I traveled to Wyoming in August with one of my best friends to visit Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. I thought this was the perfect amount of time here to see a good amount of sights!

Itinerary

Day 1

Fly to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Land in the afternoon or evening, get groceries in town, and camp at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton, which is in between Jackson and Yellowstone.

Day 2

Drive two hours north to Yellowstone. Head to Old Faithful and check what the next eruption time will be at the Visitor Center. If you have time to kill before the next eruption, you can walk the loop around Old Faithful and see several small springs. See Old Faithful in all its glory, and then head to Grand Prismatic Geyser, just about 15 minutes away. Walk the loop that goes near the base of the springs on a boardwalk. Stop by Mammoth Hot Springs, another hour north. Spend the rest of your afternoon in Lamar Valley, America’s Serengeti. Hopefully you will see tons of wildlife! Start making your way back south and stop by Fountain Paint Pots, another geothermal area, for sunset. Camp at Grant Village Campground in Yellowstone.

See my detailed post about our day in Yellowstone here.

Day 3

Drive 45 minutes from Grant Village Campground to Grand Teton. Stop at Jackson Lake Overlook and Oxbow Bend for pretty views. It’ll probably be time for a shower, so stop at Signal Mountain Lodge if you want to get clean. Then drive to the top of Signal Mountain to see the view. Head to Jenny Lake and set up your campground that you’ve reserved ahead of time. Hike around Jenny Lake and take the shuttle boat back to the start. Check out Schwabacher Landing for sunset.  

Check out my post about our three days in Grand Teton here.

Day 4

If you’re up for a long hike, start your day early at the Lupine Meadows Trailhead. The hike to Delta Lake is strenuous and will take about 6 to 7 hours. After you’re done, you can head back and get another shower at Signal Mountain Lodge, and then to Teton Village for the evening. Have dinner at The Deck @ Piste, where you’ll take a gondola up to the top of the mountain. Camp at Jenny Lake this night.

 Read my trail description here.

Day 5

Pack up your campsite and drive an hour to Swift Creek Outfitters. You can choose from a one, two, or three hour horseback riding tour. After you’re done, head to the Mormon Row Barns for a beautiful view and to learn about the history. Next, head to the town of Jackson for lunch at Roadhouse Pub & Eatery. The flatbead is great here! Spend the afternoon shopping around town and get a beer at Snake River Brewing. Have dinner at Hand Fire Pizza. I highly recommend the “Chew-Baca” pizza. End your evening by having drinks at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, where you can sit on a saddle at the bar. Head to Gros Ventre Campground, where you’ll stay for the night.

Read about how to spend one day in Jackson here.

Day 6

Grab some breakfast at Pearl Street Bagels in Jackson before heading to the airport. Fly home that afternoon.

Camping

We stayed at Grant Village Campground in Yellowstone. This campground is near the southern edge of the park. I thought this location was perfect for one day in the park. However, if you want to go to Lamar Valley at sunrise or sunset, the Mammoth Campground would be a more convenient spot. Grant Village did not allow us to pick which spot we wanted to stay in; they assigned the space when we arrived. We got to the campground at 8:30am. The official check in time was not until 1pm, but since some people had already checked out, they allowed us to set up our site. The campground was nice and quiet and we had a good night here.

In Grand Teton, we stayed in Jenny Lake for three nights. The first night was on the way to Yellowstone and we were in spot #47. We set up our campsite when it was dark, and woke up to a beautiful view. After our one-night stay in Yellowstone, we stayed in campsite #50 for two nights. This spot also had a good mountain view. This campground was in the best location out of the campgrounds in Grand Teton! It takes just a few minutes to walk to Jenny Lake. There are also a ton of hikes in that area, including the hike to Delta Lake. 

On our last night, we wanted to stay a little closer to the Jackson Hole airport, so we stayed in Gros Ventre Campground, site #83A. This campground is very open, with little tree coverage to block the wind. It got very windy a couple times overnight!

Park Entrance Fees

The fees to get into Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park are $35 each. However, I had the America the Beautiful annual park pass, which allowed us to get into the parks for free. It definitely makes sense to get this pass if you will be visiting more than two parks within a year.

Weather

We had excellent weather on our Wyoming trip! It only sprinkled one morning while we were still in the tent. The mornings were chilly (50s F), afternoons were hot (high 80s F), and overnights perfect for camping (40s F). It took a while to warm up in the afternoon so the mornings were great hiking temperatures.

Cost Per Person

This trip ended up being slightly more expensive than my normal camping trips, since there were only two of us. The rental car ended up being a little more than usual too because of the rental car shortage.  

Flight: $455
Campsites & showers: $110
Rental car: $200
Gas: $55
Food & drinks: $165
Home airport parking: $25
Souvenirs: $100
Entertainment: $65

TOTAL: $1175

Overall Thoughts

I loved the Teton Mountains in Wyoming!! I was bummed that our last couple days were very smoky from the wildfires. However, when the mountains were out, they were very impressive. I liked Grand Teton better than Yellowstone and was happy we were at Grand Teton longer. I would love to come back here!

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