I just got back from a week-long vacation out west. During my week vacation, I visited the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park. It was such a great week spending time out in nature and being surrounded by so much beauty. I plan to write a travel guide for each destination, but today I want to share about my Delta Lake hike in Grand Teton National Park.
Prior to leaving for my vacation, I looked on Instagram for spots within Grand Teton that were photo-worthy. I came across photos of a bright turquoise lake and large mountains a few times, so I showed the picture to my husband Adam and told him I wanted to go there. He did a little bit of research and informed me that the photo was of Delta Lake, a glacial lake that is below the Teton Glacier. He then informed me that to get to this lake it is a 4.5 mile hike up and back down and supposedly a tough hike. I instantly said “oh ok, nevermind then” because I have never hiked in my life but it was too late, Adam was stuck on the idea and started to plan it out.
Prior to our trip, I started reading a lot about the hike on AllTrails, which is a website giving details about hikes along with reviews from people who have completed the hike. The Delta Lake hike receives a 5 star rating but is also rated as difficult. I became very anxious prior to going on the hike given the reviews of how difficult it is and my lack of hiking experience, but Adam was dead set on going so I went along.
As I mentioned, the hike is about 9 miles round trip, 4.5 miles up the mountain and 4.5 miles back down. The total elevation gain is around 2,400 feet. To start the hike, head to the Lupine Meadows Trailhead within the park. I suggest arriving to the trail fairly early in the day to get a spot in the parking lot. We arrived to the trailhead at 9:00 AM on a Tuesday morning and were able to park in the parking lot but it was filling up quickly. You start the hike out on the Lupine Meadows Trailhead and follow the signs for the Amphitheater Lake Trail, which is a park-maintained trail. This trail winds through the woods and has a steady incline so while it wasn’t super difficult, I still had to stop a few times to catch my breath.
The trail then leads into a few switchbacks which I found rather difficult because I felt like I was on a stairmaster. The switchbacks are long and steep and also offer very little shade. The one good thing about these switchbacks is they offer a great view of nearby Taggart Lake and Bradley Lake. Around the 3 mile mark and 6th switchback, you will see a sign for Amphitheater Lake. At this point, you want to veer off the maintained trail and to the right. You will see a set of wooden steps that go down into the woods and this is the trail that will take you to Delta Lake. Again, this trail is not maintained by the park, so be prepared for much more rugged terrain.
First Switchback 
Taggart Lake
Once you are on the Delta Lake trail, you will find many more rocks as well as fallen trees to navigate. All of the traffic has created a path that you can easily follow until you get to a large boulder field. This boulder field is not too difficult to climb over as it doesn’t have too much of an incline, it just takes some balance. Although in terms of navigation, I found this part of the hike to be a little difficult. While of course at this point you just need to go upwards to reach the lake, I wanted to make sure we were doing it in the easiest way possible. Within the boulder field you will find that there are certain areas marked with cairns (rock stacks) that help lead you. You also will see somewhat of a worn path from more heavily trafficked areas which can help guide you as well.
Boulder Field 
Boulder Field
Once you cross the first boulder field, you will follow a dirt path again for a bit and then come to a second boulder field. This field is a bit more difficult because it has much more of an incline. Again, try your best to follow the cairns and I would try to stick to the right side of the field. Once you climb up the boulders, you then will see a dirt path over to the right of the boulder field. This path is the last stretch of the hike and possibly one of the most difficult. The path is made of loose dirt and rocks and has an almost vertical incline, so I suggest having shoes with good tread on them. I was going pretty slow at this point from sheer exhaustion and being so out of breath from the steep incline. Adam kept trying to encourage me to not stop and keep going, but I suggest taking your time if you need to. Once you reach the top of the path, you just have a few rocks to climb down to finally reach Delta Lake!
Final Dirt Path 
Final Dirt Path
The beauty of the lake is astounding. The bright turquoise color of the water you see in the photos is its actual color because it is a glacial lake. This spot is also the best way to see the Grand Teton mountain up-close and unobstructed aside from actually climbing it. Once we reached the lake, we ate the lunch we packed and hung out. It’s good to eat something while at the top to allow yourself to recover a bit and give yourself some energy for the trek back down. We stayed at the lake for an hour and a half because we didn’t want to leave the beauty of it. There was about 20-25 other people at the lake when we arrived at noon.
The trail is pretty popular and we were around people on the way up and on the way down. If you are looking for more solitude on the trail and at the lake, I suggest leaving very early in the morning, around 6 or 7. I was okay with being around more people because 1, it makes it easier to follow the trail (especially the unmaintained portion) and 2, it means there is a lower chance of encountering a bear. Grand Teton is bear country, particularly grizzly bears, so it is important that you be “bear aware”. Make sure you carry bear spray with you just in case, which can be bought at sporting good shops or grocery stores in Jackson Hole, or you can even rent it for $8 a day at Teton Backcountry Rentals. I was very paranoid and anxious about seeing a bear, so I read about what you should do if you do encounter a bear ahead of time. Luckily, we did not see one on the hike but I have read about many instances where someone has, so just be prepared for it.
It took us 3 hours to hike up to Delta Lake and 2 hours to hike back down. Depending on how long you stay at the lake, this is a hike that will take up most of your day so I wouldn’t make many other plans for the day you intend to do the hike. Afterwards we were exhausted and just wanted to head back to our hotel and relax. Take plenty of water with you to stay hydrated throughout the day. I did this hike on September 29 where the temperature only got into the high 60’s, but in the summer it could be much hotter so adequate water would especially be necessary then. I also suggest dressing in layers because of the changing temperatures and potential conditions throughout the hike (I have linked the layers I wore below). Overall, I did find the hike rather difficult but by no means impossible. I have never hiked in my life and I am not too active in general, so if I can do it anyone with a reasonable fitness level can. I made sure to reward myself after the Delta Lake hike with a strawberry cheesecake blizzard from Dairy Queen and some pizza..it was much deserved! Stay tuned for my Grand Teton National Park travel guide in my next post!
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[…] Teton Glacier. If you want to learn more about the hike and all of the ins and outs, check out my Delta Lake Hike blog post to get the details. This hike took about 6 hours so it was the majority of our day, but we did have […]