Spring recreation at Grand Teton

MOOSE, Wyo. (KIFI) – While snow continues to periodically fall on the Tetons, Grand Teton National Park has opened the Teton Park Road between Taggart Lake Trailhead and Signal Mountain Lodge to activities such as walking, biking and skating.

Visitors are now invited to recreate on approximately 14 miles of the road heading north from the Taggart Lake parking lot to Signal Mountain Lodge.

For safety reasons, visitors are reminded to avoid going beyond any barricades marking closures as plowing activities on adjacent roads continue.

Please use caution, as snow and ice may persist on some sections of the road creating slick conditions. Visitors should also be alert for park vehicles and heavy equipment that travel this road as spring opening operations continue.

On nice days in April, the Teton Park Road can be busy with visitors. Use caution as you drive in this area, as children, pedestrians, cyclists, and other users share the section of the road between Taggart Lake Trailhead and Cottonwood Picnic Area with vehicles. To avoid riding in traffic with your group, use the 10-minute loading and unloading zone at Cottonwood, located just north of the Taggart parking lot. 

Visitors enjoying the Teton Park Road, should consider:

• Entrance fees are required to enter Grand Teton National Park. Fees and passes can be paid at the Moose and Moran entrance stations, or through Recreation.gov. For park fee information, visit go.nps.gov/tetonfees.
• Be watchful and cautious of wildlife, as it is common for animals to use park roads.
• Carry bear spray, have it readily accessible and know how to use it.
• Drivers should slow down and use caution in parking areas.
• Be thoughtful of how music may affect others. Operating an audio device, such as a stereo, Bluetooth speaker, radio, or musical instrument in a manner which is unreasonable and impacts park users is prohibited by law.
• Food and water are not available at the trailhead or along the road.
• Restroom facilities are available at Taggart Lake Trailhead, Cottonwood Picnic Area, and at Signal Mountain Lodge. Portable restrooms are also located along Teton Park Road.   
• Leave No Trace and dispose of trash in receptacles located at both ends of the road.
• Dogs are permitted on the Teton Park Road on a leash no longer than six feet. Pet owners are required to clean up after their dogs. Waste disposal bag stations are located at both ends of the road. Bags should be deposited in trash receptacles and not left along the road.  

The paved multi-use pathway in the park will open whenever it is predominately free of snow and ice. The pathway is closed from dusk to dawn for wildlife and public safety. Pets are not permitted on the pathway. 

For information on park roads, visit go.nps.gov/tetonroads. The Moose-Wilson Road between the Granite Canyon Trailhead parking lot and the turn off to Death Canyon is closed to vehicles until it melts free of snow.

The public is also invited to join park rangers on early-morning tours to observe strutting sage grouse perform their annual mating dance near Mormon Row. Grouse strut programs are a unique opportunity to witness greater sage grouse congregate where the males perform animated mating displays during the spring breeding season. As part of the ritualistic strut, in open areas called “leks,” males use their tail feathers and expandable air sacs under their throats to compete with other males for an optimum position on the lek and to gain the attention of females.

During grouse-strut programs, rangers will provide information about sage grouse and conservation efforts underway for populations that are declining throughout much of the American West. Programs will be offered free of charge, by reservation only, Saturday, April 20, Sunday, April 21, Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28. Participants will meet at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Moose at 5:30 a.m. Participants should bring cameras, binoculars, water, warm layers, and comfortable walking shoes. To reserve your spot and for more information, please call 307-739-3399 (Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. MT).

The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Moose will open for the season on May 1. It will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For all other opening and closing dates for facilities and services within the park, visit go.nps.gov/tetonseasons.

For more tips for enjoying spring in the park, visit go.nps.gov/tetonspring.