Best Hikes in Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks

By Becky Lomax, author of Moon Best of Yellowstone & Grand Teton

Whether you’re in the mood for a languid stroll through a gorgeous rugged landscape, or you’re looking for a strenuous hike that will have you breathless and sweating as you earn some of the best views on the planet, expert author Becky Lomax has you covered.

Bunsen Peak

Where: North Yellowstone
Difficulty: Strenuous

A climb of 4.2 mi (6.8 km) round-trip leads to a summit with 360-degree views and mountains in every direction.

Observation Point

Where: Old Faithful and the Geyser Basins
Difficulty: Moderate

Climb up a couple of switchbacks to a point where you can peer down on Old Faithful Geyser. Crowds below look tiny, and the viewpoint gives a different angle on the erupting geyser. Descend via a different route to complete the 2.1-mi (3.4-km) round-trip loop.

Fairy Falls & Grand Prismatic Overlook

Where: Old Faithful and the Geyser Basins
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Image of geyser basin from overlook — © Yggdrasill33 | Dreamstime.com

If you only do one hike in Yellowstone, this is the one to do. Traipse 6.8 mi (11.1 km) round-trip through a young lodgepole forest to reach the gossamer Fairy Falls. From a narrow slot, the falls plunge into a deep pool. In winter, the falls are draped with icicles. En route, add on a side loop to an overlook of radiant Grand Prismatic Spring.

Mount Washburn

Where: Canyon and Lake Country
Difficulty: Strenuous

A 6.4-mi (10.3-km) round-trip climb leads to the 10,243-ft (3,122-m) summit of Mount Washburn for 360-degree panoramic views. It’s a grunt, but the lookout provides huge rewards.

Moon Best of Yellowstone & Grand Teton

by Becky Lomax

by Moon Travel Guides

Whether you’re stopping for a day hike or spending a long weekend under the stars, escape to the great outdoors with Moon Best of Yellowstone & Grand Teton.

$19.99

$25.99 CAD

Format

Buy from Other Retailers:

Taggart and Bradley Lakes

Where: Grand Teton National Park
Difficulty: Strenuous

This 5.9-mi (9.5-km) loop takes you to two lakes at the base of Avalanche and Garnet Canyons. At Bradley Lake, you can stare straight up at the Grand Teton.

Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point

Where: Grand Teton National Park
Difficulty: Moderate

The most popular hike in Grand Teton National Park is a 2-mi (3.2-km) round-trip that starts with a boat shuttle across Jenny Lake and takes in Hidden Falls before summiting Lower Inspiration Point, a rocky outcrop with impressive views of Jackson Hole. If you want a longer hike, instead of taking the boat shuttle you can hike the Jenny Lake Loop, a gentle 7.3-mi (11.7-km) round-trip circle around the lake, before climbing to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point.

For more best ofs, grab a copy of Moon Best of Yellowstone & Grand Teton!

Becky Lomax

About the Author

Becky Lomax grew up hiking, camping, and skiing in Olympic National Park, North Cascades National Park, and Mt. Rainier National Park (where her dad used to serve as a ranger).

During college, she worked summers in Glacier National Park. After teaching high school English for many years outside Seattle, she and her husband moved to Montana, where she served as a hiking and backpacking guide in Glacier, worked at a ski resort, and began to write about the outdoors. She relishes visiting national parks to hike, bike, backpack, kayak, and raft.

Through her writing, she advocates for conserving wild places for their unique attributes and the renewal they bring to humans. She has written about hiking trails, historic lodges and roads, camping, paddling, skiing, bicycling, wildlife, wildflowers, birds, and climate change. For magazine stories, she has tagged along with biologists into the field to radio collar bighorn sheep and grizzly bears, even touching the bear’s claws and smelling its fur to discover its earthy scent.