This hike to Surprise and Amphitheater Lakes is a Grand Teton National Park classic and for good reason. The lake sits just below 10,000′ with towering impressive peaks all around. And that’s not to mention the stunning blue of the lake with glacial tones. If you’re lucky enough to visit with a dusting of snow on the mountains, you’ll find yourself hard-pressed to leave your lunch spot by the lake. We had my ham and cheddar Homemade Lunchables at Amphitheater Lake basking in the sunlight. And only the thought of walking out in the dark with all those black bears got me back up and going again! And with our tips here you won’t make the mistake we did and stop at Surprise Lake. We hadn’t researched this hike at all and figured we’d just follow the signs. Normally this is fine in a national park. But since it was early in the season, we missed the sign pointing up the trail to Amphitheater Lake. So we’re forever in debt to his kindness to come up and set us back on the right trail! We slogged on in the snow and reached Amphitheater Lake which is quite a bit more scenic than Surprise Lake. So you definitely wouldn’t want to miss it. And to finish off this super long day we ended up driving all the way north of Yellowstone to get home, and back to work!
