The Goodwin Lake Trail is one of those cheater hike/rides that start by driving your car to about the 8,000-foot elevation effortlessly expediting your buns to the high country (my favorite kind). This trip is popular for its proximity to the town of Jackson and Grand Teton National Park; itĦs relatively short length and ample sensory rewards.

From the trailhead high on Jackson Peak on the east side of Jackson Hole (JacksonĦs Valley) on the opposite side but in full view of the Grand Teton Mountain Range the trail starts through boreal forest interspersed by ample meadow.

After about a mile of moderate uphill hiking you get to a ridge where the trail turns south and is perched on the spine of a ridge with a steep drop off into Sheep Creek on the left and Jackson Hole to the right. Here the trail is largely in the woods with very little meadow revealing views in the direction of the Tetons but plenty of Sheep CreekĦs chasm and Table Mountain, Sheep Creek and Goodwin LakeĦs eastern sentinel. The ridge provides an easy walking gradient and although a paucity of western views the ample shade can be a welcome substitute. About halfway up the ridge you cross the Gros Ventre Wilderness Boundary.

At the end of the ridge the trail changes character for a short while and hugs the side of Jackson Peak until it reaches the glacial moraine that is the dam for Goodwin Lake, a short hump up the moraine and you are at the lake.

Goodwin Lake is towered over by a steep flank of Jackson Peak on the west and a much larger escarpment of rock, Table Mountain in the distance to the east.

Goodwin Lake is populated with abundant cutthroat trout (mostly small) that are eager to come up to visit their fisherman guests who usually return them to their watery home.

DonĦt expect solitude on this hike/ride as it is it is abundantly populated with smiling and largely friendly people reaping the rewards of a high alpine cirque with a minimum expenditure of effort.

click photo for larger image

Goodwin Lake makes a nice half-day outing, but for the more ambitious hiker/rider/backpacker the trail continues southeast from here toward Cache Peak and deep into the Gros Ventre Range. About a half mile above the lake a trail forks to the right that many take to the top of Jackson Peak. About three miles up from the lake brings you to the juncture of Cache Peak Trail that can loop you back to Jackson via Cache Creek. In less than a half mile more Flat Creek Trail branches to the north and provides an opportunity for a loop trail. Another mile or two brings you to the Granite Creek Divide that reveals the heart of the Gros Venture wilderness that in another mile can drop you into Turquoise Lake another Gros Ventre Wilderness Gem.

Getting there

Drive east on Broadway out of Jackson on the Elk Refuge Road about five miles until you see a well-used road turning right into Curtis Canyon. Follow this rough dirt road, at the only fork, take a right, and drive until it ends at the trailhead parking area. The last section of road past the fork is deeply rutted and those pulling horse trailers may want to park at the fork and ride the short distance to the trailhead.

cowboy getting ready for swim