Hiking_GrndTetn

Description: One of the premier hikes in Grand Teton National Park, best as a long, hard day hike or two-day backpacking adventure

Start: Leigh Lake Trailhead

Total distance: 20.1-mile loop

Difficulty: Difficult

Best season: Aug and early 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. 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 famed Paintbrush Divide is a classic, long day hike for extra-fit hikers, but also works as an overnighter or two-night backpack. It’s definitely one of the premier hikes in the park, but it’s best to wait until August to try it. Snow clings to the north face of Paintbrush Divide until late in the summer. Even in September you can plan on crossing a few snowbanks. If you decide to go in July, check on snow conditions with rangers at the visitor center before hitting the trail.

Starting this hike at the Leigh Lake Trailhead at the String Lake Picnic Area instead of the String Lake Trailhead gives you great scenery for the first 0.8 mile along the east shore of String Lake. You can soak in the spectacular views of the Teton Range across String Lake in the morning hours when the skies are more likely to be clear. You can also start at the String Lake Trailhead and hike the west shore of String Lake in the morning, but I prefer the east-shore route.

After the first 0.8 mile on a double-wide trail, take a left (west) at the junction at the north end of String Lake. The trail immediately crosses over the inlet of String Lake on a long footbridge and then goes through mature forest until you reach the Paintbrush Canyon Trail 0.7 mile later. Go right (northwest) and start a gradual ascent up Paintbrush Canyon.

As you climb, the forest gradually thins out, and the higher you go the more colorful it gets. This canyon not only has lots of Indian paintbrush but also lots of many other wildflowers. Take a moment to look back for a nice view of Leigh Lake and Jackson Lake.

When you get to the junction with the Holly Lake Trail, you can keep going up the canyon, but I recommend going right (north) to pass by Holly Lake. After this junction, you make a fairly steep 0.5-mile climb to the little jewel of a lake in the shadow of Mount Woodring. When I did this hike, I saw a huge black bear on the slope above the lake while having lunch there.

After taking a break at the lake, continue for 0.4 mile and rejoin the main Paintbrush Canyon Trail. By taking the Holly Lake option, you skip 0.8 mile of main trail, which is a steeper but shorter route up Paintbrush Canyon.

Once back on the main trail, it’s a 1.3-mile climb up above timberline to 10,700-foot Paintbrush Divide. The divide faces north, so plan on crossing a few snowbanks. I hiked up the divide on September 14 and still had to cross four snowbanks. The trail is well contoured to make it seem like a fairly easy ascent.

After enjoying the spectacular scenery from the divide, take an equally scenic route down to Lake Solitude. Most of the way you can see Lake Solitude and Mica Lake and Grand Teton off to the southeast. Scenery doesn’t get much better than this.

Lake Solitude has become one of the most popular destinations in the park, so don’t expect to have it to yourself. At 9,035 feet, the large lake sits close to timberline and is a fragile environment, so be careful not to leave your mark on what you could call “Lake Not-so-Solitude.”

The scenery remains spectacular after the lake as you head down the North Fork of Cascade Creek. Grand Teton is constantly in your face, a postcard view you’d mostly miss if you did this hike clockwise. When you reach the junction with the Cascade Canyon Trail, go left (east) and head down Cascade Canyon to the boat dock. You cross the creek twice on sturdy footbridges.

Just before you get to Jenny Lake, take a few minutes at Inspiration Point, a beautiful overlook with a sweeping view of Jenny Lake. Less than a half mile later, you pass by huge Hidden Falls, a major waterfall, especially in the spring. There is also a short spur trail off to the right for a great view of Hidden Falls.

About 0.1 mile after the falls, you reach a trail leading to the boat dock. Go left here, cross a footbridge, and then take another left onto the Jenny Lake Trail, the main trail around the lake. You don’t need to go all the way down to the west-shore boat dock.

The trail follows the shoreline of Jenny Lake for 1.1 miles to the junction with the String Lake Trail. Go right (east) and hike another 0.3 mile to the String Lake Trailhead. From the trailhead, hike a paved trail for 0.3 mile along String Lake to the Leigh Lake Trailhead and the picnic area.

Camping: The Lower Paintbrush Canyon Camping Zone has nine indicated campsites strategically located on high points above the trail. Most of them are private (about 100 yards from the trail) but have only one tent pad (the park service plans to add more later). Some of them have a fairly long hike to water. Most of the campsites are outstanding with a good view.

Holly Lake has three designated campsites. These campsites are about a quarter mile from the lake at the end of a trail that crosses the outlet on rocks and goes up on a slope above the lake. Campsite 3 is the most private. None of the campsites have a good view from camp. Water is fairly accessible from all three sites, which have two tent pads each and shared food storage box.

You can also camp along the main trail in the Upper Paintbrush Canyon Camping Zone about a half mile below the lake. This is a different camping zone from Holly Lake, so make sure your permit matches your campsite.

The park service once allowed camping at Lake Solitude, but the campsites were removed to reduce heavy use. Now you can camp just below the lake in the eleven indicated campsites in the North Fork Cascade Camping Zone. Most are five-star or four-star campsites with awesome views of Grand Teton towering over the camp and easy access to water. All campsites are well off the trail with space for at least two tents. Even though the indicated campsites are terrific, you don’t have to camp there. You can set up a no-trace camp anywhere else in the North Fork Camping Zone.

Options: You can do this loop hike in reverse, but the climb up to the divide seems easier going counterclockwise as described here. Also, the scenery might be better. You can also start and finish the hike at the String Lake Trailhead or at the west-shore boat dock on Jenny Lake after taking the boat across the lake. If you’ve already seen Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls and are in a hurry, you can take the horse bypass trail to the Jenny Lake Trail and miss this congested area, which cuts about a mile off your trip.

Side trip: If you have enough time and energy, the trail up the South Fork of Cascade Creek to Hurricane Pass would be a memorable hike, but it would add 10.2 miles to the total distance of your trip.

Miles and Directions

0.0Leigh Lake Trailhead

0.4Horse trail comes in from the east

0.8End of String Lake; turn left

0.9Footbridge over String Creek

1.6Paintbrush Canyon Trail; turn right

5.8Junction with Holly Lake Trail; turn right

6.3Holly Lake

6.7Return to Paintbrush Canyon Trail; turn right

8.0Paintbrush Divide

10.4Lake Solitude; junction with North Fork Cascade Canyon Trail

13.1Junction with Cascade Canyon Trail; turn left

16.4Horse bypass trail

17.1Inspiration Point

17.5Hidden Falls

17.6Jenny Lake west-shore boat dock and junction with Jenny Lake Trail; turn left

19.5Junction with String Lake Trail; turn right

19.8String Lake Trailhead

20.1Leigh Lake Trailhead