Where to Hike?
Here are our favorite hikes in Jackson underneath the gorgeous Wyoming Sky.
The first step is to follow us on AllTrails to find the full details, photos, locations, and hiker info for each location.
Hikes in Town of Jackson
- Nelson Knoll – Located in East Jackson, this super short hike takes about 30 minutes or less at Nelson Trailhead. Dogs are allowed off leash and can run free. It’s a loop with Teton, Town, and Snowking views. We highly recommend if you don’t have a lot of time and just want to get outside for a few minutes. Some important things to note: this is the location of the old town dump from years ago, so you may find some old rusted things off the valley trail, it’s best to stay on the knoll. Easy.
- Crystal Butte – Accessed at the same location as the above, start hiking at the trail head. There are 2 crystal trails, one “crystal light” to halfway, or go all the way to the top of the butte. There is no water access on this trail and can get dusty and hot so place to bring water for your dogs. 2000 vertical ft in 3 miles means it’s super steep. Strenuous.
- Cache Creek – drive to trailhead, dogs on leash for the first 200 feet then they can run free. This trail goes all the way up and over into Game Creek. We normally just go a mile or 2 and turn around. This location is multi-use so you’ll see hikers, bikers, horseback riding. In the winter, you may see skiers, bikers, snowmobiles. Easy to moderate.
- Snow King Mountain – this is the town ski hill. You can access the trails at the base of the mountain or anywhere along the valley. We normally start at Josie’s Ridge by the post office and go up the back side switch backs to the ridge and down the front side to make it a loop back to the car. This hike is strenuous to get to the top. It’s 1500 vertical climb.
Hikes South of Town
- Game Creek – I normally mountain bike this trail, but I have friends who walk this with their dogs. It’s great because the creek comes through and the dogs can play and splash. Dog walks are pretty close to the trail head, so if you’re mountain biking, you’ll be on your own after about a mile or 2 in. Easy to moderate hiking depending on how far you go.
- Melody Ranch – there is a trail head when you turn on the last neighborhood to the right before you start going down the canyon. You can walk to the right or to the left with your dogs. It’s great, our dog loves this trail. Easy.
- Wilson Canyon – this is intense strenuous hiking on scree. So if you’re up for an adventure, I recommend this one. Steep. Strenuous.
Teton Village Hikes
- Wildflower Trail – hike from the base of Teton Village to the top of the gondola and ride the gondola back down. We love doing this if we just want to get a good workout hiking uphill. Moderate.
- Headwall – Ride up the gondola and hike the headwall! Hike all the way down or take the gondola back down. Your choice! Moderate.
- Cody Peak – Take a ride up the tram and hike over to Cody Peak. There are “shell” fossils along the ridge; because at some point, this area must have been under water. Moderate to strenuous depending on how far you go.
- Teton Crest Trail – ride up the Tram and hike on over to the Teton Crest Trail. You can also go up Glory from Teton Pass and hike the crest trail to the Tram. Just make sure you get to the tram before the last tram goes down. This has happened to me before and we were stuck hiking down from the top of the tram after a full day of crest trail hiking. Strenuous.
Teton Pass Hikes
- Old Pass Road – park at the bottom of Teton Pass and hike up the old pass road to Crater Lake. The dogs love to jump in and swim after a long morning of hiking uphill. Moderate to Strenuous.
- Glory Bowl – drive to the top of the pass and hike up Mt. Glory. This is a strenuous hike and very steep, but worth it for the views of the Grand Teton at the top.
- Ski Lake – park at Phillips Canyon and hike up to ski lake with the dogs. This hike is moderate, however, if you shuttle and do the loop with Glory, you can make this hike both strenuous and moderate. Park and start up Mt. Glory down to ski lake to the second car at Phillips Canyon. Be sure to hike with your keys as I have done that before when I left my keys in the shuttle instead of hiking with them.
Hike in the Gros Ventre Wilderness
- We love the Darwin Ranch (blog post coming, subscribe for more info) all the hikes around the ranch are moderate to strenuous, and my favorite.
- Goodwin Lake to Jackson Peak – drive past the Curtis Canyon campground to the Goodwin Lake trailhead. Hike the ridge to Goodwin Lake. There is a turn to hike to Jackson Peak. There is also an old ski cabin back in the woods. Moderate to strenuous.
- Crystal Creek – a gorgeous hike, moderately uphill after the creek crossing but once you get through this, it’s an easy walk through the meadows. Creek Crossing strenuous, uphill moderate to strenuous, meadows, easy. On the way to Crystal Creek trail head on the gros ventre road, you’ll see the crystal creek campground you can camp there overnight.
- Flat Creek – there is a ranch at the end of this road, but there is parking outside of the ranch to access this gorgeous trailhead. Easy to moderate hiking, I took my asthmatic dad on this hike and he was fine.
- Sheep Mountain – otherwise known as the sleeping indian, you can hike up this peak via the Flat Creek road.
- Granite Creek – access south of Jackson in the hoback canyon. There are many trails from this trailhead depending on how far you hike. There is a hot spring at the end of the road where you park to hike.
- Turquoise Lake – keep going from Goodwin Lake and you’ll end up here. It’s 12 miles depending on which way you access, but expect a gorgeous secluded lake with turquoise water reflected from the turquoise beneath. Surrounded by dramatic mountain landscapes, you’ll encounter wildlife, wildflowers, and waterfalls.
Special Wilderness Considerations:
- Dogs are allowed in the National Forest and in the Gros Ventre Wilderness. This does not mean dogs can chase any animals. They must remain on voice command, and we use a collar that has a sound and a vibration just in case I forget.
- Mountain Biking! There is no biking in the wilderness; however, there are trails in the National Forest that are accessible for bikes. Check Cache Creek, Snowking, Game Creek, Teton Pass, Shadow Mountain, and Mosquito Creek. No EBikes; there are special rules to review and follow. These are currently in the works, so check back for updates to find out which bikes are allowed and what the process is to get your E Bike registered.
Visit Grand Teton National Park
- Some great family hikes (beginner hikes):
- Jenny Lake – the entire lake is 8 miles up and down so I list this as moderate. The best way to do this for an “easy” hike is to take the ferry across to hidden falls. Then, just hike up to the falls and back to the ferry. We did this with our daughter when she was too little to hike very far.
- Phelps Lake Overlook – Easy to moderate. We took our daughter when she was 3 up death canyon and made it about halfway to the overlook. But it was a great easy hike for her to get out into the woods. Slowly overtime she finally made it all the way to the overlook and it’s a great spot for a family photo.
- Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve – This is a MUST. Parking is difficult and you have to wait till a spot becomes available, but it is worth it. Step into the visitor center before your hike. Look for my daughter’s written day in the “guest” book at the preserve! It’s about 2 miles to Phelps Lake. Easy.
- Older Children (middle school & up/moderate hikes):
- Phelps Lake jumping rock is a scene. Especially for Labor Day weekend. Follow the above, but hike around the lake to the rock. You can’t miss it.
- Off the Jenny Lake Trail – Inspiration Point has gorgeous views and stop by Hidden Falls on your way back to the car.
- String Lake to Leigh Lake
- Bradley Lake & Taggart Lake
- Some Strenuous Expert Hikes for those who are adventurous
- Delta Lake
- Surprise & Ampitheater Lakes
- Garnet Canyon
- Death Canyon Patrol Cabin to Static Peak
- Cascade Canyon to Lake Solitude
- Hanging Canyon to Lake of the Crags
- Guided Trips: Climb the Grand Teton with Exum Mountain Guides they also do winter trips; ski the Tetons like a local!
- I realize this site is “Teton Husky” but no dogs are allowed in the park. Dogs must remain on leash and can be walked on the roads only. Yes, we take Kenai for walks on the roads in the park, and she’s on leash.
