Taggart Lake

Taggart Lake turned out to be one of my favorite hikes in Grand Teton National Park. I thought that hiking to a lake wouldn't be so exciting but I couldn't have been more wrong! The trailhead begins in a big parking lot right off the Teton Park road. On the day that we hiked we saw tons of hikers going to Taggart and also the nearby Bradley Lake. The trail is easy to follow and doesn't gain much elevation over the entire 1.60 miles to Taggart Lake. At about .13 mile into the trail, you will come to a fork. The left fork (the trail that keeps going straight) is the long way to Taggart Lake. We didn't do that one but if you feel adventurous, go for it! We stuck to the right trail until we came to the creek crossing. Just after this crossing you will take a left arching turn towards the mountains. You will pass some historic farmland with old houses and other structures. We made a quick stop to check them out. After this, you will travel through the aspen and pine forests. We hiked this in late September and it was really cool to see with all the leaves changing! I recommend you do this hike at any time of the year, however Autumn has to be the best time. Once you come to the clearing after the aspen trees you will get even more impressive views of the Teton mountains. The views were simply incredible leading up to Taggart Lake! After working the summer in Alaska and coming home and seeing this, it felt like I was somewhere in Denali National Park still! You will eventually come to another fork in the trail. The left fork takes you to Taggart Lake and the right fork takes you to Bradley Lake. Take the left fork and hike the remaining 1/2 mile until you come to the lake. After hiking a little ways you will come to another forest which will cut off most of your views of the mountains. It will stay like this until you are just about at Taggart Lake. One more last clearing then you are almost there. Once you finally arrive at Taggart Lake you will see a sign pointing you in several directions. We spent about 1/2 hour here exploring around the lake taking pictures. Head back the same trail you came up, or you can try the trail that loops around.