Delta Lake is a hard, unmarked day hike from the Lupine Meadows trailhead in Grand Teton National Park. We did it in 2020, on day four of a 12-day Wyoming road trip, in a camper van we hired through a partnership with Travellers Autobarn (you can read our Travellers Autobarn campervan review if you’re curious about the van).
The short answer
It was a lot harder than we thought it would be, and it was worth it. The last stretch we followed wasn’t marked and crossed two boulder fields, and the lake was much colder than the trail below it. We stayed until we were the last people there, so if you’d rather not start down around 4:15, start earlier than we did.
Morning at Lupine Meadows
We got to the trailhead just past nine. We’d already been out chasing sunrise photos that morning, but we hadn’t had breakfast, and the van was still set up as a bed from the night before, buried under Instagram clothes and camera gear. Changing it back over so we could cook came first.
Breakfast got interrupted. Something wandered up to the van, and we kept a respectable distance as it came closer, then closer still. By the time we asked each other whether we should get in the car, it was already very close. It turned out to be a moose, and we panicked and ran for the car. After that very unexpected start, we went back to breakfast.
Bear spray came along too, bought in California at REI. It was fall, and the bears were busy eating berries before hibernation, so carrying it is recommended in Grand Teton and Yellowstone. The park service recommends keeping it immediately available rather than buried in your pack, on its bear safety page. We both hoped to spot a bear, from a safe distance.
Up to the fork and the switchbacks
The trail goes up and keeps going up. About an hour in, we stopped for a first snack break of almonds and protein bars. Then we reached the first fork and kept going toward Surprise Lake and Amphitheater Lake.
By about an hour and 45 minutes of hiking there had been a lot of elevation gain, all of it uphill, and the energy was low after a busy couple of days. We’d been told that the sixth switchback is where the actual Delta Lake trail starts, so we counted them: number two, then the fifth, and finally the sixth, about 3.2 miles in.
The unmarked turnoff and the boulder fields
At the sixth switchback there are wooden stairs and no sign. From there on, the route we followed was unmarked. Guides don’t agree on exactly where the route leaves the maintained trail (The Outbound puts it at the first switchback after the trail junction), so carry a current map or GPS track rather than relying on our switchback count alone.
The first boulder field got a groan and a “whose idea was this?” The answer was shared responsibility: whoever had suggested it, the other had been just as game. It turned out not to be that bad. It was actually pretty fun, and better than plain trail walking, since you can pick your step and hop from rock to rock.
The second boulder field was a little bigger than the first. We figured that once we got to the top of it, we’d be at the lake. 10Adventures describes a steady, steep climb over loose rock and says the boulder field can be slippery when wet, so a good first field isn’t a reason to take the rest lightly.
At the lake
We made it. By our rough count it was about four and a half miles up, all of it uphill, and we were wiped out. What a hike. It’s pretty incredible up there.
It was also about 20 degrees colder at the lake than on the trail just around the corner, so we threw on layers before we started exploring. Pack layers if you do this hike.
Lunch was hot: freeze-dried chicken teriyaki heated on our Jetboil. We’d bought the meal about five years earlier for a hike and never used it, and the expiration date was so far out that we called it astronaut food. It was pretty good, and filling.
Heading down
We had so much fun running around the lake taking photos. We realized everyone else had left and we needed to begin our hike back, and by the time we started down it was about 4:15. For most of the climb up, making it to the lake had felt doubtful.
Being the last ones up there was a good reason to get moving, so we weren’t left up there alone. It started to sprinkle before we got back to the car, and by the time we reached it, it was properly raining. We were very happy to see the car. The big van stayed nice and dry, and the plan was a big pasta dinner back at camp.
If you go
- The distance. Our estimate was about nine miles round trip, and we put the climb to the lake at about four and a half miles. Published measurements are shorter: 10Adventures’ GPS track gives 11.9 km (about 7.4 miles) round trip, and The Outbound lists 7.16 miles, though a reviewer there recorded 9 miles on their own GPS. Distances vary by source, so go by a current map, not our count.
- Not an official trail, and today’s route may differ from ours. We hiked it in 2020. The park service’s trail conditions page lists Delta Lake as not maintained, and in 2026 the park announced trail improvement work on the route, including the boulder field leading to the lake. The route and the boulder-field path may look different from what we describe, so check the park’s trail conditions page or ask at a visitor center before you go.
- Bears. Check bear activity and conditions with a ranger, and carry bear spray where you can reach it, as the park service advises.
- What worked for us. Layers for the lake, snacks for the climb, bear spray, and a stove for a hot lunch at the top.
- What this account covers. This is the hike to Delta Lake from Lupine Meadows. It doesn’t cover Surprise Lake or Amphitheater Lake, which share the first part of the trail, or the parking, permits and road conditions, which are best checked with the park.
The day started with a moose at breakfast and ended in the rain, with a big pasta dinner planned back at camp.
Image credits: the photo of Delta Lake near the top and the featured image are by Gideon Tsang, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The other photos are stills from our own video of this hike.
