GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK — Rehabilitation work will take place on the access path to Delta Lake this summer, and project leaders have committed to preserving the backcountry character of the overworked route.
The unofficial trail in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) terminates at a small turquoise lake that has become, in recent years, an internet and social media sensation, attracting influencers and bloggers from around the country. According to GTNP Superintendent Chip Jenkins, the path to Delta Lake has never been a designated and maintained trail; it was user-created. GTNP statistics show that since 2016, visitation to the lake has surged 440%, and numerous footpaths have emerged in what Jenkins calls “braided trails.”
Aside from the main goals of eliminating the braided trails and restoring the surrounding vegetation, the park has identified a priority of preserving the current rugged nature of the route. A trail crew from the Access Fund, a climbing advocacy group, will work for five weeks over the summer to tighten up the route, fix erosion and place natural features that subtly direct hikers to the correct path.
“We want to have this as a rugged, rough, backcountry experience,” Jenkins told Buckrail. “If people want to walk on a well-constructed, well-designed trail to a lake, there are abundant opportunities to do that.”
Last year, a unique coalition developed for this project between local climbing organization Teton Climbers’ Coalition (TCC), GTNP, the park’s nonprofit arm GTNP Foundation and the Access Fund. TCC’s Executive Director Christian Beckwith approached GTNP last year with concerns about the Delta Lake route. Beckwith introduced GTNP officials to the Access Fund, and the organizations conducted a site visit in September 2025. Jenkins previously worked with the Access Fund when he was superintendent at North Cascades National Park in the 2010s.
The GTNP Foundation recently completed its annual process of selecting park projects that are funding priorities. Foundation President Leslie Mattson told Buckrail that her organization has a long history of funding trail projects in GTNP, including at Jenny Lake, the Teton Crest Trail and Taggart Lake. This undertaking comes with a $61,000 price tag, and the Foundation has officially committed to raising the funds.
A four-person crew from the Access Fund will work closely with GTNP’s trail supervisor to identify a sustainable path to Delta Lake, then close and restore surrounding areas where braided trails exist. The Access Fund’s Stewardship and Education Director Andrea Hassler has said that the hillside is experiencing erosion from people walking on unmanaged pathways. With no clear route, hikers choose their own path and trample vegetation, which exposes bare soil and increases erosion.
Hassler explained to Buckrail how the Access Fund crew will work to keep the route as rugged and natural as possible. The trail crews have niche experience around the country with building, maintaining and rehabilitating technical climbing access routes. Materials used for the project will only be locally sourced and natural. Stone steps and retaining features will create a navigable path that can withstand significant foot traffic.
“Those features also help to identify a singular path, so they kind of serve a dual purpose,” Hassler said. “In terms of the ruggedness and the backcountry look and feel, [the features] are designed to blend in with the natural landscape.”
Another type of feature that the Access Fund will utilize is called a “nudge feature” or “gargoyle.” These trail features will function in the way gargoyles on top of buildings are used to direct rainwater and prevent damage.
“They’re kind of large rocks that we place in key locations to serve as a visual distraction from going one way, and kind of push users and keep them on the natural path,” Hassler said. “They blend in with the landscape but they kind of act as a barrier.”
The Delta Lake route begins at the Lupine Meadows trailhead, which also serves Garnet Canyon and Surprise and Amphitheater lakes. In the summer of 2025, 52% of recreationists entering the Lupine Trail system went to Delta Lake, per GTNP statistics. An average of 308 people made the trek to Delta each day, with daily spikes of over 700 seen on the Saturday and Sunday before Labor Day.
