Jenny Lake is a popular tourist destination in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. Thousands of years ago, a glacier carved a depression in the earth that eventually filled with water, forming the lake. Today, Jenny Lake is over 250 feet deep. Native American activity in the Grand Teton area dates back to almost 11,000 years ago.

When European explorers began exploring the Tetons, several Native American tribes occupied the land, including the Shoshone and the Nez Perce. Jenny Lake was named after Jenny Leigh, the Shoshone wife of explorer Richard Leigh, who were members of an 1872 exploratory expedition that passed through the area.

Today, many former homesteaders’ cabins are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Jenny Lake Historic District. The Jenny Lake Visitor Center and the Park Ranger Station were both constructed in the 1920s as homesteaders’ cabins. Another 1920s homesteader built a boathouse and dock to lead boat tours of Jenny Lake, which are still used by the Park Service today.

Other buildings in the Jenny Lake Historic District are the Jenny Lake Comfort Station, which was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, and the Jenny Lake Lodge, which was built in the 1920s.

Today, visitors at Jenny Lake enjoy a variety of outdoor activities, including camping, swimming, boating, kayaking, and hiking. Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls are popular hiking destinations.

Researched, written, and narrated by University of West Florida Public History Student Stephanie Powell