One of the MUST-DO activities in Grand Teton National Park is to raft or float on the Snake River!
In 2022 we did a scenic float through Triangle X, one of three companies authorized to do river floats inside Grand Teton National Park.
Triangle X is an operating dude ranch that also provides guided river floats inside Grand Teton National Park. Overall, we enjoyed our river float and we would HIGHLY recommend getting on the Snake River somehow, either through Triangle X or another company.
However, there were some pros and cons, so keep reading if you’re considering paying for a river float like this!
We met at Moose, which is near the visitor center in the center of Grand Teton National Park. They shuttled us north to the river put-in.
The employees didn’t seem too friendly and the van we drove in was a little messy, including a beer can left in the cup holder near us. We signed up for the last float of the day, so it’s very possible the employees might have been exhausted from the prior floats.
Upon arriving at the entry point, we had to walk about .25 miles down a dirt path to get to the river put-in. This was an issue for some elderly people in our group who were unaware there was going to be any walking. It was a hot day, and some of them were not happy about it and let the workers know.
We wore water shoes, thinking that water might get in the raft. This made the walk quite uncomfortable for me.
The water shoes proved unnecessary — no water ever made it into the raft. While I guess it’s possible that water could splash high enough to get in the raft, there is no reason to wear water shoes.
Indeed, we were the only crazy ones on the raft doing it! I definitely recommend wearing whatever comfortable shoes you would like, keeping in mind that they might get wet.
Triangle X offers different options for its scenic floats, one of which is a “dinner float.” That is, they feed you dinner next to the river before you hop on the raft. We chose this option to get the dinner experience. It also happens closer to dusk, so we were hoping to see wildlife.
The dinner was served at 5:00 pm, which was quite early. We made the mistake of eating a big lunch, so we just weren’t all that hungry at 5:00. The family next to us made the same mistake!
The food was ready to be served upon our arrival.
Here again, the workers weren’t overly friendly (but not rude). However, the food was really good. They also played country music through a small speaker. An outhouse was located nearby for those who needed to use the restroom.
After dinner, the workers took us to the river’s edge to load up. There was a slight hill (about a 3 foot drop) that some elderly people struggled with. Some of us walking with them helped them navigate the drop.
At the river’s edge, our tour guide Jim (the same fellow who drove us in the van) gave us a safety talk and then we loaded into the raft.
To this point, the dinner was delicious but we weren’t all that impressed with the service.
However, once we got on the river, we came to appreciate our tour guide tremendously. He had an understated way about him, but he was incredibly knowledgeable about Jackson Hole and the stories behind the park (I know, because I made my own audio guide with many stories about the area).
I honestly think the employees were probably worn out from a long day of tours, but once we were on the river the tour guide seemed in his element and he was a joy to listen to. He proved a very capable raft guide and took an interest in both sides of the raft (he was in the middle).
The scenery along the Snake River is incredible, with views of the Tetons almost the entire way. We floated past the Three Tetons — the most famous peaks of the range — for 10 miles.
We also loved seeing wildlife. We were shut out on moose, unfortunately, but we saw 5 bald eagles and 5 beavers. They were so close to us! It was a very memorable experience.
It was also a hot day, so being on the river as the sun was setting gave us a wonderful breeze and cooling down period so we could enjoy the views and the wildlife even more.
Because we brought two of our kids along, the dinner + float option was over $300, which was expensive for us.
If you had asked us after dinner, we would have said it wasn’t worth it (though the dinner was delicious).
But by the end of the float, the weather had cooled and the guide had won us over. The scenery and wildlife put us in a great mood, and we were happy with our float experience.
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