Granite Canyon Trail

So peaceful

Lovely. Need snow shoes

March 2021 - Trail is snow. Most is packed but some areas are not or you can’t tell where it’s packed. Be prepared with wool socks, snow boots or snowshoes. We also saw cross county skiers & a snowboarder.

Ascended in the Granite Canyon Trail and back out the Elk Loop and Bear Paw trails back to trailhead with Richard Garcia

Easy snowshoe loop from the trailhead.

Only did a mile in but pretty snow filled trail in the woods.

Needed snow shoes on the upper area but didn’t have them. Trucked on anyway for awhile. Two moose, chipmunks, and a marmot or weasel guy

Not bad, mostly in woods though

Well maintained. The views get better as you get higher. I went up two days after a nasty, out of season, snow and wind storm and there were a lot of downed trees.

Beautiful!

I think if half the forest didn’t blow down all over the trail last week this would have been way better of a hike/backpacking trip. We had planned to keep going for a few nights but the trees are rough with a heavy pack. Otherwise seemed like a really nice route that was pretty low intensity for the climb. Wish I could have done it before the storm hit! Other canyon trails are closed right now, wouldn’t be surprised if this one gets closed soon too. Some of the fallen trees were particularly treacherous; most just miserable. Wildlife note: as soon as the sun started going down, all the wildlife came out. A moose and several deer wandered into our campsite pretty early on. And I’m pretty sure I saw a grizzly paw print further back off trail from our campsite. Be bear aware!

Good hike. Chilly start at 08:30 - just about freezing. Warmed up quickly as the sun came up. LOTS of fallen trees from the storm a few days ago. Most can be passed with a simple step over or walk around but some require a short detour from the marked path. A couple are “duck under” which is tedious with a big pack. Still a lovely walk by the river that runs down the canyon.

We did an overnight out and back, camping at the very top of Upper Granite campground, in mid-July this year. The flowers were in full bloom. Marion was closed to camping, but that would be such an amazing place to camp—lots of beavers up there! In upper granite particularly, camp sites aren’t marked, and for some, you really have to pay close attention to what might be an offshoot path to a tent bed. The hike up would be pretty easy without packing in camping gear, and the hike down was easy regardless. We spoke to people along the way that warned us of moose and bear, but never saw any. We did see a baby fox on trail with a vermin in her mouth! This trail isn’t for the faint of heart if you’re paranoid about running into wildlife—at times you go through very tall grass/brush on a narrow path—hiking poles were good for clearing that out of the way.

Great spot for finding ripe huckleberries in late July.

Camped at Upper Canyon in a secluded meadow area by a treeline, near a deer trail that brought them bounding right through camp. No other wildlife except many a marmot closer to Marion Lake. Early July required long pants & closed-toed shoes to hike the 1.8 to the lake, as it was entirely snowed over but entirely worth it. Folks we met at trailhead who had done the crest trail ran into a grizzly mama & cubs. Many beautiful wildflowers were starting to emerge but we thought by end of July entire hillsides will be covered in yellow arnica. For someone who hasn’t done any other Tetons hikes, I thought this was a magnificent trail and introduction to the area, as I prefer less trafficked trails for nude dips in the glacier rivers & spiritual solitude.

Great! As with most hikes in the park, there can be a lot of snow well into June, especially if you plan to continue up Rendevous trail to the gondola (i recommended this route if you have 2 cars). If your time is limited, leave this one off the itinerary - there are loads of trails in the park that will allow you to see much more. If you've done all the trails in the central areas of the park and are looking for something new, this one is pretty solid.

Did this trail with a group of younger Scouts. Stayed in the group campsite near the top of the canyon about a mile or less from the open canyon loop. It was a real challenge for them, but they loved the rushing stream, wildflower-filled meadows, and the animals. Worth your time if you’re up for it!

We only did this halfway but still a really lovely hike! Wildflower sagebrush meadows to forest to alpine meadows. Not many people. Easy going trail - not too steep a grade. Beautiful views of the peaks either side as you get into the alpine part. Fun to track the stream all the way. Will definitely want to come back and do the whole thing with more time (we did half in just under four hours at a leisurely pace and a stop for lunch).

This hike is different from most of the good Tetons hikes - more marshy, no spectacular views, but good ones, especially after the first three miles when you get to alpine territory. Deet up before you go, those first three miles are also muggy and buggy.

Backpacked for one night at the top of lower granite canyon camping zone. Found a gorgeous spot to set up camp over the river and with a view of the mountains. Not as many Mountain views as we would’ve preferred, which some of the other canyons have more of. Nice meadows, saw a moose.