Parking
Start at Jenny Lake Trailhead / South Jenny Lake, off Teton Park Road. The lot fills early in midsummer; the park recommends arriving before 9 a.m. If you use roadside parking, pull fully off the roadway. The park entrance fee applies.
Overview
About Jenny Lake Loop Trail
Why go
- Wide Teton and lake views from both sides of the circuit
- A true loop with rolling rather than sustained climbing
Heads up
- Seven miles makes this a half-day commitment
- Summer parking and the popular west-shore junctions get busy
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Grand Teton map
Full mapElevation6,786–6,892 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 Jenny Lake Loop 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
South Jenny Lake: Shore or Shuttle0:00 / 0:38
“You're nearing South Jenny Lake, where you can enjoy the mountain view from a paved lakeshore path or take the seasonal shuttle across the water.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Grand Teton Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- From Bathhouse to Climbing Base
- A Darkroom in the Mountains
- Jenny Lake Overlook and Its Namesake
- Lupine Meadows: The Climb to Amphitheater Lake
- 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 Jenny Lake Loop Trail
Make the full lap if you have half a dayJenny Lake Loop is a 7.1-mile circuit from South Jenny Lake and back, usually a 3–5 hour outing.
Jenny Lake Loop is a 7.1-mile circuit from South Jenny Lake and back, usually a 3–5 hour outing. Choose it for the full shoreline and repeated Teton views without a summit climb. It is a half-day walk with rolling ground, not a quick path to one viewpoint. Published elevation-gain figures differ sharply, from about 400 to 1,040 feet; the route itself rises and dips along the shore rather than climbing steadily. Plan around the distance and time. South Jenny Lake parking fills early in midsummer, so aim to arrive before 9 a.m. Pets are prohibited on park trails, and the park entrance fee applies.
Go north on the east shoreStart at Jenny Lake Trailhead and walk north along the east side.
Start at Jenny Lake Trailhead and walk north along the east side. A short paved footpath leads into the dirt tread, which winds between shoreline and forest, with roots and exposed rock underfoot. The Cathedral Group opens up above the water: Grand Teton, Mount Owen and Teewinot are among the peaks named along this route. The views keep changing as the trail rounds the lake, so this is a better choice for a full walk than a straight trip to one overlook.
Cross at the String Lake outletAt the north end, the route reaches the south end of String Lake, crosses a footbridge at the…
At the north end, the route reaches the south end of String Lake, crosses a footbridge at the outlet and turns south along Jenny Lake’s west shore. That crossing is the key turn in the circuit. Stay on the Jenny Lake shoreline route; adding another trail here changes the walk.
The west shore has the side-trip junctionsHeading south, you pass access for Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point and Cascade Canyon.
Heading south, you pass access for Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point and Cascade Canyon. Those are optional extensions, not part of the 7.1-mile loop. They add distance and climbing, and the boat dock and falls junctions draw more people to this stretch. The shoreline circuit itself does not climb to Inspiration Point.
Moose Ponds is an optional detourNear the south end, a short spur leads to the Moose Ponds overlook.
Near the south end, a short spur leads to the Moose Ponds overlook. Moose and beaver are often seen there, but sightings are never certain. The main loop passes the junction and continues around the southern shore to the trailhead.
Footing on the circuitExpect narrow stretches, roots and exposed rock over the full distance.
Expect narrow stretches, roots and exposed rock over the full distance. The short paved approach is at the start; most of the circuit follows dirt tread beside the lake. The route is long enough that a modest rise can feel like more work late in the walk.
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.
