Hiking The Cascade Canyon Trail, Grand Teton National Park: Complete Guide

Imagine a hike with waterfalls, glaciers, craggy peaks, a narrow creek, moose and black bears. This is the beautiful Cascade Canyon trail – one of the most beautiful and best day hikes in Grand Teton National Park.

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How to Hike the Cascade Canyon Trail in Grand Teton
Complete Guide to Hiking Cascade Canyon Grand Teton

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Hiking the Cascade Canyon Trail, Grand Teton National Park

I was only spending a few days in the park and wanted to do one of the best hikes in Teton National Park, but I was also not super fit at the time. I really wanted to see a moose and Grand Teton hikes are a great way to see not only the mountains, but also the wildlife.  So, I decided the best hike in Grand Teton National Park was the Cascade Canyon Trail, near Jenny Lake.

I’ve included this hike on my one-day Grand Teton itinerary (and the 2- and 3-day itineraries) because it’s that good!

If you are planning to visit Grand Teton National Park in spring, summer or fall, make your planning easy and stress free with a detailed itinerary. I have 1-, 2-, and 3-day itineraries for Grand Teton that include all the park highlights, give you choices based on your preferred activity level, and take all the stress out of planning your trip. 

Check out the three Grand Teton itinerary options 

This is just one of the incredible hikes you can do in Grand Teton National Park. For even more awesome hikes, check out my post on the Ten Best Hikes in the Grand Tetons.

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Guide to Hiking the Cascade Canyon Trail

Cascade Canyon Hike, Grand Tetons: Essential Details

The Cascade Canyon Trail is 9 miles/ 14.5 km total (out and back).  The trail ends at a fork – the right fork takes you to Paintbrush Canyon. You can turn back at any point, of course. 

I hiked to the cascade, which is most of the trail, and turned back before getting right to the end. It took about 5 hours, including a side trip to Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls, walking slowly and stopping frequently.  

Make sure you leave early enough to take the last boat back, unless you want to walk the extra 2 miles around Jenny Lake.

It is medium difficulty, mostly due to the steep start/ end.  The total elevation change is 1,100 feet/ 335 m, and almost all of this is in the first 1.5 miles/ 2.5 km.  After that, it’s pretty flat and follows a river most of the way into the canyon. 

It’s a popular trail, though when I was there in mid-September, I didn’t encounter too many other hikers.

Cascade-canyon-grand-tetons-river-reflection

Paintbrush Trail Divide

You can do the trail as a loop with overnight camping and on to the Paintbrush Canyon Trail.  This trail combines two Grand Teton day hikes into one of the best trails in Grand Teton National Park if you like backcountry camping. 

The trail ends at the Leigh Lake trailhead at the String Lake Picnic area at the northern end of Jenny Lake.  Then you join the Jenny Lake Loop around the lake.  This can be done in reverse, of course.

Cascade-canyon-grand-tetons-brook

What to take with you on the Cascade Canyon Trail

Make sure to take everything on my Day Hike Packing List (get it here), and be sure to include a bear whistle or spray, since this is bear country.

Check out my Essential Gear for Hikers, to make sure you have the gear and clothing you need.

Jenny Lake Visitor Center

  • Summer (June 6-September 3) open daily 8:00am – 7:00pm.
  • Spring (May 18 – June 5) and Fall (September 4 – September 23) open daily 8:00am – 5:00pm.
  • Winter (September 24 – May 17) closed.

Jenny Lake Ranger Station Visitor Center

  • Summer (June 3 – September 3) open daily 8:00am – 5:00pm. 
  • Closed the rest of the year.

Getting to the Cascade Canyon Trailhead

The trail starts at Jenny Lake.  Cascade Canyon Trailhead is across the lake on the west side of Jenny Lake, across the lake from the Visitor Center, parking and campground.

There are 3 options:

  1. Walk along the Jenny Lake Loop trail to the start of the Cascade Canyon Trail. This is two miles/ 3.2 km each way.
  2. Park at String Lake and hike 1.7 miles/ 2.7 km on the Jenny Lake Loop trail to the trailhead.
  3. Take the Jenny Lake shuttle boat across Jenny Lake to the start of the Cascade Canyon Trail.

Jenny Lake Ferry

The shuttle boat eliminates a 2-mile hike (each way) to the Cascade Canyon trailhead. The Jenny Lake boat dock is a short flat, paved walk from the Visitor Center. The Jenny Lake shuttle boat cost is $ 15.00 Adult Round-trip / $ 9.00 Adult One-Way.

Shuttles run every 10-15 minutes throughout the day.  No reservations are necessary (or possible).  Check their website for the latest Jenny Lake boat schedule for the times of the first and last boats, as it varies throughout the season.

Grand-Tetons-jenny-lake-shuttle

Note that parking at Jenny Lake is usually full by 9:00am in summer.

Cascade Canyon Trail Map

Cascade-Canyon-tRail-map Grand Teton National Park
FREE DOWNLOAD
Subscribe to monthly updates with tips for planning, travel inspiration and trip ideas and get instant access to the free PDF of this
Guide to Hiking the Cascade Canyon Trail

If you are planning to visit Grand Teton National Park in spring, summer or fall, make your planning easy and stress free with a detailed itinerary. I have 1-, 2-, and 3-day itineraries for Grand Teton that include all the park highlights, give you choices based on your preferred activity level and take all the stress out of planning your trip. (And yes, they all include this hike!)

Check out the three Grand Teton itinerary options

Cascade Canyon Trail Description

Getting to the Cascade Canyon Trailhead

We decided to take the shuttle boat to the trailhead for the Cascade Canyon hike.  You can walk around Jenny Lake for 2 miles/ 3.2 km, but because I wasn’t in great shape, skipping 4 miles (2 miles each way) sounded like a great idea to me (it was!). 

The first boat left at 10:00am since it was September.  I always like to do hikes early, and was a little concerned this was to late a start, but it was fine and left plenty of time for the hike.

As we waited at the east dock for the boat, Jenny Lake formed a perfect mirror to reflect the mountains.

Jenny-Lake-near-boat-dock-grand-tetons-national-park

Can we just take a moment to reflect on how ridiculous this view is? And the hike hasn’t even started!

Jenny-Lake-boat-trip-grand-tetons

The ride across the lake was quick and beautiful.  We soon approached the west dock of the lake.

Jenny-lake-dock-start-of-cascade-canyon-trail Grand Teton National Park

The start of the hike

We started the hike at about 10:30am.  In theory, you can hike up via Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls, but the part of the trail that connects Inspiration Point to the Cascade Canyon trail has been closed for the past few years.  So, when you get off the boat take the trail on the right (unless the other trail has opened up).

The trail is easy to follow, but if you aren’t familiar with trail markers, read about them here.

Cascade-Canyon-trail-early-grand-tetons

This hike is perfect for beginner hikers. If you are unfamiliar with hiking etiquette, read about it here, so you don’t make any accidental mistakes on the trail. If you are a beginner hiker, also check out my Intro to Hiking 101 guide for some useful tips and insights.

The first mile and a half/ 2.5 km were a steep climb, but we took our time.  I take a lot of photos, which gives me a natural reason to step frequently.  So, although it was uphill, it didn’t seem too hard.

Cascade-Canyon-trail-early-2-grand-tetons

Inside Cascade Canyon

After about 1.5 miles, we entered the canyon and my jaw hit the ground.  This is why this is the best hike in Grand Teton National Park.

Cascade-Canyon-classic-view Grand Teton National Park

We took a million photos of the craggy hills with drifts of snow on the left, stony hills on the right, and a distant canyon wall in front.

Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park consists of the Teton Range, which forms western part of the park, and the Jackson Hole valley.  The mountains, which are the youngest range in the Rocky Mountains, are especially dramatic because they rise straight up out of the flat valley floor.  And yes, it’s true – the name ‘Grand Teton’ means ‘Big Breast’ in French.

Cascade-canyon-grand-tetons-brook

Animal life in the canyon

This is bear country, and we were warned to take bear spray with us.  We didn’t see any bears on the hike (though did later that evening).  However, when we got the river, we took even more photos.

Cascade-canyon-river-view

And then we saw these four curious guys.

River-otters-cascade-canyon-hike Grand Teton National Park
Curious river otters

How cool was that?

Cascades

After a short break, it was back on the trail, in among woods that blocked the canyon views for the most part, but cooled us down.  In gaps in the trees, we saw the cascades that give the canyon its name; a beautiful melting glacial waterfall.

The full 4.5 miles/ 7 km hike is to a fork in the path, but we turned back a bit before we got there.

More wildlife

On our way back, we saw a couple of other hikers looking down into the river that snaked beside the trail.  There was a female moose drinking and eating river grass.  As someone who didn’t grow up in the U.S., I really wanted to see a moose, and there one was!

Moose-cascade-canyon-trail-grand-tetons

Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls

Since we weren’t able to start the hike with this, we ended with it. It’s only about a half mile diversion to Inspiration Point and a short distance further to Hidden Falls. 

Inspiration Point has views over Jenny Lake and the flat valley below.  Not the dramatic mountains we had been seeing all day, but pretty.

Inspiration-Point-hike-Grand-Teton-national-Park

The falls are worth a look too – 200 feet/ 61 m tall and gushing.

Hidden Falls Grand Teton National Park

The end of the hike

Inspiration-Point-hike Grand Teton National Park

The end of the hike was back down the steep trail to the lake, where I soaked my feet in water to cool down while waiting for the shuttle boat back to the campground.

Jenny-Lake-west-shore Grand Teton National Park

We took the 3:30pm ferry back, so the whole hike had been a very leisurely 5 hours.

Jenny-lake-boat-dock-grand-tetons

We finished our day with dinner on the terrace at Dornan’s Pizza and Pasta in nearby Moose and roasted marshmallows on our campfire.

The verdict: Hiking Cascade Canyon Grand Teton National Park

I highly recommend the Cascade Trail.  Grand Teton hiking trails are either in the valley or in the mountains, and this was a great chance to get up close and personal with the mountains.  The scenery is stunning and chances of seeing wildlife are high (though not guaranteed, of course), easily making this one of the best hikes in Grand Teton National Park.

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Subscribe to monthly updates with tips for planning, travel inspiration and trip ideas and get instant access to the free PDF of this
Guide to Hiking the Cascade Canyon Trail

Happy hiking!

Do you have any stories of the Grand Tetons? I’d love to hear them. Join my private Facebook group National Parks Collectors and comment and let me know.

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Complete Guide to Hiking Cascade Canyon Grand Teton
How to Hike the Cascade Canyon Trail in Grand Teton

About the Author

James Ian Yosemite

James Ian has traveled to 82 countries and all 7 continents.  He has visited all of the main national parks in the United States, as well as many national monuments and state parks.

He has rafted through the Grand Canyon; rappelled down slot canyons near Zion and Arches; hiked among the hoodoos in Bryce and the enormous trees in Sequoia; admired the waterfalls in Yosemite and the colored hot springs in Yellowstone; seen moose in Grand Tetons and seals in the Channel Islands, and much more.

Read more…


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