Popular Yellowstone, Grand Teton trails closed for now

JACKSON, Wyo. – Two of the most heavily used day-hiking routes in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks in northwest Wyoming are closed because of weather damage and maintenance.

In Yellowstone, the iconic Brink of the Lower Falls trail is closed in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone because of a mud and rock slide that deposited a 7-by-8-foot boulder on the route, blocking the path.

In Grand Teton, the trail beyond Hidden Falls to Inspiration Point is closed and being rerouted so crews can replace bridges over Cascade Creek and rebuild the rocky ledge trails and steps that lead up to the popular Jenny Lake overlook.

Work can’t begin to remove the enormous rock on the Brink of the Lower Falls trail in Yellowstone because of wet weather, Yellowstone spokeswoman Traci Weaver said Thursday.

“It’s closed until further notice,” she said, “until we get a drying trend and are able to get in there and deal with it.”

Because of the trail’s location in the Yellowstone River canyon, dynamiting the boulder would be unsafe, Weaver told the Jackson Hole News and Guide.

The Brink of the Lower Falls trail, which leads hikers to a perch right above the 308-foot waterfall, may be rerouted, she said.

The trail work on the west shore of Jenny Lake in Grand Teton is more of a long-term situation, and the half-mile stretch leading up to Inspiration Point will be closed for “most of the hiking season,” according to the National Park Service.

Destinations in Cascade Canyon are also affected.

The trail work is part of a $17 million effort to repair and renovate many facets of the Jenny Lake area. Some features of the area date to the 1930s.