The Best 5 Grand Teton National Park Photos: Locations Included

So you’ve finally done it!  You’ve booked the trip, you’ve arrived and now you want to know where to find the best locations for Grand Teton National Park photos.  

Good news – This post has totally got you covered!

In this post we’ll discuss 5 no-hike locations, 3 hike-to locations and a bonus location where you can look for moose.  So let’s dive into the boring stuff, and then get into these 9 locations!

Important Links

• Grand Teton National Park website
• Schwabacher Landing – All the Details Here
• Oxbow Bend – All the Details Here
• Hiking Journal – Never Forget the Details of Your Favorite Hikes Again!
• Hiking to Delta Lake – All the Details Here

Reservations/Fees

First things first, let’s make sure you know about all reservations and fees!

Grand Teton National Park does NOT require reservations to enter their park.  However, they do have fees.

Like all national parks, Grand Teton has an entrance fee to enter.  If you are planning on visiting for 7 days or less, you’ll just be looking at the Standard Fee of $35/personal vehicle.  This fee covers everyone in the vehicle and can be purchased at the entrance station of the park.  

If you are planning on being there multiple weeks, or visiting more than 3 national parks in a 12 month period, you’ll be looking for some sort of annual pass.    

Annual Pass options include: 

• America the Beautiful Pass ($80): Includes all National Places and valid for 12 months
• Grand Teton Annual Pass ($70): Good for ONLY Grand Teton for 12 months
• Military Pass (Free): Good for Life, Includes all Parks
• Senior Annual Pass ($20): (Age 62+) Includes all parks, valid for 12 months
• Senior Life Pass ($80): (Age 62+) Includes all parks, Valid for Life

Once you’ve purchased an entrance pass, you’re good to enter the park and start photographing.  Let’s dive right into the easy (and obvious ones).

5 No-Hike Locations

If you’ve done any amount of research into Grand Teton National Park photos, you’ve probably heard of 2 of these places.  But in case you haven’t, the first 3 are absolutely MUST-SEE places.  These first 3 will give you the most iconic Grand Teton National Park photos – starting with Schwabacher Landing.

Schwabacher Landing  

Schwabacher Landing is arguably the best place to capture stunning Grand Teton National Park photos.  The reflection of the mountains on the Snake River make for phenomenal photos you’ll treasure forever.

LOCATION: Location Link – This link will take you to the parking location right on Google Maps.

Best Time to Photograph Here: The best time to take photos at Schwabacher Landing is any time that you can see the mountains.  You truly cannot take a bad photo here, it’s that stunning.  However, I have found that sunrise and sunset both create the best photos.

Need to Know: There is not much parking here, so get here very early, or be prepared to struggle to find parking.  And if you intend on capturing sunrise here, you’ll be joined by at least a few dozen (or hundred) photographers. 

Oxbow Bend

Next is Oxbow Bend and this is probably the second best place to take incredible Grand Teton National Park photos.  This location offers breathtaking reflection photos and there’s absolutely no hiking.  

LOCATION: Location Link – This link will take you to the parking location right on Google Maps.

Best Time to Photograph Here: Sunrise or anytime before noon.  The sun only illuminates the details of the mountains at Oxbow Bend in the morning light.  

Need to Know: The parking area at Oxbow Bend is WAYY too small.  So there is additional parking along the road just past the main parking lot.  If you are planning on getting here for sunrise, you’ll need to arrive very early.  

Mormon Row 

Another famous place to take Grand Teton National Park photos is Mormon Row.  There are multiple barns and historic structures to photograph, however the most iconic are the T.A. Moulton Barn and the John Moulton Barn.  

LOCATION: Location Link – This link will take you to the parking location right on Google Maps.

Best Time to Photograph Here: Sunrise or anytime before noon.  The sun only illuminates the barns AND the details of the mountains in the morning.  

Need to Know: Mormon Row is a very popular destination and while there are 2 parking areas, they do fill up.  Fortunately, most people only stop here briefly, meaning there are cars consistently coming and going.  As long as you are patient, you should be able to get parking here whenever you arrive.   

Elk Ranch Flats Turnout 

The next no-hike location will allow you to capture some very western-style Grand Teton National Park photos.  The Elk Ranch Flats turnout is a quick stop along Hwy 191/89, but in the field are dozens of beautiful horses and the Tetons in the background.  You will be able to get beautiful photos of horses and the iconic Tetons here.  (You might even get lucky and spot some bison here too!)

LOCATION: Location Link – This link will take you to the parking location right on Google Maps.

Best Time to Photograph: You can stop here at any time and get pretty photos of horses and the Tetons.  However, if you are looking to have more details of the mountains and for the horses to be lit, any time before noon will actually be best.  

Need to Know: The parking area here is quite small.  But since this isn’t a top 3 location of the Tetons, you shouldn’t have an issue with parking here and walking toward the fence row.  

Mountain View Turnout 

The final no-hike location to capture beautiful Grand Teton National Park photos is all along the Teton Park Road.  This scenic drive is a must-do while in the Tetons, but I personally love the Mountain View Turnout on this road.  This area is quite small, but once you’ve taken just a few steps into the tall grass, you can capture photos like the one above.

LOCATION: Location Link – This link will take you to the parking location right on Google Maps.

Best Time to Photograph: Again, the morning is the best time to drive and photograph along this road.  As you’ve probably noticed, the morning is the best time to photograph just about anywhere on the Wyoming side of the Tetons.  

Need to Know: This parking lot is rarely full, so stop here whenever you reach the pull out and be ready for some stunning photos of the Tetons.  

So that wraps up the No-Hike section of this post.  Next, are 3 places to hike to and capture some beautiful Grand Teton National Park photos!

BONUS: 3 Hike-to Locations

There are well over 100 hiking trails in the Tetons.  And while all areas in the park are beautiful, here are a couple trails to hike for incredible Grand Teton National Park photos.  

Delta Lake 

This list wouldn’t be valid if it didn’t include hiking to Delta Lake.  This striking alpine lake is the perfect place to capture the Grand Teton with a beautiful foreground.  

TRAIL DETAILS: Trail Details – The trail map, location of parking, reviews and photos can all be found at this link.

Best Time to Photograph: The morning is the best time to photograph Delta Lake.  We arrived around 11:30am (after hiking there all morning) and the lake was perfectly lit, as were the mountains.  

Need to Know: This hike is certainly a challenge, especially if you aren’t acclimated.  For all the details about this hike, check out this article Hiking to Delta Lake.   

Amphitheater Lake 

Amphitheater Lake is a lesser visited location in the national park. And while it’s extraordinary, it is a bit of a longer hike at around 11 miles.  Right above Delta Lake, Amphitheater Lake and Delta can be reached in a single day. But we did these 2 hikes on 2 different days.  You don’t have the iconic Grand Teton in the background, but the lake is simply beautiful.  

TRAIL DETAILS: Trail Details – The trail map, location of parking, reviews and photos can all be found at this link.

Best Time to Photograph: This lake is best photographed mid-morning when the water is lit up by the sun.  However, if you can’t hike in the morning, this trail will be beautiful in the afternoon light as well.  

Need to Know: This hike is fairly steep, but overall it’s not as hard as the trail to Delta Lake.  You will want to get an early start on this hike so you don’t run into afternoon storms.  And with such a popular trailhead, the earlier you start the better so you can get a parking spot.  

Jenny Lake/Hidden Falls

And the final hiking location for beautiful Grand Teton National Park photos is hiking along Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls.  Jenny Lake is brilliantly blue-green and seems to glow in the sunlight.  And then you’ll make your way over to Hidden Falls for an impressive view of the roaring falls.

TRAIL DETAILS: Trail Details – The trail map, location of parking, reviews and photos can all be found at this link.

Best Time to Photograph: The best time to photograph Jenny Lake is during the morning hours when the water and the mountains are lit.  However, you can photograph Hidden Falls at just about any time.  

Need to Know: The Jenny Lake area/parking lot is one of the most popular areas of the park.  Cars can be seen for miles having to park along the road and walk back to this area.  So I highly suggest getting there early so you can snag a parking spot.  

Extra Bonus: 1 Animal Location

As a bonus, I’ve included where I have frequently been able to spot moose in Grand Teton National Park.  This is not a guarantee, but I have spotted moose in this area 3 different days (2 separate trips) while visiting the Tetons in the fall.  

Antelope Flats

Location: Location Link – This link will take you to the parking location right on Google Maps.

Best Time to Photograph/Spot Wildlife: I have been able to see moose here in the morning twice and once in the evening.  There is never a guarantee of seeing animals in the park, but this place might just work out for you like it did me.

Need to Know: As with all wild animals, they are wild.  So if you do happen to stumble upon some moose, elk, bears or bison, make sure to give adequate space!  25 yards is the minimum recommendation for moose, while bears are 100 yards.

Conclusion

National parks are busy, large, and often require hiking to reach anywhere beautiful.  However, this list is a great way to get you started.  And while this is certainly not an all-inclusive list of places for amazing Grand Teton National Park photos, this is a wonderful place to start!

As always, feel free to email me at averagewildexperience@gmail.com with any questions.  

-Happy Photographing!