Dawson Rudolph practiced handstands in the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve parking lot to pass the time waiting for a parking spot. His friend, Jack Evans, 20, leaned against the side of the car, watching. They had been waiting for roughly half an hour, and were still close to the back of the line.
“I just want to jump off that one rock,” Rudolph said. “It’s kind of a bummer that the line is super long, but I mean we’re already all the way over here.”
On Friday afternoon, Rudolph and Evans were some of many motorists in a line that wrapped around the Laurance S. Rockefeller parking lot, waiting for their turn to park. Families picnicked out of the back of their cars, played games or music to pass the time.
The preserve is a popular destination for many visitors to Grand Teton National Park, with its easy access to Phelps Lake and Death Canyon. Due to a 50-car limit, the parking lot fills up quickly.
In typical years, visitors unable to find parking would have been directed to park along Death Canyon Road or in the lot at its terminus, said Emily Davis, Teton park’s spokesperson. That parking, however, is closed this summer for construction. Not only is Death Canyon the typical overflow lot for the preserve, but also visitors wishing to hike Death Canyon are being directed to the preserve.
“We are seeing an increase in the time that people are spending in the parking lot there and we also know that the queue of vehicles is a little bit longer than it was in the past,” Davis said. “We have also noticed an increase in vehicles dropping hikers off at LSR preserve, all likely due to the fact Death Canyon Trailhead is closed.”
While the park is not necessarily seeing an overall park visitation increase, there has been a change in way that people access the locations they want to visit, Davis said.
The Death Canyon Parking lot closure and Phelps Lake’s popularity have contributed to longer-than-usual lines at the preserve. Due to safety concerns and regulations to ensure emergency vehicle access, there is a cutoff for the amount of cars that can wait in the line at the preserve.
Additionally, the construction at Death Canyon Trailhead has resulted in a temporary single-lane traffic pattern on Moose-Wilson road between the preserve and Moose. Motorists are experiencing delays up to 45 minutes, according to a park construction alert.
Worth the wait?
On Friday, the News&Guide interviewed several groups of people waiting in line to park at the preserve.
Rudolph, who almost mastered the handstand, and friend Evans were visiting from Boise, Idaho, and were determined to get to the jumping rock along Phelps Lake. While they reported waiting in the preserve line for only 30 minutes, the two had also waited on Moose-Wilson road for roughly 15 minutes.
Evans, who had visited the park before, said that lines at the preserve last September were not as bad. While it was not Evans’ first time making the trek to the rock, he primarily heard about it on TikTok. Rudolph heard about it from both social media and a mutual friend. Despite the long line, the two planned to stick it out.
“I feel like we’re missing out a little bit on some other stuff we could have done today, but he really wants to go off that rock,” Evans said.
Phelps Lake’s jumping rock has become more and more popular on social media the last couple of years, drawing crowds to the lake and the preserve’s parking lot.
Camilla Gimov, from San Diego, is working in Yellowstone National Park this summer and was on a quick trip with a group of friends. The five of them had been waiting in the line for about 25 minutes, and were roughly halfway through the line. The group was grateful to even have the chance to wait.
“We were almost the last person in the cutoff, but [the ranger] asked the people in front to move forward so we could get in line, so that was very kind,” said Gimov, 18.
The group of young women reported never having experienced a line in the park before. The group heard about the spot, specifically the famous jumping rock, from TikTok.
“We want to do the hike, but mostly, we want to do the rock jumping,” Gimov said.
Jo Wilmer and Carter Gosinski, 21, had planned to go to Phelps Lake the day before, but turned around after hearing it was over a 2-hour wait. The two had only been waiting for about 15 minutes, but were one of the last cars in line. Still, the line was going “much faster today,” Wilmer said.
Wilmer, who is visiting from Connecticut, said they were there mainly for the jumping rock, but to do the hike as well. They, however, did not hear about the rock via social media. Gosinski, a Jackson resident, said that he grew up jumping into Phelps Lake from the rock.
A group of young women visiting from Chicago was chatting in the open trunk of their car. After waiting for about an hour, they were getting close to the front of the line. While some of them had been to the park before, this was their first experience waiting in line to park.
“I honestly didn’t know that it was a thing to wait in lines,” said Samantha Hicks, 25.
The group, which was waiting to do both the hike and jump off the rock, found out about both via TikTok and word of mouth. They said that despite the long line, being together as a group had made the time go quickly.
The park’s response
Park officials also noticed the jumping rock’s increased popularity.
“I would say that the jumping rock is very popular this year, and it was popular last year,” said Davis, the park’s spokesperson. “We are seeing an increase in people going to the jumping rock.”
Park officials can’t pinpoint the exact reason for usage increase around Phelps Lake, Davis said. But due to the increased popularity last year, the park installed bear boxes for visitors to store food and other scented items in to ensure safe recreation.
Over the weekend, people who couldn’t find available parking began parking on Moose-Wilson Road, which is at odds with safe and responsible recreation in the park, Davis said.
“Thats not an appropriate parking place,” Davis said. “There is simply not enough space for our emergency vehicles to get through if they need to respond to something.”
Visitors are encouraged to have multiple destinations in mind when visiting the park. If there is no “safe, legal parking” at your primary destination, visitors are encouraged to find an alternate location, Davis said.
“There are so many other beautiful places in the park that you can go to where you can have an equally exciting adventure,” Davis said.
Other locations, such as Jenny Lake and Colter Bay have “plenty of parking” and can be good “water-based” alternatives.
“We know that people are coming to this place. That’s why the park exists,” Davis said. “We want people to enjoy the national park, we just ask that people do so responsibly and respectfully.”