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Here's the Best Time to Beat the Crowds and Visit Grand Teton National Park

This massive national park in Wyoming is teeming with wildlife and natural beauty.

Jamie Bichelman - Author
By

Published July 22 2024, 4:28 p.m. ET

American Buffalo are pictured grazing on the plains in Grand Teton National Park.
Source: iStock

Grand Teton National Park is another wondrous national park in the U.S. with awe-inspiring beauty. Located just miles away from Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton is famous for its fall foliage. The park even lends its name to a clothing line from The North Face, where waste is collected and recycled into clothing and accessories.

If you're planning to witness the beauty of Grand Teton National Park, you will definitely want to plan to visit during the best seasons, which we outline below.

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Unfortunately, as with many national treasures, Grand Teton National Park attracts many hobby fishers, uneducated about the dangers of overfishing and the unethical nature of the activity.

That said, here are the best times to enjoy the calmness and serenity of this beautiful national park.

The Grand Teton Mountains are pictured at sunset with the Snake River in the foreground.
Source: iStock
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When is the best time of year to visit Grand Teton National Park?

The best time of the year to visit Grand Teton National Park is the spring season, when you'll get to enjoy many of the features of other seasons all in one. Picturesque photos of Grand Teton often depict snow-capped mountains and raging rivers, which are often taken before the winter season, when temperatures are too cold for the average hiker and camper.

However, visitors must exercise caution to ensure their safety on potentially icy roads and snowy areas.

According to the National Forest Service, spring snow storms are known to cover the Teton Mountain Range, allowing visitors to snowshoe and ski outside of the winter season. Visitors can hike, bike, walk, drive, and stroll through the national park, enjoying sun and snow, wildlife and wildflowers, and the very best of each season when timed just right.

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A bull moose is pictured during the winter season at Grand Teton National Park.
Source: iStock

What Grand Teton National Park is like in winter:

There is no shortage of viewing areas to safely and respectfully observe wildlife in Grand Teton National Park, and the winter season offers visitors many opportunities to see majestic animals navigating the snowy terrain.

Per the National Park Service, many campgrounds are closed until the spring, as the freezing weather in Grand Teton National Park during the winter season reaches single digits. The park receives about 30 inches of snow during the first few months of the year.

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A grizzly bear and her three cubs are pictured in Grand Teton National Park.
Source: iStock

What Grand Teton National Park is like in summer:

To contrast the unbearably cold temperatures in the winter, the summer temperatures in Grand Teton National Park may reach the 70s and 80s before dropping to the 40s at night, per an AllTrips guide.

It's not uncommon to see bear safety signs and brochures around the national park for protecting humans and bears alike.

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A hiker in Grand Teton National Park admires the autumn colors of the trees beside a river and mountains.
Source: iStock

What Grand Teton National Park is like in fall:

Per the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, the fall season in the Tetons is an energizing time with beautiful weather that begs for cups of hot coffee beside moody-colored trees and mountains.

Thick clouds may obscure your view of the mountain range, but the opportunity to spot any number of birds, bison, bears before the winter, and other wildlife is too perfect to pass up.

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The snow-capped mountain range at Grand Teton National Park is depicted with yellow wildflowers in the foreground.
Source: iStock

What Grand Teton National Park is like in spring:

Whether you're on a snowmobile through the late-season snowfall, on a hybrid viewing tour of wildlife that emerges during cold weather and those that flourish during the fall, or seeking bright, beautiful flowers in front of mountains blanketed by snow, all can be accomplished during the spring season in Grand Teton National Park.

Thankfully, this park is less crowded during the spring, as tourists are dissuaded by the lower temperatures.

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