With limited equipment (poles), we prefer climbing the snow slopes rather than descending them. If we brought ice axes, boots, and crampons the slopes would have been easily managed, but in running shoes, they were a bit dicey. There was steep snow on the upper slopes of Paintbrush Divide. We would rather hike up than down steeper slopes. We want to be over the Divide before the storms. We are always very concerned about the weather and the summer afternoon thunderstorms. The distance to the Divide up Paintbrush Canyon is shorter (8.25 miles) than Cascade Canyon (10.10 miles).Our favorite direction is hiking up Paintbrush Divide. At the head of String Lake, the Leigh Lake begins. The trail starting at the Leigh Lake Trailhead is the String Lake Trail (Loop). Oddly enough the Leigh Lake Trailhead is at the end of the String Lake Rd at the String Lake Picnic Area. Restrooms and water are at the end of String Lake Rd. The String Lake Trailhead Parking Area is easy to locate. You still had a good hike.Trail along the Paintbrush Divide Route Notes If the conditions do not look good, you can always turn around and try another day. Hikers need snow skills and knowledge of snow conditions to safely cross the slopes. Crossing the snow slopes may be dangerous. Upper Paintbrush Canyon retains snow through July. Paintbrush Canyon and the North Fork make great backcountry destinations as out and back hikes.Īlways check with the Jenny Lake Rangers on trail conditions before starting the hike.Īs a day hike and early start and good hiking pace is required. The Loop would make a great backpacking trip, but you would have to carry a heavier load over the Divide. We have hiked the Loop in both directions, but have only hiked it as a day hike. We also discuss gear, and other logistics. The Guide includes Route Data, Trailhead Directions, Route Description, Route Notes, Mileage, Map Links, and User Comments. We liked hiking up Paintbrush Canyon, first. The route can be hiked in either direction. The described route cuts 1.15 miles from the overall length and avoids the busy String Lake Picnic Area and the Inspiration Point - Hidden Falls area. Finally, follow the Jenny Lake Trail to the north to complete the loop at the String Lake Trailhead. The Horse Trail bypasses Inspiration Point as it descends to Jenny Lake Trail. About 0.30 mile before reaching Inspiration Point, the route takes the Horse Trail to the north. Continuing, the route descends the North Fork and then Cascade Canyon. After crossing the Divide, the route enters the North Fork of Cascade Canyon and descends to Lake Solitude. The route taken starts from the String Lake Trailhead, goes around the west side of String Lake, then up Paintbrush Canyon to the Divide. The signs are great waypoints that are easily definable.
Quite a few of the photos are of trail signs. There are 60 photos in the Guide (and page 2), and wished we could have shared even more. The Tetons (to the south) soon came into view and we could hardly make any time hiking because we were having to stop to take photos of the mountains. Wow! Soon, we were looking down into the North Fork of Cascade Canyon and beautiful Lake Solitude. We climbed through Paintbrush Canyon to Holly Lake, above the lake to the upper slopes of the canyon, across the snow slopes and scree, and finally up a ramp to the divide. On our next visit to the Park we hiked the loop. We thought that it would make a great hike, it was the Paintbrush Divide Trail. As we climbed high along the ridge toward the summit of Woodring (we chose not to summit - but that's another story), we were able to see the hiking trail crossing the divide to the west in dramatic fashion. Paintbrush Divide Loop Trail in Grand Teton National Park is one of those special trails that crosses a divide and it crosses in grand fashion.Ī few years back as my wife and I were exploring the trails of the Tetons, we hiked to Holly Lake to climb Mount Woodring (which sits on the northern shore of the lake.) The trail and Holly Lake were great but the climb was not much fun, but the views were. Then, there are a few trails that go out one drainage, cross a divide, and then continue as the trail descends into a different drainage. To return to the trailhead it is just a matter of reversing the path. The trails follow a drainage that ends on the shores of an upper lake or land formation. Many hikes in the mountains are out and back, day hikes.
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