Once back on the trail, continue your ascent onward! The number of snowbanks will continue to grow as you approach the divide. You can take another spur trail back to the main trail without retracing your steps if you continue on past the lake, making your distance a little shorter overall. (This could be a destination of it’s own if you do not want to continue on, or if you cannot due to snow cover.) Since you’re this close, there is no reason not to swing by and take a break.

Once out of the tree line, wildflowers begin filling in the canyon if you hit the season just right.ĥ.8 miles into the hike, you’ll reach the trail for Holly Lake. You’ll begin your ascent into the canyon, with views of the lakes coming more and more into view. Once you cross, continue to the junction and onto the Paintbrush Canyon Trail. When you reach the north end of String Lake, cross the bridge instead of continuing along the eastern edge of the lakes. The trail can begin at Jenny Lake, String Lake, or Leigh Lake, but for the sake of consistency through the post, we will start from the Leigh Lake Trailhead and go counterclockwise. The hike is a loop, but the preferred route is to go up Paintbrush Canyon and down Cascade Canyon. The first time I attempted this hike we were not able to complete it due to snow, but it was still a nice hike up Paintbrush Canyon and back down (pictures at bottom of page).īeginning at dawn allows you the most time to optimize daylight so that you have plenty of time to complete the hike. It is best to wait until mid-July to attempt this hike, and maybe into August depending on the spring snowfall. The total elevation gain is over 4000 feet. This trail also includes Holly Lake and Lake Solitude. This is a 20-mile loop up Paintbrush Canyon, over Paintbrush Divide, and down Cascade Canyon. After cutting off that hellacious segment, however, we enjoyed a much more peaceful hike as we finished the last couple miles along Jenny Lake’s northwest shore.If you can do the mileage and the elevation, this is a classic Teton hike with great views, wildflowers, and scenery. While it was probably only about a mile where the trail got painfully busy, it felt like an eternity. Needless to say, we opted to take a fork to the left and return directly to String Lake without visiting the overcrowded hotspots. Many visitors take the 12-minute boat shuttle across Jenny Lake to make the easy, two-mile round-trip walk to the falls and overlook. The two landmarks – a viewpoint overlooking Jenny Lake and a 100-foot cascade – are two of the most popular spots in the Tetons.

That last short portion of trail along Cascade Creek is home to Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls. I was not at all comfortable with the throngs on people on that last section of trail, and we hastened our already quick pace just to get away from everyone. So much so, that for the first time in four months of hiking, we were forced to put on our masks. Unexpectedly, after a really beautiful, tranquil hike, the approach to Jenny Lake became appalling crowded. While we chose to continue up Paintbrush Canyon, a quick detour past the lakeshore wouldn’t have added any extra mileage to the route (as noted on trail map). Around 5.5 miles from the trailhead, the trail split with an optional detour leading to the shore of Holly Lake. The forest quickly thinned as the trail climbed more steeply through the canyon, gaining 3,200 vertical feet over the next 4.5 miles. Hiking this direction allowed us to ascend the steeper section of trail first, and to enjoy continuous views of Grand Teton and the Cathedral Group as we descended through Cascade Canyon on the return.įor the first 3.5 miles, the trail climbed gently through the forests along the shore of String Lake to Paintbrush Canyon, offering a quick glimpse of Leigh Lake. The trail can be hiked in either direction, and we ultimately opted to hike counterclockwise. Parking is fairly limited, so we’d recommend getting there early to secure a spot. The trail to Paintbrush Divide begins at the String Lake Trailhead, just north of Jenny Lake.

Paintbrush canyon