Parking
Use the Blacktail Butte Trailhead lot on the east side of US 26/89/191, about one mile north of Moose Junction. The hiking line starts behind the prominent trail sign. There are no facilities at the lot.
Overview
About Blacktail Butte Peak Trail
Why go
- Broad Teton view from the summit ridge
- A strenuous half-day climb near Moose Junction
Heads up
- Steep, sustained ascent
- No water or restroom at the trailhead
Blacktail Butte Peak Trail is a strenuous out-and-back from the signed highway-side trailhead to the butte’s southern summit ridge, where the trees open toward the Teton Range. Plan on about 6.1 miles round trip, roughly four hours, and about 1,250 feet of climbing. Choose it for a demanding half-day ascent close to Moose, not a gentle viewpoint stroll.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe payoffMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Grand Teton map
Full mapElevation6,516–7,694 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Grand Teton alerts
- ClosureConstruction closures and delaysConstruction is causing current road and area closures and delays across Grand Teton; use the signed Taggart Trail detour. - Moose-Wilson Road is closed between Moose and Laurance S.Official details
- ClosureJackson Lake boat ramps closed; Signal launch riskColter Bay and Leeks boat ramps are closed; Signal Mountain Boat Ramp is open, but water is below the ramp edge and loose cobbles make launching risky.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Grand Teton Tour Guide
Your drive to Blacktail Butte Peak Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Grand Teton National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Grand Teton audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Blacktail Butte: A Half-Day Ridge Climb0:00 / 0:23
“Blacktail Butte Trailhead is ahead, for a strenuous half-day climb to a ridge overlooking Jackson Hole and the Tetons.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Grand Teton Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Blacktail Ponds: Watch the Wetland Edges
- Dornans: A Meal with a Homestead Story
- Chapel of the Transfiguration and Menors Ferry
- Moose Landing: Float-Trip Access
- 118 audio storiesacross Grand Teton’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Brown Bear, Gray Wolf, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 70 trails, 121 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“…We have been driving around with the audio tour and it has been informational and spot on. The whole family has been impressed. We used it for Yellowstone and Grand Teton.”
Trail guide
Hiking Blacktail Butte Peak Trail
Follow the hiking lineStart behind the prominent trailhead sign and take the track along the butte’s west side…
Start behind the prominent trailhead sign and take the track along the butte’s west side through pockets of aspen. It climbs steadily toward a gully and the south end of the butte. Several steep side tracks lead to bolted climbing routes; stay on the hiking line. At the summit ridge, turn around and retrace the route. This is not a loop.
The view from the ridgeThe route’s reward is an open look across Jackson Hole to the Teton skyline.
The route’s reward is an open look across Jackson Hole to the Teton skyline. Much of the climb is among trees, so the mountain view arrives as the hillside opens near the southern ridge. For a photo, keep some of the butte’s slope below the peaks; it gives the skyline a sense of place instead of making the frame all mountains.
Make the start workThe trailhead parking lot is on the east side of US 26/89/191, about a mile north of Moose…
The trailhead parking lot is on the east side of US 26/89/191, about a mile north of Moose Junction. There is no water or restroom at the lot, so bring what you need and stop beforehand. Pets are prohibited on park trails.
The butte’s nameThe butte appeared as Gros Ventre Butte on an 1876 survey and as Blacktrail Butte on an 1899…
The butte appeared as Gros Ventre Butte on an 1876 survey and as Blacktrail Butte on an 1899 map. Its current name refers to the blacktail deer, now called mule deer, that browse its slopes and upper meadows.
The payoffThis entry follows the route from the Blacktail Butte Trailhead on US 26/89/191.
This entry follows the route from the Blacktail Butte Trailhead on US 26/89/191. A separate approach begins near Mormon Row, so its mileage and route are a different itinerary. The mapped line follows the climb one way; the stated hiking distance includes the return over the same corridor.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Grand Teton
172 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
195 sightingsBrown BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
32 sightingsGray WolfMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,816 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
614 sightingsBisonMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
738 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Grand Teton. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
