Cascade Canyon: The Quiet Side of the Tetons
Skip the elbows at Jenny Lake and take the early boat. A field report from one of the most underrated valley walks in the American West.
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There is a small, almost apologetic boat that crosses Jenny Lake before the morning light has cleared the saddle of Teewinot. If you are on it, the day belongs to you.
The Cascade Canyon trail begins at the western dock and climbs gently — gently for the Tetons, anyway — past Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point into a U-shaped valley that opens like a held breath. The walls are vertical. The river is loud. The marmots are unimpressed.
The walk
From the boat dock it is roughly nine miles round trip to the forks, with about 1,100 feet of gain spread so evenly across the route that it almost does not register. We met one moose, three mule deer, and a backcountry ranger who told us — gravely, helpfully — to keep our voices down for the bears. We did.
What to bring
A daypack with real water capacity (the Osprey Talon 22 swallows a 2L bladder and a packable shell). The Patagonia Houdini for the wind that funnels down the canyon by mid-afternoon. Trekking poles for the descent. A real lunch — there are sun-warmed boulders along the south fork that were made for it.
When to go
Late June through early September. The first boat leaves at 7 a.m. Be on it.