Grand Teton National Park: Hidden Falls

On By nationalparkswithtIn Wyoming
Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!

Wyoming 2023 Trip➤

In September of 2023, my husband I set out to explore some National Park units in the state of Wyoming. We visited Yellowstone, Grand Teton National Park, The John D. Rockefeller Parkway, and Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. In Grand Teton National Park, we hiked to Hidden Falls.

Grand Teton National Park➤

The Tetons are the youngest of all the mountain ranges in the Rocky Mountain chain. Most other mountains in the region are at least 50 million years old but the Tetons are less than 10 million and are still rising. The Jackson Hole valley is of the same age and continues to sink. The tallest peaks tower almost 7,000 feet above the valley floor, already at an elevation of about 6800 feet. With no foothills, the resulting landscape is dramatic and breathtaking.

In the 1920s, John D. Rockefeller Jr. agreed to acquire thousands of acres around Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and then donate this land to the government for a national park. At the urging of Horace Albright, then director of the National Park Service, Rockefeller formed a company called the Snake River Land Company to buy up property around the Snake River in secret. Rockefeller wanted to keep his name out of it to keep the price lower.

Meanwhile, in 1929, President Calvin Coolidge signed the act creating Grand Teton National Park, at half its present size. The park only protected the Teton Range and 6 lakes at the foot of the mountains. Rockefeller encountered resistance from locals when he tried to donate his land to expand the park.

In 1943, Rockefeller told President Franklin Delano Roosevelt he would sell to the highest bidder if the government didn’t use his land for the park. Roosevelt used the Antiquities Act and declared additional land in the valley to be Jackson Hole National Monument. The two units were combined to become the present Grand Teton National Park in 1950.

Hidden Falls➤

On Thursday we’d started the hike to Hidden Falls from the Jenny Lake Visitor Center. Halfway in, we turned back because we realized we didn’t have enough time before our scenic lake cruise. On Friday, after visiting the summit at Signal Mountain, we drove to the trailhead at String Lake.

At String Lake, one of the trails leads to Jenny Lake and then to Hidden Falls. This hike is a little longer than the one we’d tried the day before, but we found it to be much less crowded. We enjoyed the beauty and solitude, though we saw many signs of nearby bears.

The trail hugged the lakeshore until we arrived at the west boat dock. Here, the trail became crowded as people who took the shortcut across the lake arrived to walk the remaining trail to the falls. We walked the last, steeper trail to the falls, and rested for a bit. Then we returned to the quieter trail, back the way we’d come.

Grand Teton Posts➤

Location: String Lake Trailhead, Alta, Wyoming
Designation: National Park
Date designated/established: February 26, 1929
Date of my visit: September 29, 2023

Leave a Reply