Taggart Lake
What to Expect
Safety Advisory
This is prime grizzly and black bear country. Carry bear spray, make noise on blind corners, and check the park's bear activity reports before heading out — trail closures happen here regularly in late summer.
In winter and early spring, the moraine section can be icy and deceptively slippery. Microspikes are more practical than snowshoes unless there is deep fresh snow.
Trail Details
Pro Tips
The parking lot at Taggart Lake Trailhead fills by 9 AM in July and August — arrive before 8 or after 4 PM, or park at the Lupine Meadows lot and walk the connector trail to avoid the circus.
Loop it: instead of retracing your steps, take the spur to Bradley Lake and loop back via the Valley Trail. Adds about an hour but gives you two lakes and far fewer people on the Bradley stretch.
The best photo spot is not the main lakeshore where everyone clusters — walk left along the shore for five minutes to find unobstructed compositions with the Tetons reflected in the water, especially in the calm air before 10 AM.
Photos
NPS Photo/J. Bonney
