Grand Teton National Park - Fall Color 2021
Intro
We traveled to Wyoming to visit Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park a few weeks ago. This was my third time visiting these parks (and Jessie’s first!). Every time I go there are new things to see and old favorites to revisit. Autumn in the Grand Tetons is known for spectacular displays of golden foliage among stands of aspen and cottonwood that frame the picturesque Teton Range. On this particular trip, we stuck to photo spots that were roadside or short walks. The next time we are out this way, I would love to explore several of the hiking trails that go up into the mountains and around the different lakes.
Both Grand Tetons and Yellowstone have seen record visitation this year and that was still evident in late September. One day we drove passed the Jenny Lake Visitor Center and the parking lots were full and overflowing for about 1/2 mile back up the road. The morning we did sunrise at String Lake, the parking lot was full when we left a little after 8am. To take advantage of the morning light and avoid the crowds, we were out for sunrise every day.
While in the Grand Tetons area we stayed in a couple of different vacation rentals — one in Teton Village and one in Wilson. Both were beautiful locations. I have to provide a coffee shop recommendation because it was SO good. We stopped at the drive-thru Cowboy Coffee location several times — mocha with oat milk and a gluten-free banana pecan muffin — the BEST.
Below is a map of the locations I’ve highlighted in this post. They include:
Mormon Row, Schwabacher Landing, Teton Point Overlook, Hwy 191, Oxbow Bend, Jackson Lake Dam, String Lake and Jenny Lake
All photos were taken by me on a Sony A7RIII from Sept 26-28 and Oct 1-2, 2021.
Mormon Row Historic District
Parking coordinates: 43.665276, -110.664314
Mormon Row was settled in the 1890’s. What remains today are multiple structures including the famous John Moulton Barn (first pic below) and T.A. Moulton Barn (third pic below). These are probably the most famous barns in all of Wyoming and are a popular place for sunrise photos. When editing these photos, I opted for 1:2 ratio crops. Without clouds, the 1:2 ratio allowed me to balance the photos a bit better.
31mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/800 sec
Mid-morning - September 26
53mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/500 sec
Mid-morning - September 26
35mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/800 sec
Early afternoon - October 1
Schwabacher Landing
Parking coordinates: 43.711540, -110.670332
I love this place. Schwabacher Landing is one of my favorite places to take a casual stroll in Grand Teton NP. The Snake River quietly meanders through the flat terrain. There is a trail that follows along the water where many different views of the Tetons and trees reflecting in the water can be captured. There are a few benches where you can sit and enjoy the views. This is a popular area for sunrise photos, however, I really like the early to mid-morning light and the backlit mountains in the evening.
29mm, ISO 100, f/11, 1/320 sec
Mid-morning - September 26
42mm, ISO 100, f/11, 1/320 sec
Mid-morning - September 26
29mm, ISO 160, f/18, 1/160 sec
Evening - September 27
Teton Point Overlook
Parking coordinates: 43.717845, -110.660210
Teton Point Overlook is located near the turnoff to Schwabacher Landing and provides a nice view of the valley and the Teton Range. The first photo below was taken on an evening when we had a lot of smoke haze in the valley. We saw our first moose of the trip just after a sunrise at this overlook. Big boy came from the east, crossed over the highway and made his way down to the valley below. I was able to get some nice shots of him from a safe distance with the telephoto (see the end of this post).
24mm, ISO 160, f/20, 1/320 sec
Evening - September 27
25mm, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/80 sec
Sunrise - September 28
252mm, ISO 100, f/9, 1/25 sec
Sunrise - September 28
US-191 Highway
There are several places to stop along Highway 191 to take in the views of the Teton Range. Often you will see groups of antelope and bison grazing in the open meadows. The Elk Ranch Flats Turnout is often a great spot to photograph horses below mountains. Smoke haze from wildfires in Montana is visible in the first photo below.
176mm, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/1250 sec
Noon - September 27
51mm, ISO 100, f/22, 1/80 sec
Early afternoon - September 26
Oxbow Bend
Parking coordinates: 43.866245, -110.547749
Oxbow Bend has to be the most iconic fall color location in Grand Teton National Park. It’s so beautiful and on one of the mornings we were fortunate to have some clouds. There are multiple compositions that can be photographed in this area. I like walking down to the water’s edge to get the reflection of Mt. Moran and unobstructed views of the shore across the water and to the east. There are a few stands of aspen nearby that also provide alternate compositions away from the water.
70mm, ISO 100, f/9, 1/320 sec
Mid-morning - September 28
155mm, ISO 100, f/9, 1/320 sec
Mid-morning - September 28
160mm, ISO 100, f/9, 1/500 sec
Mid-morning - September 28
124mm, ISO 100, f/9, 1/640 sec
Mid-morning - September 28
116mm, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/1250 sec
Late morning - September 27
Jackson Lake Dam
Parking coordinates: 43.856998, -110.589510
Drought conditions have led to historically low water levels at Jackson Lake. Even though we were aware of how dry it’s been out here, it was still shocking to see just how low the water has gotten. The north end of the lake was completely dry. Colter Bay Marina closed in mid-August and other marinas closed in early September.
49mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/320 sec
Mid-morning - September 27
String Lake
Parking coordinates: 43.784908, -110.727762
We spent our final sunrise in the Tetons at String Lake. Sadly, we had no clouds, but we had beautiful, faint alpenglow and a peaceful sunrise with fog rolling across the lake. String Lake is a starting point for some popular trails and, like at Jenny Lake, it’s a place you’ll want to get to early. By the time we got back to the car around 8am, the String Lake Trailhead parking lot was full.
29mm, ISO 100, f/8, 4 sec
Sunrise - October 2
61mm, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/80 sec
Sunrise - October 2
24mm, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/200 sec
Early morning - October 2
Jenny Lake
Parking coordinates: 43.750903, -110.723894
Jenny Lake (surface elevation ~6800ft) is a stunning lake that sets below 12 and 13,000ft peaks at the foot of Cascade Canyon. It’s a VERY popular place, but if you’re there for sunrise, you won’t see many other people. We walked along the paved trails above the lake before finding a spot to hike down to the shoreline. The rocky shore and clear water makes for nice foreground with the mountains as a backdrop.
24mm, ISO 100, f/18, 0.5 sec
Sunrise - September 27
24mm, ISO 100, f/18, 0.5 sec
Sunrise - September 27
45mm, ISO 100, f/18, 0.4 sec
Sunrise - September 27
Wildlife
I had to include a wildlife section here to round out the post, because we saw so much wildlife! I have never seen so many moose on any trip ever. We also saw several foxes (Jess took the pic of the one below), a bear, deer, a couple elk, so many antelope, bison and a bald eagle. I always tried to make sure I had a camera with a telephoto lens on my lap when we were out driving around because you never know what you are going to see.
Thanks for reading!
