Garnet Canyon Trail

Garnet Canyon is an 8.2-mile round-trip out-and-back from Lupine Meadows Trailhead, with about 2,430 feet of climbing. Plan on four to six hours for a strenuous hike that leaves the trees behind and heads into the heart of the Teton Range. Follow the switchbacks to Three-Mile Junction, turn left for Garnet Canyon, and stop at the boulder field unless you’re prepared for a rough scramble and route-finding. The standard hike ends at that field; it doesn’t include the mountaineering approaches beyond.

The trail starts in forest and crosses a stream in Glacier Gulch on a bridge about 0.6 mile in. After that the grade steepens through trees and brushy meadows. Around a mile out, the path bends west and brief openings frame Teewinot and Grand Teton. At about 1.7 miles, pass the Valley Trail junction; the switchbacks continue up a broad ridge with little cover. The climb is the main work here, but it also opens the view back across Jackson Hole and toward Bradley and Taggart lakes.

At roughly three miles, take the left branch into Garnet Canyon. This quieter section contours toward the canyon before the walls and peaks close in. Around 3.4 miles, the view opens toward Nez Perce and Middle Teton; from about 3.6 miles, the path turns rocky and climbs through talus beneath Disappointment Peak. Middle Teton’s dark, nearly vertical dike cuts about 800 feet down its face, an easy landmark to pick out as you approach. The canyon puts several big peaks in one view, including Nez Perce, South Teton, Middle Teton, Grand Teton and Disappointment Peak.

At about 4.1 miles one way, the maintained hiking description reaches a massive boulder field. A sign points toward platform campsites and Lower Saddle, but those are beyond this trail’s mapped endpoint. Crossing the roughly 350-foot boulder maze is unmarked and requires scrambling and confident route-finding. You can make the boulder field your turnaround and enjoy the canyon without crossing it; don’t treat the route beyond as an ordinary marked hiking trail. Crossing the maze leads to The Meadows, a high alpine cirque and camping zone below the peaks, with Spaulding Falls dropping down the north talus. That longer continuation is about 9.4 miles round trip and belongs to a more demanding climbing approach, not the standard Garnet Canyon hike. The peaks are close enough to feel like a climbing approach, which is exactly what the upper canyon becomes for climbers.