Grand Teton National Park — Four Nights at Jenny Lake

Summer 2026 National Parks · Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming · July 23–27, 2026

We spent four nights camped at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park at the end of July — the two of us and our two kids. Here's where we went and what we did.

Overview. Orange is driving, grey is on foot, blue is the river float.

Thursday, July 23 — Arrival at Jenny Lake

We got to Jenny Lake Campground mid-afternoon and set up at site 41.

A few things about the campground:

Tent-only. No hookups, no RVs or trailers.
No usable cell signal at the site.
It's under mature conifers, which is what made the middle of the day bearable.
About a 10–15 minute walk from the South Jenny Lake boat dock and visitor center.

It got hot — mid-80s°F, close to 90°F some afternoons — and then dropped to about 45–50°F overnight. We had shade over the picnic table and set up camp chairs and a hammock, which is what made the middle of the day workable.

A red fox turned up near our site on the first evening.

Friday, July 24 — Moose Ponds, and the Snake River float

The plan was String Lake — it's shallower and warmer than the other lakes, which makes it better for the kids. We got to the trailhead around 9:20 a.m. and every parking lot was full. Because our campsite was at Jenny Lake we just drove back, parked at the site, and changed plans.

So we hiked the Moose Ponds and Exum Loop instead — a roundabout route we picked up on the fly, and almost completely flat.

We watched a cow moose feeding in the pond from across the water. Moose Ponds is named for the moose that frequent it, and it delivered.

Evening: Dinner Float on the Snake River, Triangle X Float Trips

Check-in 4:20 p.m. at the float-trip parking lot, Moose Junction, west side of the river, opposite the Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center. Approximately a 20-minute drive south from Jenny Lake; allow extra for construction at the Moose entrance.
Format: cookout dinner on the riverbank first, then a 10-mile downstream float.
Dinner: barbecue, steak, chicken, green beans, cookies.
It's flat water the whole way. You stay seated, the guide rows, and you don't get wet — you board from a gravel bank.
Everyone has to sign a digital waiver; do it before you go.
Bring: layers, camera, sunscreen, cash for a tip.
We saw a bull moose, a beaver, a bald eagle and a lot of other birds from the boat.

On the water, sun coming through the cloud.

Saturday, July 25 — String Lake

We went back to String Lake, this time arriving around 8:00 a.m. There was plenty of parking at that hour.

We hiked the String Lake Trail, a loop around the lake — mostly flat, with Mount Moran standing over the north end.

The boardwalk at the start of the loop, just after 8:30 a.m.

The shallows, late morning. This is what makes it the warmer swim.

String Lake as a swimming spot:

Water is shallower and warmer than Jenny Lake.
The bottom is muddy rather than rocky, which is the trade-off for the warmer water.
There are only a handful of good spots along the shore, and they get busy.
There's a big rock along the shore that teenagers spend the day jumping off.

In the afternoon we went back to the campsite, then over to the Jenny Lake visitor center and store for ice cream. Ice cream or a slushie ended up being a daily stop to cool off.

Sunday, July 26 — Shuttle boat and Hidden Falls

We got in line for the Jenny Lake shuttle boat at 8:20 a.m. and boarded at 9:02 a.m. — about an hour, four boats deep. The crossing itself takes around 12 minutes.

From the west boat dock, Hidden Falls is a short walk up alongside Cascade Creek. Rather than queue for the return boat, we walked back around the south shore of the Jenny Lake Loop, roughly 2.5 miles, which is flat and carries far less foot traffic than the boat side.

We saw a bull moose at Moose Ponds on the way back.

In the afternoon we drove into Jackson for groceries and lunch at Roosevelts, 140 N Cache St, a block off Town Square. It rained at the campground in the late afternoon.

Evening: back down to the Jenny Lake shore, as we did most days.

The Jenny Lake shoreline

We went down to the Jenny Lake shore about five separate times across the four days. It ended up being everyone's favourite part of the trip.

What we learned there:

Lightweight packable camp chairs were the most useful thing we brought. They turned a short stop at the water into a long one.
The water is cold.
The bottom drops off quickly a short way out.
There are large rocks in the shallows to navigate.
The view across the water is of the Cathedral Group: the Grand Teton, Teewinot, and Mount Owen (12,928 ft), named for William O. Owen, credited with the first ascent of the Grand Teton in 1898.

Monday, July 27 — Departure via Colter Bay

A thunderstorm came over the campground at about 4:00 a.m., with lightning directly overhead. We got everyone into the car for around 30 minutes until it passed.

We broke camp in the morning and drove north to Colter Bay, where we hiked the Swan Lake and Heron Pond Trail — 3.60 miles, 262 feet of gain, 1 hour 37 minutes — before letting the kids swim at the beach and carrying on to Yellowstone.

Heron Pond. The lily pads cover most of it, and there were pelicans out on the open water.

The kids also finished their Junior Ranger booklets on this stretch — the last thing they did in Grand Teton before we drove out.

None of our hikes went over 350 feet of elevation gain.

Wildlife we saw

Species	Where	When
Red fox	Jenny Lake Campground	Jul 23, evening
Cow moose	Moose Ponds	Jul 24, late morning
Bull moose	Snake River	Jul 24, evening float
Beaver	Snake River	Jul 24, evening float
Bald eagle	Snake River	Jul 24, evening float
Bull moose	Moose Ponds	Jul 26, late morning
Elk	Grand Teton NP	during the stay

Practical notes

Bear spray cannot be carried on an aircraft. It has to be bought or rented on arrival. It can travel in a vehicle between parks. Glacier Park International Airport (Kalispell) has an amnesty drop box at the security checkpoint for disposal at the end of a trip.
Trailhead parking fills early. String Lake was full at 9:20 a.m. and had space at 8:00 a.m.
A campsite inside the park changes the day. Jenny Lake Campground is walking distance from the boat dock, and it provided a fallback when the String Lake lots were full.
Jenny Lake is cold and rocky. String Lake is warmer and muddy.
Food and coolers must be stored in the bear box or a vehicle at all times, day and night.
The Jenny Lake store carries ice cream, drinks, and basic supplies.

Next: Yellowstone — three nights at Canyon Campground, then Mammoth Hot Springs.