Fall 2026 - Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, 9.8.2026 - 10.5.2026, Part 10: Teton Glacier Viewpoint sunrise, String Lake/Leigh Lake,
Having left home on September 8th, it was now October 1st. Our selected sunrise spot for this day was Teton Glacier Viewpoint which is on the Teton Park Road about halfway between the Taggart Lake Trail and Jenny Lake.
Speaking of Taggart Lake, we opted not to hike to that lake on this trip. We had done a sunrise hike there on our anniversary (October 4) back in 2021. It was such an incredible morning that we figured we could just leave it at that and felt no need to return. Here is a photo from when we hiked there in 2021.
Taggart Lake on 10.4.2021
But back to our story. It was another crystal clear morning and we had a wonderful sunrise. It wasn’t quite as spectacular as the one from Glacier View Pullout with the inversion layer but still…
Sunrise from Teton Glacier Viewpoint
Sunrise from Teton Glacier Viewpoint
Sunrise from Teton Glacier Viewpoint
Sunrise from Teton Glacier Viewpoint
Once the sun had risen fully we made our way further up the Teton Park Road past Jenny Lake to the String Lake Picnic Area and parked. Our plan for this morning was to hike along the shore of String Lake and Leigh Lake as an out and back. As we started along the flat shoreline trail, the water was completely calm and we got wonderful reflections of the Tetons in the still water.
The Grand reflected in String Lake
It was only about a mile to the other end of String Lake. So far we had been the only ones on the trail but we met a couple here coming back from further down the lake. They had seen and even photographed a grizzly swimming near the shoreline and decided to turn around and head back at that point. We had our bear spray and felt okay continuing.
At the end of String Lake is a bridge that crosses the inlet stream. On the other side of the bridge the trail loops back to the start from the opposite side of String Lake. We had considered doing this on our return but figured there would be far fewer views and that the bulk of that return loop would be in the trees. Instead, we continued past a portage between String Lake and Leigh Lake and soon we were hiking along the shore of Leigh Lake.
Leigh Lake is quite a bit larger than String Lake. The entire way along both of these lakes presented us with outstanding views of the Tetons from the Grand past Mount Moran to 11,207’ Eagles Rest Peak. As we hiked we kept getting different angles of the range and they were all great.
At around two and three quarter miles we reached three back country camps (Leigh Lake 12 A, B and C). We stopped at the last one and took a long break on the beach by the campsite just to soak in the glory of a fine morning. Directly across from us Mount Moran towered. I had a great view looking right up Paintbrush Canyon which would be where we would come down out of the high country on our final day of the backpack trip next summer.
Mount Moran reflected in String Lake
The Grand from the shore of String Lake
Mount Moran and Eagles Rest Peak from the shore of Leigh Lake
Bridgit and Eagles Rest Peak from the shore of Leigh Lake
Paintbrush Canyon
Mount Moran reflection in Leigh Lake
Mount Moran
The Tetons from the shore of Leigh Lake
Grouse along the trail
So far, other than the one couple we had been totally alone on our morning hike. As usual, we started seeing more and more people the closer we got back to the trailhead. Our hike ended up being a little over five and a half miles on easy flat terrain. It was an extremely enjoyable morning and we loved the hike.