Yellowstone and Grand Tetons Inn Based

Pre-trip lodging in Jackson is included in this trip. The hotel will be awaiting your arrival and be ready to check you in. Dinner tonight is on your own, and the guide will be happy to make recommendations of excellent restaurants within walking distance of our hotel during the pre-trip contact.

• Shuttle to Trailhead: 75 minutes
• Hiking Mileage: 7-11 miles
• Elevation Gain: 350 feet
• Elevation Loss: 350 feet

We’ll start our first morning with a delicious Rocky Mountain breakfast and orientation meeting before embarking on our day’s adventure. We’ll head north out of Jackson for a day of views, rivers, possible thermals and potential wildlife. We’ll enjoy one of America’s most famous drives along the base of the Tetons, where the Snake River winds across fields of grass, and the glaciated rampart of the Grand Teton soars above us. We will stop a couple times to snap photos and soak up the grandeur of these scenes, including the blue waters of Jackson Lake.

Our hike is along the Snake River near the southern boundary of Yellowstone National Park, where we’ll learn about the ecosystems of the Greater Yellowstone Region and get our legs warmed up for the week. We start by crossing the Snake River (bring your water shoes!), and then hike along its famous shores, keeping our eyes peeled for wildlife and soaking up the pristine beauty of the area as we hike. It is possible, but not guaranteed, that we’ll reach the Snake River Hot Spring, which is a thermal creek that flows for 1/4 mile before merging with the Snake. After a delicious picnic lunch at the hot spring or before it, we’ll hike back along the Snake River to our shuttle back to Jackson.

After our first day’s hike, we’ll enjoy some down time and then meet for an amazing dinner at a hand-picked Jackson restaurant.

Today’s a very special one as we explore Grand Teton National Park from land and water! After an early start and quick continental breakfast we’ll head north. We pass the amazing National Elk Refuge and with any luck will get wonderful views of elk and bison grazing along the valley floor. From there we continue into Grand Teton National Park for a morning of sightseeing and learning about the amazing history and ecology of these famous mountains. We’ll visit multiple viewpoints and highlights as your guide provides interpretative content along the way.

After an enchanting morning and a relaxing picnic lunch, we’ll head to the Snake River for a float below the grandeur of the Tetons. We have hand picked the best white water rafting company in the Tetons to provide this afternoon’s adventure (Dave Hansen Rafting Company), and you’re in for an incredible treat! The 8 mile whitewater stretch that we do through the scenic Snake River Canyon includes a mix of calm sections where we can take in the scenery and watch for wildlife, and exciting rapids. Plan on getting wet!

Please note: if you’d prefer to skip the rafting, you can join the guide for additional sightseeing and photography in and around Grand Teton National Park, and rendezvous with the group at the take-out spot.

After our afternoon adventure, we’ll make our way back to Jackson for showers and another delicious dinner at one of our favorite eateries.

• Shuttle from Jackson: 3-hour drive
• Hiking Mileage: 6 miles
• Elevation Gain/Loss: 1,400 feet

The Yellowstone portion of our adventure begins today with one of the most beautiful hikes in the park, a hike to the summit of Mt. Washburn at over 10,000 feet. The trail to the summit travels through picturesque subalpine parkland where wildflowers abound. Bighorn sheep are sometimes seen grazing in nearby meadows. This is one of the only places in the park where hikers can get close up views and photos of the majestic sheep as they are habituated to the presence of hikers. It is a steady climb over 3 miles to the summit where we’ll have a tremendous view of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone – a giant rift in a landscape of forested hills. Other sites include Yellowstone Lake, the Teton Range, Electric Peak, and an overall sense that the entire park stretches out below your feet.

Following this beautiful hike we’ll drive to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone for a short stroll out to Artist Point for one of the more phenomenal waterfall views in North America – the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is an amazing feature at 20 miles long, 1,200 feet deep, and a mere 4,000 feet in width on average. It was formed approximately 10,000 years ago when a large glacial ice dam in Hayden Valley burst, flooding the canyon and creating the two thunderous waterfalls and multicolored canyon walls it is known for.

• Hiking Mileage: 6 miles
• Elevation Change: minimal

The glittering expanse of Yellowstone Lake will be the focal point of today’s first hike: Storm Point. This relatively flat 2.3-mile loop leads to a stunning vista of the largest lake above 7,000 feet in North America. In spring, the lakeshore is a corridor for grizzly bears. The hike begins at Indian Pond, a favorite locale for bison, and continues through a lodge pole pine forest to a bluff overlooking the picturesque shore of this hydrothermal fed lake. Before completing our loop, we will walk past enormous boulders, which are home to a colony of yellow-bellied marmots. If we are lucky, we may see one basking in the sun. We’ll then jump back in the van for a drive to Old Faithful where we will explore the Upper Geyser Basin. Yellowstone is home to 60% of the world’s geysers and most of them can be found here, including Old Faithful itself. Walking the boardwalks we’ll experience the basins’ diverse array of geysers from thin fountains to massive eruptions. It is an impressive scene.

• Hiking Mileage: 5.4 miles
• Elevation Change: 200 feet

Our final day’s hike takes us through classic Yellowstone meadows and lodgepole pine forests to Fairy Falls, a 200-foot waterfall plunging off a pine-studded cliff. After we soak up the sights and sounds of Fairy Falls, we will end our tour with a stop at the Grand Prismatic overlook. The Grand Prismatic is the largest hot spring in the United States and one of the most iconic features in the park. It is a great way to close out our Yellowstone adventure. We will conclude our trip with a shuttle back to Jackson and fond farewells.