Waterfalls in Grand Teton National Park: Hidden Falls to Granite Canyon

Waterfalls in Grand Teton National Park: Hidden Falls to Granite Canyon

What Waterfalls Are in Grand Teton National Park?

Grand Teton's best-known waterfall is Hidden Falls, a 100-foot cascade a short walk from Jenny Lake. Past it, Cascade Canyon carries its own cascades along Cascade Creek, and the longer trail toward Lake Solitude follows more of the same creek higher into the canyon. None of these are single, tall drop waterfalls like you would find in Yosemite; they are cascades, water working down granite in stages, which is the more common waterfall type in the Tetons.

Hidden Falls

Hidden Falls drops 100 feet next to the mouth of Cascade Canyon, and it is the waterfall most people mean when they ask about Grand Teton. Most visitors take the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake to the Cascade Canyon dock, which turns the hike into a 1-mile round trip with 300 feet of gain. Skip the boat and walk the South Jenny Lake Trail around the shore instead, and it becomes a 4.9-mile round trip with 620 feet of gain, quieter but longer. From Hidden Falls, the trail continues another 0.5 mile to Inspiration Point for a wider view back over the lake. Our 3-day Grand Teton hiking itinerary builds a full day around this hike.

Cascade Canyon's Cascades

Past Hidden Falls, the trail climbs into Cascade Canyon itself, between Teewinot Mountain and Mount St. John. Cascade Creek runs alongside the trail for the early miles with its own smaller cascades, most visible near the first bridge not far past Hidden Falls. Continuing to the Forks, where the canyon splits toward Lake Solitude and toward the North Fork, is a 9.4-mile round trip from the boat dock with 1,480 feet of gain, a full day for most hikers.

Lake Solitude and the Falls Along the Way

Past the Forks, the trail continues up the south fork of Cascade Canyon toward Lake Solitude, following more of Cascade Creek's cascades through alpine meadows before the final climb to the lake. From the boat dock, this runs about 14 miles round trip with about 2,360 feet of gain, a long, full day and one of the harder day hikes in the park. Starting from the Jenny Lake trailhead instead of taking the boat adds close to 4.5 more miles each way.

Granite Canyon

Granite Canyon, reached from a trailhead on Moose-Wilson Road about 2 miles north of Teton Village, carries Granite Creek through its own set of small cascades along the lower trail, though it is not home to one named waterfall the way Cascade Canyon is. The Granite Canyon Trail runs 8.2 miles one way to its junction with the Teton Crest Trail near Marion Lake, with about 2,600 feet of gain, more of a backcountry approach than a short waterfall walk.

Death Canyon: Currently Closed

Some older lists mention a falls in Death Canyon, sometimes called Death Canyon Falls. As of September 2026, the Death Canyon Road and trailhead are closed to all use, according to the park's current conditions page. Do not plan a hike here without checking Grand Teton's official conditions page first; the road and trail have been closed with no posted reopening date.