What we learned about enjoying a popular national park—without lots of company.

August 15-21, 2025

Grand Teton National Park

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

One of the reasons I shaved two days off our stay in the Tetons is because we’d been there before. In 2021 when we moved from California to Virginia, we spent three full days exploring Yellowstone National Park then drove the two hours south to adjacent Grand Teton National Park.

With our then 8 and 4 year-olds, there seemed less to do in the Tetons than in Yellowstone’s sensory-overloading geothermal basic. We drove through the main areas of the park, gazing up at the beautiful Teton mountain range but elbowing our way through crowds at the visitor center. I suspected our return this year in the busy summer months would mean similarly crowded hikes and overflowing parking lots.

This time, with a full week to spend there and older, more adventurous kids, we were able to escape the crowds. Here’s what we learned about finding solitude in a popular national park during peak season.

Sleep in the Park

As with most popular national parks, this suggestion is easier said than done. Booking accommodations inside a busy national park requires obsessive planning to find out when the booking window opens or some serious luck landing someone else’s cancellation. (To book the RV park in the Tetons, the window opens exactly five months out from your camping date.)

Whether you’re camping, RV-ing, or opting for a lodge, the benefits of staying in the park are enormous. You start and end your day so much closer to popular destinations, often driving against traffic to parking lots and popular trailheads.

Thankfully, back in February, I persevered in navigating the National Park’s tricky reservation system and scored an RV site in the park at Colter Bay RV Park. This set us up to be 15 to 30 minutes away from the most spectacular parts of the park, which were easier to access in off-peak times.

Do a Driving Tour

When visiting any new national park, we usually spend one day driving through it, stopping at pull-outs for epic views and hitting up the most popular destinations. While this usually ends up being our least favorite day in the park, it does mean we’re away from crowds as we drive around (though that can change as soon as it comes time to park).

One of our favorite aspects of a driving tour is a GPS-activated audiotour app called Guide Along (previously called the Gypsy Guide, the name our family still uses). Four years ago in Yellowstone as we were waiting for Old Faithful to erupt, a tourist told us about it. I downloaded it immediately and paid for the Yellowstone/Tetons tour. Listening to the guide’s stories about the geology and history of the area plus tips for where to stop and what to skip transformed our experience in the park.

On drive days in national parks, we listen to the Guide Along app (which doubles as the kids’ history and science lesson for the day). It helps us get acquainted with the park and locate popular hikes and hidden gems. We just downloaded a 16-pack of tours for the West Coast, so there’s lots more Guide Along tours and stories in our future. The Tetons tour explains the fascinating geology behind this stunning and unique mountain range.

Hit the Bike Trail

In Grand Teton National Park, there is a mostly flat 10-mile paved trail that runs along the mountain range. And there is hardly anyone else on it.

Best of all, you can park in a random pullout miles away from the overflowing visitor center lots at Jenny Lake. From there, you can bike to Jenny Lake and enjoy the same beautiful views and hikes as the masses, but with a much less crowded start.

No bike? A few people were walking and jogging the path. We brought our lunch and had a picnic.

Float the Snake River

On our visit here in 2021, a friend’s parents who live in Jackson treated us to an epic day floating the Snake River south of town. We even went over some of the crazy/legit Class IV rapids. It was one of our favorite days of the 30-day trip.

This time staying in the Tetons, we put our paddleboards in the Snake River at the Jackson Dam and floated (two at a time) through several pristine sections of the river. We were shocked at how not popular this activity was considering how many thousands of people enter the park each day. There were miles-long stretches where we saw absolutely no one, no man-made structures, hundreds of fish, and an occasional eagle!

Nate and I paddled a very chill 4-mile stretch from Jackson Dam to the Moran boat launch. Nick and Sadie paddled a full 12 miles from the boat launch to Deadmans Bar which took about 2.5 hours because the current was ripping the whole time (but no crazy rapids).

After hearing how epic their paddle was, I asked Sadie if she’d go with me. She happily accepted the invitation and served as my very experienced guide. This trip down the Snake, she was determined to beat her time. We finished the 12-mile float in just over two hours (didn’t stop once!).

So over two days, this adventurous kid paddled 24 miles down the Snake, and she left the river begging for bigger rapids.

Go Stargazing

After dark our last two nights, we put on our headlamps and trekked the short distance from Colter Bay RV park to the shores of Jackson Lake. As our eyes adjusted to the uninterrupted darkness, the night sky filled with stars.

Millions of stars. Zero other people. Such a wild contrast to have a whole beach to ourselves after fighting for parking earlier in the day.

*Nick experimenting with time lapse photography*

Go on weekdays, later in the season

If you have any ability to shift your park time off the weekends and onto the weekdays, the crowds do lessen—at least in August. We heard from staff that in June and July, the crowds are just as heavy during the week. But in late August, we noticed a difference in fewer cars in parking lots and pullouts. We planned accordingly and spent weekend days in the park doing more remote hikes and activities (as well as booking the rest of our campsites for 2025, which needed to happen).

Do literally any other hike except the ones at Jenny Lake

Most national parks have a signature feature, viewpoint, or hike. It’s usually signature for a reason. Old Faithful in Yellowstone. Logan Pass in Glacier. The view of the iconic valley in Yosemite.

In Grand Teton, the signature hike is taking a short ferry ride across Jenny Lake to a trailhead, hiking to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point, then taking the ferry back.

This hike is epic for a reason. You get out on the water on a beautiful glacier-formed lake. And the boat rides cuts a full four miles off the hike to reach two worthwhile destinations—a tumbling waterfall and a stunning viewpoint.

We opted to take the boat over, then got in line to hike with the crowds up to the falls and the point. On the return, we made our kids hike back instead of taking the ferry (I know, so mean of us). By this point in the trip, Sadie and Nate were fully capable, and we were trying to push them to hike greater distances ahead of longer mountain and canyon trails in the parks to come. So we turned the two-mile hike into a five-mile hike. Hardly anyone else was on the trail on the way back. No regrets!

There are stunning hikes in several other parts of Grand Teton National Park. The minute you get away from Jenny Lake, the crowds disperse considerably. I believe the signature park hikes/viewpoints are still worth doing. But we have found (as we did at overcrowded Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park), these shiny spots tend to lose their luster amid the crowds.

Instead, go to Jenny Lake at sunrise and sunset

Our last night in the Tetons, after Sadie and I paddled the Snake, Nick took off solo after dinner to paddle and fish at Jenny Lake. The photos he sent of the sunset took my breath away.

On top of that, the parking lots that had been overflowing earlier in the day were completely empty! Everyone leaves the park to grab dinner, so coming here at sunset and sunrise makes for a much more private experience. The added bonus of staying in the park gives access to this level of solitude.

Nick’s bonus suggestion: Dress in a bear costume and run through the campground

We didn’t actually do this. But I’ve caught Nick researching bear costumes on Amazon for weeks now, so I’ll keep you posted if he unleashes any creative crowd-dispersing tactics.

Finally, stay as long as you can

Many people tack on an extra day onto a Yellowstone trip to drive through the Tetons. I would recommend doing these parks in reverse. Start in the Tetons for your mountain/lake fix, then drive north to Yellowstone for the geothermal circus.

In both parks, stay as many days (and especially weekdays) as you possibly can. The more days you have in the park, the more time for venturing away from overcrowded highlights and experiencing the park on your own.

After six days in the park, no one was ready to leave the Tetons. For a moment, I regretted cutting those two days until I remembered how much we loved Dubois and felt like we were supposed to be at that amazing museum.

I have concluded this: When you are somewhere epic with time to explore and people you love, there simply aren’t enough days. I say that with tears in my eyes and a prayer of gratitude in my heart for our great fortune to be right where we are doing exactly what we’re doing—together.

Roberts on the Road

*Inspiration Point, Jenny Lake, Grand Teton NP*

For those just finding us, hello! Inspired by the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25, our family is on a yearlong RV road trip in 2025-2026 to celebrate my husband’s retirement after 20 years in Naval Special Warfare, as well as our 24 years together during the ups and downs of it all.

With our 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son in tow, this trip to explore America’s national parks and beautiful places is intended to help our family reflect and reset as civilian life begins.

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