14 Bearpaw and Trapper Lakes

Description: A fairly long, but flat route to four mountain lakes

Start: Leigh Lake Trailhead

Total distance: 8.8 miles out and back

Difficulty: Moderate

Best season: July through Sept

Maps: Earthwalk Press Grand Teton map; National Park Service handout map

Finding the trailhead: Take US 89 north of Jackson for 11.5 miles and turn left (west) at the Moose Junction. Drive past the Moose Visitor Center and through the entrance station (about a mile after turning off the highway). Follow this paved park road for another 9.7 miles from the entrance station to the Jenny Lake turnoff. Turn left (west) here and drive 0.6 mile (follow the signs and take two right turns) to the String Lake Trailhead and 0.3 mile farther, the String Lake Picnic Area. If you’re coming from the north, drive 9.9 miles from the Jackson Lake Junction and turn right (west) at the Jenny Lake turnoff. Park in the large parking lot at the picnic area, which has toilet facilities. The Leigh Lake Trailhead is in the northwest corner of the picnic area. Trailhead GPS: 43.789162 / -110.731655

The Hike

If you like to hike to lakes, this is the best hike in the park. It’s very rare to be able to visit four low-elevation lakes (without roads to them!) on one moderate hike without climbing any big hills. This scenic and flat route makes a pleasant day hike or overnighter with a variety of great campsites.

For details on the first part of this route, refer to the description of Leigh Lake.

When you leave Leigh Lake, you pass through a forested area, part of which is recovering nicely from a 1981 forest fire. Just before you reach Bearpaw Lake, you enter a large meadow. The junction for the loop around the lake is in the middle of this meadow. You can obviously take the loop either way around the lake, but this description follows the clockwise route, so bear left (northwest) at this junction.

As you near the lake, the trail drops down into the trees surrounding the shore and follows the shoreline to campsites 17A and 17C. The trails around these two campsites can get confusing, so be alert. The trail to Trapper Lake stays low and goes over a makeshift footbridge over the inlet to Bearpaw Lake and then up on a small ridge where it turns north and heads for Trapper Lake.

After 0.4 mile of walking a level, forest-lined trail, you reach Trapper Lake. It has a nice bench with an overlook of Trapper Lake, a great place for a relaxing lunch to the music of trout jumping in the lake. Campsite 18B is slightly farther up the trail toward the inlet of the lake.

Bearpaw Lake. National Park Service

From here, retrace your steps to Bearpaw Lake. You can go back around the west side of the lake, but you can also take a social trail over to campsite 17B on the northeast shore of the lake, where there is an official trail back to the junction south of the lake. The social trail requires a little agility, as you have to cross over the shallow outlet of Bearpaw Lake on logs and rocks.

From the junction, retrace your steps back to the String Lake Picnic Area.

Camping: Refer to the description of Leigh Lake for details on the Leigh Lake campsites.

Bearpaw Lake has three campsites. Three-star 17A is on the west shore near the lake but has a marginal view of it. It has two tent sites, a fire pit, and good access to water, but the trail goes right by the campsite. Four-star 17C is up the hill from 17A and is more private with a slightly better view. It also has a fire pit and good access to water from the inlet to the lake. These two campsites share the same bear box and bear pole. Five-star 17B is on the northeast shore of the lake by the outlet. It has a terrific view of the lake and the Teton Range in the background, good access to water, a fire pit, and a bear box, and is reasonably private. GPS: Campsite 17A, 43.831 / -110.732; Campsite 17B, -43.832 / -110.728; and Campsite 17C, 43.830 / -110.732

Trapper Lake has one campsite. Five-star 18B is near the outlet, has a fire pit and a nicer view, and is close to water. GPS: Campsite 18A, 43.834 / -110.731

Option: If you don’t want to retrace your steps all the way, you can turn right (west) at the junction at the end of String Lake and take the String Lake Loop Trail back to the picnic area. This adds 2.5 miles to your hike.

Miles and Directions

0.0Leigh Lake Trailhead

0.4Horse trail comes in from the east

0.8End of String Lake and junction with trail to Holly Lake; turn right

1.0Leigh Lake

2.4East-shore campsites

2.7End of Leigh Lake

3.3Junction with loop trail around Bearpaw Lake

4.0North end of Bearpaw Lake

4.4Trapper Lake; retrace your steps back to the trailhead

8.8Leigh Lake Trailhead