Day trip from YNP: would we have time to do much?

Dh and I will be in Yellowstone for six days late Aug/early Sept. We%26#39;re thinking about making a day trip down to Grand Teton NP while we%26#39;re there. Tuesday and Wednesday nights we have reservations for Old Faithful Inn; I was thinking we could drive down to GTNP on Wednesday just for the day. Would we have time to even see much in GTNP? Time to do any short hikes? How long does it take to drive from Old Faithful Inn to Jenny Lake (we%26#39;d definitely want to do the hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration point).

Thanks!

Kelly

Day trip from YNP: would we have time to do much?

I%26#39;d say its worth it. Its about an hour and a half drive to Jenny Lake but its a nice drive. Its a beautiful area. Start fairly early so you can get most of a day.

www.alandsuejohnson.com/grand_tetons_2008.htm

Here%26#39;s a link to what we did in a full day in the Tetons. It includes the first half day but you can tell which is which.

www.alandsuejohnson.com/grand_tetons_2008.htm

If you do go early, watch for wildlife on or near the road.

Day trip from YNP: would we have time to do much?

I would take the boat across Jenny Lake to the trail head. This way you can hike Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point, and continue beyond Inspiration Point into Cascade Canyon. I thought Cascade Canyon was the most beautiful hike in either park.

Definitely worth the trip down for a day. The drive through GTNP is amazing. And I bet if you leave early you could squeeze in a short day-hike and/or check out the town of Jackson for a couple hours. If you%26#39;re able to alter your plans to stay a night in GTNP or Jackson, I would recommend it. But still worth it if all you can alot is a full day with no overnight.

it%26#39;s about 75 miles but if you leave early in the morning it won%26#39;t be a bad drive. gtnp is a must imo. the jenny lake area is beautiful %26amp; we loved those hikes. there are (or were) two moose that were always hanging around cascade canyon both times we made that hike. jackson lake lodge is worth seeing. grab a bite or have a drink that evening at dornans to watch the sunset while ovelooking the snake river.

if you leave out early %26amp; eat dinner before you head back you%26#39;ll miss all the traffic that is present during the day.

As time permits, and if interested, a very nice museum:

North of Jackson, main hwy.

http://www.wildlifeart.org/

Yes, it is worth the trip. In fact, after visiting both last year, we actually enjoyed GTNP more than YNP. My memory of the drive is that it takes more like 2+ hours, not 90 minutes, from Old Faithful to Jenny Lake. Still you won%26#39;t feel like you%26#39;re wasting time in the drive. In fact, it might have taken us that long because we couldn%26#39;t just drive it, we had to continue to get out and take in the scenery -- and this was after we had already spent 4 days actually staying at GTNP.

BTW, I would seriously consider changing your reservation if you can and cut one day from YNP so that you can actually spend a night at GTNP. Not because a day trip is wasted, but because you are goig to kick yourself after you do it that you didn%26#39;t have more time.

It%26#39;s definitely worth the effort to see GTNP while you are in the area. However, my main reason for replying was to echo some of the above points and recommend you split your stay between YNP and GTNP rather than see GTNP in a day trip.

If you have six days to split, there%26#39;s no doubt that YNP deserves more time and so I would suggest 4 days for YNP and 2 days for GTNP seems sensible.

I had a week to split between the parks earlier this month and decided to stay in 3 different locations to reduce the travel distances and times around the parks.

streamreader