Hiking the Delta Lake Trail via Lupine Meadows in Grand Teton National Park
Distance: 7.5 miles / 12.1 km
As popular and as beautiful as the Delta Lake Trail is, I do not believe the hike up the Lupine Meadows Trail, and the steep scramble up to Delta Lake, is a hike for all people of all abilities.
The hike up to Delta Lake is steep, requires some route finding, and the off-trail scramble at the end makes Delta Lake one of the more challenging day hikes in the park!
However, if you’re up for the challenge, the Delta Lake Trail is easily one of the best and most beautiful hikes in Grand Teton National Park.
Delta Lake Trailhead Parking
The hike to Delta Lake has inevitably made the Lupine Meadows Trailhead one of the most popular trailheads within Grand Teton National Park.
Therefore, I recommend arriving early because if not, parking near the trailhead can be extremely difficult by midmorning during the busy summer season.
Google Maps Directions: Lupine Meadows Trailhead
Hiking Checklist - Yellowstone-Tetons
Here is a complete list of must-have things that you will want for any hike in the Yellowstone-Teton area.
Hiking the Lupine Meadows Trail to Delta Lake
The hike up to Delta Lake begins on the Lupine Meadows Trail, which is a very popular trailhead for a number of climbing routes up Garnet Canyon, as well as Surprise and Amphitheater Lakes.
Our group and others saw multiple bears on just this one short day hike, which at one point separated us as a group when a bear on the switchbacks came between us.
I say this to say: take the hiking checklist above seriously, and always hike with bear spray!
After only 0.5 miles (0.8 km) into the hike, the Lupine Meadows Trail will noticeably start gaining elevation, which will continue for the entire distance up to Delta Lake.
At about 1.2 miles (1.9 km), the Delta Lake Trail will start following a ridge before reaching the switchbacks on the Lupine Meadows Trail to come.
Valley Trail Junction
The Valley Trail is first junction that the Lupine Meadows Trail will come to, but to get to Delta Lake, go right to start the switchbacks up the trail.
In my experience, I have never seen another hiker on the Lupine Meadows Trail that was there for the purpose of hiking the Valley Trail.
After the Valley Trail Junction, the Delta Lake Trail will climb a series of six switchbacks before reaching the Delta Lake turnoff.
This may be a good idea to count out these switchbacks in case you’re unsure where the turn to Delta Lake is, as the junction is unmarked.
It was around this area of the switchbacks that we came across a brown bear roaming through the bushes.
This is not to say that you are likely to see them here, as I have seen them elsewhere on the Lupine Meadows Trail before.
Garnet Canyon Junction
Unlike the Valley Trail, Garnet Canyon is one of the more popular junctions on the Lupine Meadows Trail because of the climbs that you can get to, like the Middle and Grand Teton.
Continue straight on the Lupine Meadows Trail, and don’t treat the Garnet Canyon Junction like a switchback.
Delta Lake Junction
Then, at the top of the sixth switchback or about 3.3 miles (5.3 km) into the hike, the trail to Delta Lake splits off of the Lupine Meadows Trail.
This is also where the hiking gets significantly more difficult and steep, which is why I said in the beginning that the Delta Lake Trail is not for all people of all abilities.
On top of this, the trail to Delta Lake is what the National Park Service calls a “social trail”, meaning that this steep stretch to Delta Lake is not maintained by the agency.
That being said, I have noticed some erosion mitigating measures put in place, like the steps at the junction, because of the sheer popularity of the Delta Lake Trail.
After the junction, you will want to follow the best trail you see fit up the steep scramble to Delta Lake.
One route may be more straightforward than another, but know that since this is not an official trail, hikers have made many different small trails up to Delta Lake.
Yes, it’s really that steep!
At this section below the lake, I found it easier to hike over to the right around the cliff rather than continue up to the left.
Eventually, the trail will level out, which is how to know that you’re close to Delta Lake!
Delta Lake
In my experience on this hike over many years, I have never seen Delta Lake without a number of other hikers enjoying the lake.
The beautiful turquoise blue waters of Delta Lake attract all kinds of visitors, as the freezing cold glacial waters make it a great place to swim and enjoy the sun on a hot summer day!
If you look up to the right of the Grand Teton, you can see the beautiful Teton Glacier just below the peak!
My Print - Delta Lake
