Taggart Lake Trail
Includes Taggart Lake, Bradley Lake
Taggart Lake, Grand Teton National Park
Taggart Lake Trail
Includes Taggart Lake, Bradley Lake
The trail to Taggart Lake in Grand Teton National Park is wide open and stunningly beautiful. You'll see the Teton Mountain Range right in front of you the entire way.
The Taggart Lake Trail in Grand Teton National Park is a real treat because you have an incredible view of the Teton Mountain Range the entire way. It's one of the few trails in Grand Teton National Park that is wide open with the Tetons as the perfect backdrop. It's great to be "in" the mountains, but sometimes the actual view is best "outside" the mountains, and this trail is certainly one of those examples.
Trailhead: Taggart Lake Trailhead, Teton Park Road, Approximately 3 miles north of the South Entrance
Distance: 1.6 miles (one way)
Elevation Gain: 277 feet
Taggart Lake in Grand Teton National Park is only 1.6 miles from the trailhead, which is located on the Teton Park Road just about three miles north of the South Entrance. The Taggart Lake Trail works it's way through beautiful groves of aspens, mountain streams, and open fields. Because of all the aspens here, we love to hike this trail during the fall of the year to catch the breathtaking colors. The Taggart Lake Trail is not at all steep, so most people have no difficulty enjoying this relatively easy hike, which only gains about 277 feet in vertical elevation from the trailhead.
The Taggart Lake Trail is a pleasant hike with a gorgeous view.
Along the Taggart Lake Trail in Grand Teton National Park you'll see a fork in the trail where you can either hike to Bradley Lake or Taggart Lake. We recommend that you first hike to Taggart Lake, and then if you're up for it, there's a trail from Taggart Lake directly up to Bradley Lake which is less than a mile in length and only 120 feet higher in elevation.
Aside from the outstanding scenery, The Taggart Lake Trail also offers glimpses of moose, elk and black bear, so hopefully you'll luck out and see some of these wonderful animals on your hike to Taggart Lake in Grand Teton National Park.
Bradley Lake
Once you've reached Taggart Lake, most visitors like to pick a nice spot along the shore and enjoy a nice lunch while gazing at the mountains. And once you've rested, if you feel adventurous, you can keep going on the trail up to Bradley Lake, which we previously mentioned is less than a mile from Taggart Lake and only about 120 feet higher in elevation. This is another beautiful lake in Grand Teton National Park with equally great views of the mountains.
On the way back from Bradley Lake, if you want to see some different scenery, when you reach a fork in the trail, instead of going back to Taggart Lake, you can take the trail to the left which takes you up and over a glacier moraine (gravel) where you can get a great view of the lake from above. You'll then pass another fork, which is where you initially turned to get to Taggart Lake. Ignore this fork and stay on the main trail to the left to get back to the Taggart Lake Trailhead parking lot. In other words, "stay left" the entire way back from Bradley Lake.
The aspens along the Taggart Lake Trail in Grand Teton National Park are absolutely incredible in the fall.
If You Keep Going...
You'll see a trail that leaves Bradley Lake that keeps heading toward the mountains. It will eventually connect with the Amphitheater Lake Trail and Garnet Canyon Trail. This is NOT the best way to get to these particular trails. The main trailhead to these trails is at Lupine Meadows, which is located just south of Jenny Lake.
This is a classic view of the Taggart Lake Trail in Grand Teton National Park. It's like walking into a beautiful post card.
Elk really like the area near the Taggart Lake Trailhead along the Teton Park Road. In fact, all along the highway between North Jenny Lake Junction and the South Entrance of Grand Teton National Park is fantastic elk habitat.
Taggart Lake in Grand Teton National Park is beautiful, and it's definitely worth the relatively easy hike to get there. What a great place to have a picnic!