson are located, so the town itself is called Jackson and not Jackson Hole.

Accommodations near Grand Teton are relatively expensive. Most accommodations are located in Jackson and the surrounding area. We didn’t think it was worth paying 300 euros per night for a room, so we looked for an alternative. Which we found, we stayed in the charming Teton Valley Cabins. These are located nearby the village of Driggs, an hour outside the national park. So you will have to drive a bit further, but I found this a really nice and affordable place to stay. The log cabins are very nicely decorated and quietly located. Check the rates and availability here.

Would you rather stay in a hotel? The night after we stayed at the Cobblestone Hotel in Victor, a more traditional American hotel.

Find all prices and availability for accommodations in Grand Teton in September here.

I’ll end this article with some additional tips for your visit to Grand Teton National Park in September:

• You pay entrance fees for the park, if you also visit Yellowstone then it is best to buy a national park pass. You buy this upon entering the first national park in America and it is valid for a year.
• Book your accommodation well in advance, Jackson has become an incredibly popular place in recent years and most accommodations are fully booked well ahead of time.
• Bears live in Grand Teton National Park, both brown bears and black bears. If you are going on a (long) hike, take bear spray with you. I noticed that most hikers had this with them, even on the relatively short hike to Moose Ponds. Hikers we spoke to had encountered a bear the day before one valley further on.
• Grand Teton National Park is located at almost 2,000 meters altitude. If you are prone to altitude sickness, then that is something to take into account during your visit. I noticed it at the Aerial Tram, immediately after arriving on the mountain I had a headache.
• The weather can be changeable in September. You are in the mountains so always take warm clothing and a raincoat with you on your hikes.
• Days get shorter when visiting Grand Teton in September, the sunset is quite early so plan accordingly and make sure you head out in time to avoid being out in the dark.
• We visited Grand Teton mid-September and the fall colors just started, they may become more intense further on in the month, depending on the rest of the season of course. There is no such period as the best period to see the colors, although we heard from locals that September is usuallt quite a good month.

I visited Grand Teton National Park during my three-week road trip from Salt Lake City to Seattle and booked everything separately:

• We flew direct with Delta Air Lines to Salt Lake City and back from Seattle. Delta is an airline that has sustainability high on its agenda and is the most awarded airline in America. My review of Delta Air Lines can be found here.
• We booked our rental car with Alamo, in my opinion one of the better companies in America. I have rented a car through them every time I have traveled in America and I am very happy with it. Check the rates and availability here. For the route and sights that we have done I would recommend an SUV.
• As mentioned, during high season (July and August) most campsites and hotels are fully booked well in advance. Nowadays I arrange my overnight stays well in advance via Booking.com so that I don’t have to search for a place to stay on the spot.

I really enjoyed my visit to Grand Teton National Park in September and really hope I can go back one day to explore it further. If you want to read more blogs about this trip, then you may want to continue here:

• Highlights of Yellowstone National Park
• Road trip from Salt Lake City to Seattle: the full route with all highlights
• The perfect 14-day Pacific Northwest roadtrip itinerary

I made this trip partly in collaboration with Delta Air Lines, Auto’s Huren, Visit Idaho and Great American West. All given opinions are of course entirely my own.

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