On a recent trip to visit family in Salt Lake City, we took a road trip out to Grand Teton National Park. We rented a cabin for 2 nights on Jackson Lake at the Signal Mountain Lodge resort, loaded up 2 vehicles, and hit the road at 5 in the morning.
From the northern end of greater SLC, Signal Mountain Lodge is 4 hours and 45 minutes away. This was our first vacation road trip with a 5-month old terrorist baby and we wanted to be on the road while she was asleep. 😅
We made pretty good time (only one diaper change stop) and stopped in at the National Elk Refuge in hopes of seeing “hundreds of elk” that we read about on Tripadvisor. Spoiler alert: we didn’t see any, having come at the wrong season. 😛
We did see Bighorn Sheep though.
Bluto the English Bulldog was pretty happy about that.
After an unsuccessful viewing at the National Elk Refuge, we continued our trip into Grand Teton National Park. Here are the areas we stopped at in the park:
#1 Historic Mormon Row & the iconic Moulton cabin
Our first stop in the park was the historic Mormon Row. The remaining buildings were once part of homesteads of Mormon settlers from Idaho.
A very vocal pocket gopher.
The T.A. Moulton barn has earned itself a reputation as the most photographed barn in America. With the Teton Range in the background, it does represent a striking visual of the Wild West.
Bluto agrees that this is a very pretty area. And the cold grass feels wonderful on his tummy.
#2 Glacier View Turnout
Glacier View Turnout is just off Highway 191 and is an easy pullover point for spectacular views of the Teton Range, including the Grand Teton itself and a number of glaciers, including the Teton Glacier.
#3 Schwabacher Landing
Schwabacher Landing is a boat landing area for fishermen, canoeists and rafters along the Snake River. It can easily be considered one of the most spectacular viewpoints in Grand Teton National Park. The Schwabacher Landing Trail is 1.8 miles out and back.
#4 Teton Point Turnout
We stopped off shortly after the Teton Point Turnout and completely disregarded the view because of the roaming buffalo and elk.
