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 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 a mountain that gives us panoramic views of the surrounding meadows, river valleys and distant mountain ranges. 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 potentially 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 several 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
• Shuttle to Jackson: 90 minutes

Our final hike in Yellowstone takes us through classic Yellowstone meadows and lodgepole pine forests to a 200-foot waterfall plunging off a pine-studded cliff. After we soak up the sights and sounds of the falls we will 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 the Yellowstone portion of our adventure!

After our hike we’ll shuttle back to Jackson Hole, passing through some of North America’s most stunning landscapes en route. We’ll check back into our Jackson lodge, after cleaning up and relaxing for a bit, enjoy dinner out on the town in Jackson.

• Hiking Mileage: 4-6 miles
• Elevation Change: 450-760 feet

Today we’ll enjoy a delicious breakfast before setting out for Grand Teton National Park. We have at this point driven by the expansive Teton Range twice, and now we have an opportunity to drive into the Park and explore it on foot. The Tetons are an imposing range with towering granite peaks, glaciers, thundering rivers and more!

Grand Teton National Park does not allow commercially guided day hiking, so today’s hike is a self-guided one. Your guide will provide you with an information packet for the hike and collection of tasty trail snacks. The hike itself features abundant views of the Tetons, which are soaring into the sky above you (be sure and bring your camera/phone for great pics!) You’ll enjoy lakes, creeks, possible wildlife sightings (moose are relatively common!) and more as you make your way on this stunning trail.

After returning to the trailhead, we’ll enjoy a picnic lunch and then some more time in Grand Teton National Park with a relaxing road-based tour to key viewpoints and highlights of the Park. Your guide explains the natural and cultural history that makes the Tetons America’s most famous mountain range.

After an enchanting week, we’ve saved some of the best for last! We’ll enjoy a relaxing breakfast and then head back to the Tetons for a float below the grandeur of the Tetons on the Snake River. 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 class 3 and 3+ rapids. Plan on getting wet!

Following the conclusion of our rafting adventure, we’ll enjoy a leisurely picnic lunch beneath the Tetons and eventually make our way back to Jackson for the conclusion of our tour. What a week it’s been!