Hiking the Cascade Canyon Trail in Grand Teton National Park

The Cascade Canyon Trail takes you through one of the most popular and beautiful canyons in Grand Teton National Park!

Whether you’re just hiking to Hidden Falls or Inspiration Point or hoping to make it all the way back to Lake Solitude, you will love any time you are able to devote to this beautiful area of Grand Teton.

Podcast Episode Overview

Today, we are going on an adventure in my favorite national park—Grand Teton! We’re hiking through Cascade Canyon, the most popular longer trail in the Tetons.

Join us as we visit Jenny Lake, Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point, and even Lake Solitude along the Cascade Canyon Trail! Whether you’re going for a multi-day backpacking trip or a quick hike, you will love the Teton views from up here!

In this episode, we discuss:

The best season for hiking this trail
How to see the “Disneyland” of Grand Teton
Helpful tips to keep in mind while hiking this trail
All of the must-see spots in Cascade Canyon
The animals you can see while hiking this trail
The two forks in this trail and what you need to know about each

We hope you enjoy exploring the gorgeous Cascade Canyon in Grand Teton National Park. It truly is a choose-your-own-adventure kind of hike, and there are so many beautiful and iconic views on this trail.

Grab one of our Grand Teton National Park itineraries to start planning your next epic vacation to Grand Teton National Park!

Listen to the Full Podcast Episode:

Why We Love Cascade Canyon

When I was a Park Ranger at Grand Teton National Park, I explored almost every canyon in the park. Cascade Canyon is popular, but the views of the Tetons from here are some of the best you will find in the Teton Range.

Cascade Canyon is a great hike that offers panoramic views of Jenny Lake and the Tetons as you follow Cascade Creek up the canyon.

The trail is a choose-your-own-adventure you can piece together depending on your ideal itinerary. You can spend a few hours riding the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake and hiking to Hidden Falls, or you can complete a full-day hike up to the Cascade Forks or Lake Solitude. You could also turn your hike into an epic backpacking loop via the Paintbrush Divide or Hurricane Ridge.

No matter what you choose, this is one of the best trails in Grand Teton!

The Best Time of Year to Hike Up Cascade Canyon

The best time of year to hike Cascade Canyon and enjoy Grand Teton is mid-July to early September. If you go before mid-July, you will hit snow. Some areas of the trail can get hairy if they’re snowy or icy.

You may also have wildfires to contend with later in the year, so timing can be tricky.

If you’re just going for a day hike and not backpacking, you won’t have to worry about timing as much. We personally usually aim for the end of July if we want to hike all the way back into the canyon!

Starting Your Cascade Canyon Hike

The vast majority of people will park at the Jenny Lake Trailhead toward the south end of Jenny Lake. From here, you can head to the Jenny Lake boat dock and take the boat shuttle across the lake toward Cascade Canyon.

Taking the shuttle boat cuts out about five miles round-trip, which we see as a huge win! You can use that energy to hike further into Cascade Canyon while taking a boat ride with amazing views of Teewinot Mountain.

The Jenny Lake parking lot can be competitive if you show up later in the day, so plan ahead. Before you take off on your hike, stop by the Jenny Lake Visitor Center to get your maps and trail information.

If you want to hike in from the north, you can also access Cascade Canyon from the String Lake trailhead.

Hiking to Hidden Falls

After hopping off the boat shuttle or hiking around Jenny Lake, your first major stop will be Hidden Falls.

This area of Grand Teton can be extremely busy because Hidden Falls is only about a half-mile from the boat dock. It’s a busy hike for a reason — no other waterfall is as accessible in Grand Teton. We definitely think it’s worth your time to see this stunning waterfall.

There are huckleberry bushes between the boat shuttle dock and Hidden Falls, so we often see bears in this area despite the crowds. Remember your bear spray!

Hiking to Inspiration Point

With another half-mile hike and a challenging uphill section of trail from Hidden Falls, you’ll then reach Inspiration Point!

Inspiration Point is a rock outcropping where you can sit and look out over the Jackson Hole Valley and Jenny Lake. It’s a really neat experience to be sitting in a place that has inspired generations of humans.

You can see Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point with a two-mile round-trip hike from the west shore boat dock. To get to Inspiration Point, you need to climb 250 feet in elevation, which includes a cliff with rock stairs. It has some exposed ledges, so keep a close eye on your kids!

If the 250 feet of elevation gain scares you, don’t worry! The Cascade Canyon Trail flattens out quite a bit after you reach Inspiration Point.

Hiking Deeper Into Cascade Canyon

With Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point behind you, you’re officially at the mouth of Cascade Canyon!

The trail follows Cascade Creek and offers massive views of the Cathedral Group of mountains, which includes Grand Teton, a giant at 13,770 feet. The 12,928-foot Mt. Owen and 12,325-foot Teewinot Mountain also dominate the skyline.

You will want to make noise in this area because black bears frequent the huckleberry bushes.

Next, you’ll cross over a boulder field before arriving at a meadow where you might see moose! Pika and marmots play in the boulder field, so keep your ears open for their little squeaks.

Compared to the steep climb to Inspiration Point at 250 feet over one mile, Cascade Canyon climbs 500 feet over three and a half miles. It’ll feel flatter to you as you work your way deeper into the canyon.

The Cascade Canyon Forks

After four and a half miles, you’ll reach the forks of Cascade Canyon. This is a good turnaround spot for day hiking.

If you want to continue on, you have a choice to make! You can either go to the left and hike Cascade Canyon South Fork toward Hurricane Pass or to the right and hike the Cascade Canyon North Fork to Lake Solitude.

Cascade Canyon North Fork

Turning to the right, you’ll be headed down the most popular day hike path in Grand Teton along the North Fork Cascade Canyon. This is a classical glacially carved U-shaped canyon.

Cascade Canyon North takes you toward Lake Solitude. It’s about 20 miles round-trip from Lake Solitude back to the Jenny Lake trailhead, or about 15 miles if you take the boat.

Lake Solitude is a high alpine lake with incredible views of the North Fork of Cascade Canyon with Grand Teton in the background. Because of this view, it is one of the most popular hiking destinations in the park.

From the Cascade Canyon Forks, it’s another 1,200 feet of elevation gain to reach Lake Solitude, which is 9,000 feet above sea level.

Most people turn around at Lake Solitude, but you can turn your one-way hike into a 20-mile round-trip by hiking the steep incline up to the Paintbrush Divide. Coming down the other side, you can reach Jenny Lake via String Lake by hiking down Paintbrush Canyon.

The hike up to the Paintbrush Divide is no joke. It’s 10,700 feet above sea level. You’ll need to climb another 1,700 feet over two miles after leaving Lake Solitude.

We recommend doing this hike only once the snow melts. The hike down the divide into Paintbrush Canyon is unforgiving if you slip. Check trail conditions with a park ranger before you head out to see if you need an ice axe.

Holly Lake is the perfect place to camp if you’re backpacking the Cascade Canyon to Paintbrush Canyon loop. Camping at Holly Lake requires a permit.

Cascade Canyon South Fork

If you want to hike up the South Fork of Cascade Canyon, you’ll want to go left at the Cascade Canyon Forks. This route takes you an additional 2,500 feet up to Hurricane Pass at 10,300 feet above sea level!

There aren’t many significant destinations before reaching Hurricane Pass, but you get big Grand Teton views as you approach and go over the pass. It’s one of our favorite high-elevation passes in the park!

The Alaska Basin is on the other side of Hurricane Pass and is run by the United States Forest Service. You can connect with Death Canyon to turn your hike into another epic loop along the Death Canyon Shelf, a 32-mile loop with a lot of elevation gain.

Backpacking up here opens up a lot of opportunities to see some of the best scenery of Grand Teton!

No matter the distance you travel along the Cascade Canyon Trail, you’ll be treated to phenomenal mountain views and memories to last a lifetime!

Don’t forget to complete your task for this week! Are you Team North Fork or Team South Fork?? Head over to the Dirt In My Shoes Facebook or Instagram page and let us know!

Links mentioned in this podcast episode:

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