JUST THE third National Park I have visited, The Grand Teton National Park southern entrance is just north of Jackson in Moose, Wyoming, on U.S. 191. I think because of its proximity to Jackson and the Jackson Hole Airport, this is the "main" and most used entrance. Wyoming Highway 22 heads west out of the center of Jackson, toward, Wilson (Dick Cheney territory). It is only about 17 miles to the Wyoming/Idaho state line (we drove it once, looking for a view of the Tetons from the west, but didn't really find it. It is the only time I have ever been in Idaho, but I do have that going for me.
WE RENTED a VRBO (or whatever the equivalent was back in 2012), condo in Wilson, Wyoming, just off 22 to the north on the Moose - Wilson Road. Our condo was just off the Moose-Wilson road, and unless we had a specific reason to go into town (Jackson), we generally traveled back and forth to the park entrance via the Moose-Wilson Road, which dropped us right onto the National Park Scenic drive, right on the Snake River, at Moose, Wyoming. There is a nice grill right on the river right there (Dornan's Pizza/Pasta Company). Nothing fancy. But good and hearty foods, with a great view of the river and mountain range. We were in there a couple of times. Most of the rest of our dining was in Jackson, and I will cover the town separately at the end.
GRAND TETON National Park was the 18th National Park Established in the U.S. (there are over 60 today). Teton was kind of established in two stages. Originally in 1929, the park was established to protect the Teton Range. The valley that lies to the east, known as "Jackson Hole," was added later, in stages, largely through the efforts of U.S. philanthopist, John D. Rockefeller. At first established as a "national monument" in 1943, the surrounding Jackson Hole area that is now part of the park was officially added to Grand Teton National Park in 1950. Prior to that time most of the land was privately owned and most local residents and owners were resistant to it being added to the park. Over the years between the time the original Teton Range was designated and the valley of Jackson Hole was added, there was significant push back. The private owners in Jackson and surrounds did not want the area to become national park propertly. They liked it just fine the way it was. Over time, though, Rockefeller prevailed and the park grounds became mostly what it is today (nearly 500 square miles - or 310,000 acres). The park's northern boundary, just north of Moran, Wyoming, is only 10 miles south of the southern (and Wyoming) entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
The Park
GRAND TETON is one of the most visited parks in the U.S. It is chock full of wildlife (NPS says that today, with the migration of the Gray Wolf from Yellowstone, all of the indigenous wildlife are back in the park). That's pretty amazing. Doesn't mean you will necessarily see it all, but it is there, including Grizzly and Black bear, mountain lion (rarely sighted), moose, bison, and elk, among others. There is a national elk refuge on the eastern border of the park and he elk wander from there all the way up into Yellowstone. We saw plenty of elk and bison. Just a glimpse of a young moose. No bears (perhaps just as well).
THE PARK is known for its recreational opportunities, including hiking, fishing, boating, kayaking and canoing, and even camping. There are many trails in the park, so finding things on your own to photograph shouldn't be a particular problem. We only had 4 days in Jackson Hole (I will never forgive the airlines for taking away one full day from us). So we mostly focused on the "iconic" shots. That is what I will cover, because it is what I know. I will "clock" my distances mostly out of Jackson (if, like us, you stay out from there, you will obviously have to adjust your distances - what would be do without GPS and Google Maps?).
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This is probably the most iconic of the Moulton Barns (my buddy Rich setting his shot up)
Grand Teton National Park - Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Copyright Andy Richards 2012 - All Rights Reserved |
Moulton Barns
If you are a serious landscape afficionado, it is unlikely that you have not seen these very photogenic weathered wood, western style barns, with the Tetons in the background. The good news is they are one of the easiest spots to find in the entire park. And we never really ran into a lot of other people.
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Moulton Barns on a foggy morning - Grand Teton National Park - Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Copyright Andy Richards 2012 - All Rights Reserved |
Directions. From the center of Jackson, take 191 north out of town, past the airport, 13.5 miles to Antelope Flats Road. Turn east (right) onto Antelope Flats and take it 1.6 miles east to Mormon Row. Turn right (south) onto Mormon Row and you will pass the barns on your right. There are 3 barns/farmsteads (each built by a Moulton brother) as well as a farmstead on the other side of the road with multiple buildings. All are owned and maintained by the NPS. Best to get there in the morning as the sun lights the barns and the mountainside from the east. If you are really fortunate, you can catch the Tetons in the background with snowcap still on them. There are multiple viewpoints up and down the road from which to approach and photograph the barns. We spent a couple mornings there.
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Farmstead at Moulton Barns - Grand Teton National Park - Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Copyright Andy Richards 2012 - All Rights Reserved |
Schwabacher Landing
Directions. Just 3 miles further up the road (15 miles from Jackson) Schwabacker Landing Road turns off of 191 to the west. It is a small, gravel road and the scene is not really visible from out on the main road, so it is easy to miss. This scene will likely conflict for your time with the Moulton Barns, as they are both early morning shots when the eastern sun lights things up nicely. Schwabacher Landing Road is a small, gravel road that goes just 1 mile back to a very small parking area. Park there, and from there you will hike in to the pond that gives the iconic reflection of the Tetons. It is a short, maybe 1/4 mile walk to the main photo spot.
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Schawabacher Landing - Grand Teton National Park - Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Copyright Andy Richards 2012 - All Rights Reserved |
It will be hard to keep going, though, because just a few hundred feet along the trail from the parking lot you will begin to see some pretty nice, photogenic scenes. We walked all the way back to "the landing" and then worked our way back.
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Schwabacher Landing Trail - Grand Teton National Park - Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Copyright Andy Richards 2012 - All Rights Reserved |
Oxbow Bend (Snake River)
As I mentioned, we had only 4 mornings on this trip. As you can see from the Oxbow Photos, our biggest challenge was the skies. They were either crystal clear blue, or grey overcast. The Teton peaks are pretty spectacular against a blue sky, but compositionallly, we really needed some dramatic cloud formations to contrast the clear blue sky. We made the best of it. Because of our limited mornings, we spent one of them at the Moulton Barns, one at Schwabacher Landing, and one at Oxbow Bend (I think our 4th morning was grey overcast and threatening rain, so we made our way back to the Moulton Barns that morning).
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Oxbow Bend, Snake River - Grand Teton National Park - Moran, Wyoming
Copyright Andy Richards 2012 - All Rights Reserved |
Directions. Oxbow Bend is the rather well-knownn "oxbow" in the Snake River just beyond Moran (where 26 and 86 split back off from 191) about 30 miles north on 191 from Jackson. There is a park entrance station at Moran. There is a wide pull off about 2.5 miles out of Moran, on the left (southwest) side of the highway right where the river begins to make its bend. From there you can see the bend with Mount Moran in the background. I suspect most people make their shots from the wide parking area at the pullout and that is entirely possible. But the better shot is made by scrambling down one of the dirt paths (there are a couple) down closer to river level - along with (at least back in 2012) a better ability to exclude unwanted junk from our foreground. I made multiple images here, but this was "the one." I found the spot and staked it out, waiting for enough sunrise to light everything I wanted in the image. Even though there aren't those cloud formations we hoped for, there was some color in the low clouds and haze. And fortuitously, the morning temps were quite cold (had and gloves cold), produce a wonderful soft fog just about the surface of the water at the bend. This is one of a handful of images that still hangs on my wall. This one is worth chasing.
String Lake
There are several nice lakes in the park, including Jenny Lake, and Lake Jackson (formed by the Jackson damn on the Snake River many years ago - even before Jackson Hole became part of the park). Jackson Lake is 10 miles long and 3 wide at its widest point. It is really more of a recreational lake. We saw, and photographed the damn (just up the road from Oxbow Bend), but it really isn't very photogenic - just a huge concrete structure. Jenny Lake is a big lake (3 miles long and over 1/2 mile at the widest point) at the base of the Tetons back down in the park. In our view, it is a lake more suited to boating and fishing than photography. It is large and the wind makes any kind of reflection opportunity generally out of the question. Likewise, Signal Lake, though we did drive up there to see the park-operated Signal Lake Lodge. String Lake, on the other hand, presented some really good photographic opportunities. There are other small lakes and ponds, but String Lake was marked and easy to find.
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String Lake - Grand Teton National Park - Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Copyright Andy Richards 2012 - All Rights Reserved |
Really more of a pond than a lake, String Lake butts right up against a small tetonic summit. It is a small body, tucked between the larger Jenny Lake to the south and similar to Jenny-sized Leigh Lake to the north. There is a nice hiking trail around the lake with its trailhead at Jenny Lake Lodge. There is some moving water through the middle of it, but most of it is flat and shallow. The magic there is twofold. The shallow, small pond creates amazing reflection opportunities. The second piece is perhaps what makes it unique among the bodies of water we saw in the park. There are hundred of "deadfall" trees laying in the pond. The entire thing is large enough to provide numerous selective opportunities to make abstract leaning images.
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String Lake - Grand Teton National Park
Copyright Andy Richards 2012 - All Rights Reserved |
Directions. From the Moose entrance, take the Teton Park Road into the park and continue until you reach Jenny Lake Road, past the Jenny Lake Campground. it is about 8.5 miles. Turn (left) onto Jenny Lake Road and follow it toward Jenny Lake Lodge. In about 1 mile, you will come to Jenny Lake Overlook. It is worth a stop there for the view of the lake, though we didn't find anything to get our "creative juices" flowing, photographically. Continue on Jenny Lake Road just under another 1.5 miles to String Lake Road. Turn left on String Lake Road and about 1/4 mile further it ends at a circular parking area. We parked there and walked down to the lake - just a few steps. The day we were there, we had the entire lake to ourselves and spent a couple hours shooting there.
Wildlife
One look here will tell you I am not a wildlife photographer. I got lucky with a few bird shots over the years, but not much more than that. I don't carry the requisite equipment, not do I possess the patience I think is necessary to get "winning" wildlife shots. But if you are one, there are opportunities here. My two shots here will give you an idea. Both elk and bison are more acclimated to humans than in most other places in the country. That doesn't mean they are docile, though and every year we hear of some ignorant tourist being gored by bison and sometimes even elk. Some of them are photographers. Just sayin'. 😏
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Bison - Grand Teton National Park - Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Copyright Andy Richards 2012 - All Rights Reserved |
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Elk - Grand Teton National Park - Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Copyright Andy Richards 2012 - All Rights Reserved |
Jackson
Jackson is the main town adjacent to Grand Teton National Park. With a population around 10,000, it has one of the higher standards of living for residence with the median income around $120,000 and average home price just south of $2 million. It is also one of the most expensive places to visit in the U.S. There are a number of reasons for this. The airport is small and not a major hub, making flights there more costly. The demand for lodging and food is high, and the average visitor is generally more on the wealthy side. It has become known as a good spot for a second (or more) home for a number of the country's "rich and famous." In addition to being the primary town adjacent to one of our most popular National Parks, it is also a destination town for other recreational activities, including snow skiing. A lot of the park and park roads are closed from November - May, and skiing and other winter sports activities fill in for the lower number of park visitors and tourists during the winter months.
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Welcome to Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Copyright Andy Richards 2012 - All Rights Reserved |
As I noted above, we stayed outside of town. But with few exceptions, we found ourselves going into Jackson for our meals. We found a few nice places where we were able to do some breakfasts, and dinner meals. Most of them were medium high priced, but we had no problem getting seated in restaurants while we were there.
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The main intersection in Jackson, Wyoming
Copyright Andy Richards 2012 - All Rights Reserved |
With its western flair, Jackson presents some photo opportunities for city-scape and street shooting. The elk antlers have been "a thing" in Jackson for some years now and the city central park with its antler entry arches is kind of a "must see." The western style architecture is also interesting to photograph. In the narratives above for directions, I consistently referred to the main road through town and up into the park as U.S. 191. Really, though, through Jackson, several major numbered highways (191, 89, 26 and 189) merge together and share the same road for a ways north until most of them split back off again up in Moran.
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The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar
Copyright Andy Richards 2012 - All Rights Reserved |
One of the icons of Jackson Hole is the famous (infamous?) Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. It has been on Main Street since the late 1930's and is known for its music and its western dancing. A number of famous celebrity musicians have played on its stage. At the long bar inside the main room, instead of regular seats on the barstools, there are saddles. There is also a dining room downstairs that is said to serve gourmet quality food. It is often mentioned as one of those "must visit" spots in Jackson. We went induring the day, and it was pretty empty, though we had heard that it was standing room only during its open hours in the evening. While I am not sure it was intended to be this way, one look at the menu told me all I needed to know about why it is "the million dollar bar." Too rich for my blood. But fun to see and I had to make a few obligatory photographs.
AND THAT's about all I know about Grand Teton. While not way up at the top of my re-visit list, I would go back again, and we did have fun seeing the place and shooting the iconic locations.
