Avalanche Divide Trail

From Jenny Lake’s West Shore Boat Dock, Avalanche Divide is a 20.8-mile out-and-back through Cascade Canyon and its South Fork to a high divide beneath The Wall. Allow about 13 hours for the walk and roughly 4,100 feet of climbing. This is a very strenuous full-day hike; most of the work is reaching the short terminal branch. The distance assumes the paid passenger shuttle across Jenny Lake. Walking around the south end adds about 2 miles each way, while the String Lake approach is close to 24 miles and skips Inspiration Point.

After the boat crossing, the access trail climbs through the Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point area into Cascade Canyon. A short spur reaches Hidden Falls, which drops about 100 feet; from the west dock it is about a 1-mile round trip, and Inspiration Point is about 2 miles round trip. They make worthwhile early landmarks, but the hike keeps going far beyond them. The viewpoint opens over Jenny Lake toward Jackson Hole before the canyon walls close in again. If you want a shorter outing, turn around at either stop; those are separate hikes, not a shortcut to the divide.

The trail follows Cascade Creek through forest, meadow and rocky openings. Waterfalls keep appearing along the canyon walls, and each break in the trees reveals a little more of the high peaks. At the forks, take the left branch into South Fork Cascade Canyon. The right fork leads toward Hurricane Pass, a different destination.

The South Fork starts beside a cascade, then climbs in the trees along the creek, crossing it on bridges. The lower canyon is mostly shaded, with occasional views through the trees to its steep walls and waterfalls. Farther up, switchbacks pull away from the creek; the forest thins around a wet meadow and open slopes. Keep left where the Hurricane Pass spur branches right. That spur adds about 1.4 miles each way and is not part of this route.

The Avalanche Divide branch is roughly 1.5 to 1.8 miles one way. It crosses open alpine meadows and moraine, with small feeder creeks, pools and brightly colored rock along the way. The climb gets rougher near the end, where the route crosses talus and scree to the base of The Wall. From the divide, look down on Snowdrift Lake and smaller Kit Lake, with Mount Wister beyond. The Wall fills the near view; the lakes give you a vivid foreground if you frame them together.

The Jenny Lake lot has restrooms and 414 paved spaces, but it can have long waits at peak. The lot closes each winter from November 1 through May 1. Pets are prohibited on park trails and in the backcountry, and they cannot ride the Jenny Lake boats.