Fall 2026, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, 9.8.2026 - 10.5.2026, Part 7: Grand Teton National Park/Oxbow Bend/Signal Mountain/Moose Jam
In my original plan, we would only be in the Tetons for five days and then head home. But fall in the Tetons is a glorious thing and I would have really regretted leaving if the peak colors were running a bit later and I missed it. So after we had already reserved an electric hookup site in Loop at Gros Ventre Campground, I extended our stay another five days. By then all the electric sites were gone so the second five days would be in Loop C with no hookups.
I was almost shaking with excitement at the thought of spending ten days in the Tetons during the peak of the fall colors. This would be our third extended visit to this area and we just love it there. Of all the mountains I have gazed upon, I would have to say only the Matterhorn rivals the sheer wow factor of Grand Teton. The park has dozens and dozens of different viewpoints of the Teton range and they are all spectacular. In the ten days we were there I was able to shoot a sunrise on seven of those days from seven different places.
So imagine my delight as we came down Togwotee Pass to Moran Junction and drove south along the length of the range. South of the airport we tuend at the roundabout and drove four more miles along the Gros Ventre River to our campsite. All along the river, giant cottonwood trees lined the banks and they were blazing with yellow autumn color. I think the area right around the campground and along the river had the best colors in the entire park. It was an incredible sight every time we pulled back into the campground road.
Cottonwoods along the Gros Ventre River
Cottonwoods along the Gros Ventre River
Cottonwoods along the Gros Ventre River
Map of Grand Teton National Park
Once we got settled it was time for some reconnaissance. Our first stop was the Craig Thomas Visitor Center near Moose Junction. We got several questions answered there and gave Bridgit time to shop for swag. The rest of the day was driving around scoping out various spots for future sunrise or sunset locations. We drove up a short way to Blacktail Ponds Overlook. This was one of the spots I had considered for a sunrise shoot. It looked great in the afternoon so I knew it would be even better at sunrise.
Blacktail Ponds Overlook
Schwabacher Landing was next. For some, this is considered the creme de la creme of spots to photograph the Tetons at sunrise. Part of the reason is that there are side creeks leading to the Snake River that have beaver ponds which can be as still as glass for reflections. I had shot sunrise from there in 2020 with great results but there are actually two different parking spots. I had chosen the upper parking area and hiked out along the creek to a great spot. The most popular spot is from the very end of the road which I had never been to. So we parked there and even in mid-afternoon there were a ton of people there. We walked along the river a ways and I found a couple of nice potential spots but there was quite a bit of natural debris in the water and no big areas of flat clear water.
One of the better spots off the end of the Schwabacher Landing road.
Just for grins we also stopped at the upper parking spot and I walked out to see where the good spots to shoot from would be. I found a great spot just below a beaver dam where there was a wide stretch of water that was very still. Again, I was thrilled with the color in the cottonwoods all along the banks.
Afternoon shot from my future sunrise spot at Schwabacher Landing
To get back to camp we drove down Antelope Flats Road past Mormon Row and the famous barns. There were quite a few people at the corner by the John Moulton barn. The best barn however is just down the road. The T.A. Moulton barn is the classic view of the Tetons more than anywhere else on Mormon Row. It has been so popular that the grounds in front of the barn have been trampled to death. No more grass grows around the barn. So this year they closed that barn off to build viewing platforms and a better parking area. The barn had a huge dirt pile covered in white plastic right in front of it so it wasn’t exactly photogenic on this trip. But here is a shot for reference I took in 2021.
T.A. Moulton Barn in October 2020
Antelope Flats Road is a great short cut to Gros Ventre Campground that avoids all the traffic along Hwy 26 but it has a sign that beyond the T.A. Moulton barn it is 4WD only. And that’s why we bought a Jeep my friends. We used this route frequently throughout the ten days getting to and from Gros Ventre Campground and seldom saw any cars on it.
We arrived in the Tetons on Thursday, September 24th. The 25th was our first full day in the park and what a day it was. We left super early and drove way up to Oxbow Bend for sunrise. In the pre-dawn Bridgit saw a huge elk with a huge rack off the road. We got to Oxbow Bend at six-thirty and the place was jam packed with cars and people. I mean it was a zoo! The lot was full and cars were lined up along the road for quite a ways. There were easily over a hundred people there, maybe even more. It seemed like every nook and cranny had someone standing there, both up on the road and down by the river bank. I joined them and made my way along a very muddy bank to a spot that afforded me a view with no other people or tripods in my frame. Not an easy task. As it got light I noticed that the classic stand of aspens just below and to the right of Mount Moran had hardly any leaves on them. Right there I knew I wouldn’t get the perfect shot. I had also shot this scene back in 2021 and we have a panorama of it hanging in our dining room. I doubt I’ll ever improve on that one.
Oxbow Bend in October 2021
But you never know what you will be given on any day so I stuck around and waited for sunrise. As it got lighter but before the sun came up I heard two geese honking as they flew up the river. I tracked them with my iPhone until they were right in my scene and got off two shots. This one turned out pretty well.
Geese at Oxbow Bend
Mount Moran and river otter at Oxbow Bend
The sunrise wasn’t even that great. Low clouds to the east filtered the sun so there was no dramatic orange glow. But hey, I’m not picky. Standing around watching the sun come up at Oxbow Bend beats mowing any day!
Just a few feet past Oxbow Bend was a nice spot with a view of Signal Mountain. You can see the Grand poking up on the right side of the picture. Also notice the famous aspen stand devoid of color. We found that most of the aspens had already lost their leaves but the cottonwoods were as prime as they get and really made up for it.
Signal Mountain from Oxbow Bend
Continuing up beyond Oxbow Bend, we turned south onto the Teton Park Road and then left again to drive to the top of Signal Mountain. About a third of the way up the road we startled a black bear. He was the blackest, most beautiful bear we’d ever seen. Quite small, I would say he wasn’t so much a cub as a tween. He ran off the road but then stopped in the trees to check us out. Another lesson I’m in constant need of reminders - Always have your good camera with the long lens in the front seat of your vehicle. This is the best I could get with my phone.
Gorgeous black bear youth
Whenever we see bears it elevates our excitement level to giddy proportions. We LOVE seeing bears! Wide awake now, we continued our drive to the top of Signal Mountain. There are two viewpoints, one near the top and one at the top. We didn’t think either of them were great and only provided partial views of the Tetons. But we did see a bear!
This day was more of mostly scenic driving and getting refreshed with the lay of the land. We continued down the Teton Park Road, stopping at many of the pullouts which are all wonderful. Near Jenny Lake we turned in on the Jenny Lake Loop. First we went to the parking area for the String Lake Picnic Area to recon where we would be parking a few days later for a hike. We left there and thought about stopping at Jenny Lake but when we saw cars parked at least a half mile down either side of the turnoff to Jenny Lake we just kept on driving. It looked like Lake 22 on a sunny summer Saturday for all you Washingtonians. I would say that Jenny Lake, Oxbow Bend, The Moulton Barns and Schwabacher Landing are the biggest hotspots in Grand Teton National Park. You can navigate all of these if you leave early enough but they all get super congested by mid-morning.
We spent some time wandering around the town of Jackson. Just out of town is the National Museum of Wiildlife Art. We stopped by there to pay our respects to the brand new Grizzly 399 sculpture that we were pleased to see got top billing right in front of the museum.
Grizzly 399 sculpture, The Queen of the Tetons
On our way back to Gros Ventre Campground we stopped at a moose jam about a mile from the campground. There were maybe fifteen cars parked along the road and lots of people down in the sage by the river. It turns out there was a moose cow and calf lying in the grass and a bull not far away, also lying down. All you could see were their heads and in the case of the bull, just his antlers. We waited around awhile but not much was happening so we walked back up to our Jeep. We went back to camp, relaxed and had dinner. Then we went out again because I wanted to shoot the full moonrise. We stopped back by the moose jam again with the same results. Just when we were about to give up, the bull stood up. He moved around the back side of a big bush so we ran up to the road for a better angle. So did fifty other people. And sure enough, the bull came out into the open and began chasing the cow around. The cow didn’t want to have anything to do with his romantic advances. Then a bigger bull came up from the river and chased off the other bull. I shot a bunch of photos and Bridgit got an excellent video of the whole chase.
I took this figuring that was as good as it would get
Bull moose
Bull moose
Bull moose
Bull moose
Bull moose
Bull moose
Here’s Bridgit’s video. Turn your volume up for this one!
Most of the people shooting had humongous lenses. I have a zoom lens that goes up to 300mm but most of these guys had 600mm lenses. It would be really nice to have a lens that zoomed in that close but it’s too big to carry on hikes and is really only for shooting wildlife.
We left and drove a bit further down the road to get away from the moose madness. The full moon rose over the yellow cottonwoods and it was a grand way to wrap up our first full day in Grand Teton National Park.
Sunset along the Gros Ventre River
Full moon rising
Full moon rising