Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [208]
If you're here to enjoy the park, you should turn right (west) on Teton Park Road at Jackson Lake Junction. After only 5 miles, you will arrive at Signal Mountain. Like its counterpart at Colter Bay, this developed recreation area, on Jackson Lake's southeast shore, offers camping sites, accommodations in cabins and multiplex units, two restaurants, and a lounge with one of the few televisions in the park. If you need gas or food, stock up at the small convenience store here. Boat rentals and scenic cruises of the lake are also available.
If you turn east instead of west off Teton Park Road at Signal Mountain, you can drive up a narrow, twisty road to the top of the mountain, 700 feet above the valley, where you'll have a fine view of the ring of mountains—Absarokas, Gros Ventres, Tetons, and Yellowstone Plateau—that create the Jackson "Hole." Note also the potholes created in the valley's hilly moraines left by retreating glaciers. Below the summit, about 3 miles from the base of the hill, is Jackson Point Overlook, a paved path 100 yards long leading to the spot where the Hayden Expedition's photographer William Henry Jackson shot his famous wet-plate photographs of Jackson Lake and the Tetons more than a century ago—proof to the world that such spectacular places really existed.
Looking for a hideaway? On the right (west) side of the road between Signal Mountain and North Jenny Lake Junction, approximately 2 miles south of the Mount Moran Turnout, is an unmarked, unpaved road leading to Spalding Bay. It's a sheltered little campsite and boat launch area with a primitive restroom. There isn't much space if others have beaten you there, but it's a great place to be alone with fantastic views of the lake and mountains. An automobile or SUV driving slowly will have no problem with this road. You'll pass through brush and forest and might spot a moose.
JENNY LAKE & THE SOUTH END OF THE PARK
Continuing south along Teton Park Road, you move into the park's southern half, where the tallest peaks rise abruptly above a string of smaller lakes strung together in the foothills—Leigh Lake, the appropriately named String Lake, and Jenny Lake, many visitors' favorite. At North Jenny Lake Junction you can take a turnoff west to Jenny Lake Lodge. The road then continues as a one-way scenic loop along the lakeshore before rejoining Teton Park Road about 4 miles later.
Beautiful Jenny Lake gets a lot of traffic throughout the summer, both from hikers who circumnavigate the lake on a 6-mile trail and from more sedentary folks who pay for a boat ride across the lake to Hidden Falls and the short, steep climb to Inspiration Point (see "Day Hikes," below). The parking lot at South Jenny Lake is often jammed, and there can be a long wait for the boat ride, so you might want to get there early in the day. Or you can save your money by taking the 2-mile hike beside the lake—it's level and easy. Also here are a tents-only campground, a visitor center, and a general store. You'll have to buy a ticket and wait in line for the trip across the lake in a powerboat that holds about 30 people. Hours and prices change from year to year, but generally, boats leave every 20 minutes from 8am to 6pm. The trip costs about $7 round-trip for adults, $5 for children 7 to 12, and free for children under 7. One-way trips cost $5 for adults, $3 for children, free for children under 7. Contact Jenny Lake Boating Company (☎ 307/733-9227; www.jennylake boating.com) for more information.
South of the lake, Teton Park Road crosses open sagebrush plains with never-ending views of the mountains. You'll pass the Climbers' Ranch and some trailheads for enjoyable