Hiking Alone in the Grand Tetons
Kraig AdamsSep 3–4, 2020 · Solo
- Days
- 2 days
- Direction
- Loop from String Lake Trailhead, Grand Teton National Park, 6,880 ft
- Cost
- A park permit: $20 plus $7 a person a night inside the park
- Lodging
- Tent
North America · United States
Teton Crest Trail
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
- Distance
- 50.3 mi80.9 km
- Days
- 2 days
- Elevation gain
- 9,459 ft2,883 m
- High point
- 10,830 ft3,301 m
- Season
- The park says backpacking the Tetons is…
- Lodging
- Tent
Hikes / North America / Teton Crest Trail
In September 2020 I hiked a 50-mile loop through Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, alone, in two days. I started and finished at String Lake, climbed Paintbrush Canyon, went over Paintbrush Divide, past Lake Solitude and down the North Fork of Cascade Canyon, up the South Fork and over Hurricane Pass, and camped in Alaska Basin, just outside the park. The next day I crossed Buck Mountain Pass and Static Peak Divide, went down Death Canyon and walked back north along the foot of the range past Taggart, Bradley and Jenny lakes.
Kraig Adams
Effort at this pace: Very hard · about 25 mi (40 km) and 4,729 ft (1,442 m) of climbing a day over 2 days, up to 10,830 ft (3,301 m). Our grade for the days given, worked out from distance, climbing and altitude a day; it isn't the trail's usual difficulty rating (under Basics) and doesn't rate exposure, terrain or weather.
Where these numbers come from
From Kraig Adams's GPS recording and guide.
From Kraig Adams's GPS
The route, day by day
Elevation6,719–10,814 ft50.3 mi
From Kraig Adams's GPS. Terrain: Mapzen Terrain Tiles (USGS 3DEP, SRTM) on AWS · Glaciers, rivers & lakes © OpenStreetMap contributors
Tap a day for his map of it
The film
Watch it first
Hiking Alone in the Grand Tetons
Before you go
The basics
- Start
- String Lake Trailhead, Grand Teton National Park, 6,880 ft (2,100 m)
- Finish
- String Lake Trailhead, Grand Teton National Park, 6,880 ft (2,100 m)
- Direction
- Loop from String Lake Trailhead, Grand Teton National Park, 6,880 ft (2,100 m)
- Usual difficulty
- For two days, yes. A few months later I said the loop "was a bit ambitious to do in two days. I rushed that hike and I crushed miles because I was trying to get to the wilderness." It depends on how many hikes you've done and what kind of mileage you can do. If you can't do the mileage, don't try to do it. The hard parts are the four passes above 10,000 ft, and snow on them early in the season.
- Best time
- The park says backpacking the Tetons is typically more enjoyable in August and September. Paintbrush Divide, Hurricane Pass and Static Peak Divide stay snowy into summer, and early in the season an ice axe and crampons are musts. I hiked September 3 and 4, 2020, and had clear skies both days.
- Permits
- Every night inside the park needs a park backcountry permit. My one night was in Alaska Basin, on national forest land, where no permit is needed, but overnight parking at String Lake needs a park permit: see Camping
- Getting there
- What I did. I flew into Jackson Hole a few days before the hike. I'd been to the area before but had never been up in the mountains or hiked them. It was about time for me to renew my $80 annual parks pass, and I had a few days to poke around, do some car camping and sightseeing, and get a sense of what I wanted to capture. On the morning of the hike I woke up at the crack of dawn, 6 a.m., drove from the national forest area where I was car camping into the park, and was greeted by the sunrise hitting the tops of the crest, with the moon still out.
Nearest airport: Jackson Hole (JAC), inside the park - Lodging
- Tent
From Kraig Adams's guide
Costs and gear
What Kraig carried
Forsake Cascade · all my winter stuff, with an orange puffy jacket · a green backpacking tent · a Mountain House meal, a rice side, potatoes, beef jerky, peanut butter, a Kind bar, breakfast biscuits, two oranges and cashews · the AllTrails app · Hyperlite Mountain Gear Unbound 55 · NEMO Hornet Elite OSMO 1P · Hyperlite Mountain Gear 20° Mummy Bag and 18 more.
Bookings and permits
When bookings open, from the sources named under each. Dates move: confirm on the official site.
Grand Teton backcountry permit reservations (May 1 to October 31)
About a third of permits can be reserved on recreation.gov from early January (January 7, 2026; January 10, 2024); the 2027 date wasn't announced. The rest are walk-up, in person, the day before.
Next: about Jan 7, 2027 (a typical date: confirm on the official site)
Book on recreation.gov.
Source: Kraig Adams's Teton Crest Trail guide: Permits and rules (checked Sept 30, 2026). Checked September 2026.
Alert me when bookings open
From Kraig Adams's guide
Safety
Rescue numbers
- Emergency: 911. Calls from the backcountry go to Teton Interagency Dispatch. For park information and ranger help, call 307-739-3399. Rescue is not a certainty, the park says, and cell coverage is spotty: carry a satellite messenger or a personal locator beacon.
Phone signal
- My record doesn't say.
- The park says cell coverage is spotty and unpredictable and suggests a satellite messenger.
Insurance
- Medical treatment in the US is expensive, so make sure your travel insurance covers local treatment and medical evacuation.
Bail-out points
- Day 1, String Lake to Alaska Basin. Back the way you came. From the Forks (mile 14.6), the Cascade Canyon Trail goes down the main canyon to Jenny Lake, to the west shore boat dock (in season) or around the lake on foot. From Alaska Basin, the Forest Service trail west down to Teton Canyon leads to Idaho, away from any car at String Lake.
- Day 2, Alaska Basin to String Lake. From Alaska Basin, back over Hurricane Pass and down Cascade Canyon to Jenny Lake. Once you're down Death Canyon, the Valley Trail is the way out (while the old trailhead is closed, ask which way it's open: see The 2026 closures), and from Taggart Lake on there are trailheads every few miles (Bradley-Taggart, Lupine Meadows, South Jenny Lake).
From Kraig Adams's guide. For planning, not navigation: check before you go.
Their films and versions
Creators who've done it
1 creator so far: Kraig, 2 days, tent.
Hiking Alone in the Grand Tetons
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Your time
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Typical: 2 days (the hike's facts).
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Planning questions about Teton Crest Trail, answered only from this page's facts, the creators' versions and hikers' public tracks, with where each answer comes from. When the data doesn't say, the answer says "not given".
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Answered from the data
Questions people ask
How many days do you need for Teton Crest Trail?
I did the 50.3-mile loop in two days, and I pushed: it was a lot with that elevation gain. Four or five days with a park permit is the gentler plan. The park advises against crossing more than one pass in a day, and I crossed two each day.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
How much does Teton Crest Trail cost?
Almost nothing on the trail: I had an annual parks pass, my night in Alaska Basin was free, and I car camped for free in the national forest. See what I paid.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
When is the best time to hike Teton Crest Trail?
The park says backpacking the Tetons is typically more enjoyable in August and September. Paintbrush Divide, Hurricane Pass and Static Peak Divide stay snowy into summer, and early in the season an ice axe and crampons are musts. I hiked September 3 and 4, 2020, and had clear skies both days.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Do you need a permit for Teton Crest Trail?
Every night you camp inside Grand Teton National Park needs a backcountry permit, $20 a permit plus $7 a person a night in 2026. About a third can be reserved on Recreation.gov from early January; the rest are walk-up, in person, the day before. My one night was in Alaska Basin on national forest land, where no permit is needed, but the park only allows overnight parking at String Lake with a backcountry permit, so ask at a permit office first.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Is this the whole Teton Crest Trail?
No, its northern half. My loop goes from String Lake over Paintbrush Divide and Hurricane Pass to Alaska Basin, then leaves the trail and comes back down Death Canyon and the Valley Trail. The full trail runs about 39 miles (the park's figure) from Phillips Pass to String Lake, and I haven't hiked the southern half.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Is the Death Canyon Trailhead closed in 2026?
Yes. The old Death Canyon Trailhead, which my Day 2 line passes at mile 12.8, is closed to all use, walkers included, during construction from May 2026 to June 2027. Day 1 isn't affected; ask at a permit office which way you can walk north from Death Canyon on the Valley Trail.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.