Jenny Lake in October

I did a drive-by of the lake today. There were whitecaps hitting the southern shore, and a chilly 34 degrees.At the overlook turnout, it looked like a steep, rugged hike down to the shore, but good rocks and very deep water.

At the visitor center/boat ramp access, better access to the shore, but not as steep a dropoff to deeper water. Since I'm going tomorrow before dawn, I'll try for area called Rock Beach, which has handicapped access.

There was absolutely no sign of any fishing being done in the park at Jenny Lake, but it wasn't exactly beautiful weather, either.

Went to Jenny Lake on 10-25-22, arrived before dawn. 2" of snow on the ground, with light snow falling. Perfect conditions for spawning Mackinaw, not so much for casting tube jigs and spoons.

Rock Beach only dropped off to 12 FOW, but nice cobble stone bottom. I saw a couple rises from cutthroats, but not much else. When sun rose, I couldn't see across the lake due to clouds.

I moved east towards the boat dock, and had a fish follow a large silver spoon, but couldn't see if it was a laker. Breeze picked up, so I went across the bridge to try to access deeper water. Bigger rocks on shore made access tricky. After another frigid hour with no strikes, the breeze had strengthened to 10-15 MPH, with snow still falling.

By Friday, snow had closed the road into Yellowstone. Jackson Lake was closed to fishing, and horribly low (32'). No services available at either lake. River access to Snake below Jackson is closed, leaving a rugged hike down snowy slopes to river. I saw a few fly-fishermen had made the journey down to river.

Fall is an excellent time to hike in Grand Teton. Trails remain open throughout the park, although accessibility can change due to shifts in weather.
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Visit our fall hiking page to learn more about trails in the park.