Paintbrush-Cascade Loop Permit

About this permit

The Paintbrush-Cascade loop is 19.0 miles from the String Lake trailhead, per the park's own route list, which suggests one night for it.

Camping is zone-based rather than site-based. Lower Paintbrush, the Outlier Site, Holly Lake and Upper Paintbrush sit on the way up; North Fork Cascade is on the way down. South Fork Cascade is a side trip up the South Fork, off the loop. Holly Lake is three campsites near Holly Lake in Paintbrush Canyon; North Fork Cascade is a zone near, but not at, Lake Solitude. Group sites exist at Holly Lake, North Fork Cascade and South Fork Cascade. Inside a zone you pick your own spot between the boundary signs. Campfires are not allowed in any mountain camping area. The park sets a quota for both the number of permits and the number of people issued on any given night.

Group size is the park's own sentence: individual permits can consist of up to six people, and groups of 7-12 people must camp in designated group sites.

Advance reservations for the May 1 to October 31 peak season opened January 7, 2026 at 8:00 am MST on Recreation.gov. Recreation.gov's season information block says January 10 elsewhere on the same permit, and the park's own About section still carries a stale 2025 date. Only about one third of backcountry camping permits go to advance reservation; about two thirds are available via walk-up through Grand Teton's permit offices, first-come first-served, obtainable one day before your start date. Fees are $20 flat per permit, non-refundable, plus $7 per person per night, refundable until five days before you start. Maximum stay is two nights per location, ten nights between June 1 and Labor Day, and thirty nights per year.

Bear canisters are mandatory. The park requires Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee approved containers for food storage in the backcountry, and permit holders can check one out free of charge at any permit-issuing station. The Upper Paintbrush zone carries its own reminder of the same rule.

For 2026, the Death Canyon Road and Trailhead are closed to all use from June 19 to September 7, which removes the 37.1-mile Death Canyon/Paintbrush variant for the season. Fire danger was listed as HIGH on July 31, 2026.

The route

The park publishes the loop as 19.0 miles from the String Lake trailhead, and suggests one night.

Camping is by zone. The relevant ones are Lower Paintbrush, Upper Paintbrush, Holly Lake (which the park describes as three campsites near Holly Lake in Paintbrush Canyon) and, on the far side, North Fork Cascade, described as a camping zone in the North Fork of Cascade Canyon near, but not at, Lake Solitude. South Fork Cascade is up the South Fork from the canyon junction, off the loop. Group sites exist separately at Holly Lake, North Fork Cascade and South Fork Cascade. Zones are marked by a sign at each end and you choose your own campsite inside the boundary; campfires are not allowed in any mountain camping area.

The divide is the crux. Recreation.gov's guidance is explicit: safe travel over Paintbrush, Static Peak and Moose Basin Divides, and Hurricane, Mt. Meek and Fox Creek Passes requires an ice axe and knowledge of its use as late as August, and if you are planning to cross any divide before late July without those skills, consider an alternate route. The park's own conditions report on 2026-07-19 had Paintbrush Canyon snow free to Holly Lake, with snow patches higher up and ice axe and crampons advised.

Why it matters

This is the Tetons' signature loop and the reason most people apply for a Grand Teton backcountry permit at all. It links two of the range's biggest canyons over a 10,000-foot divide, passes Holly Lake and Lake Solitude, and puts the Grand, Owen and Teewinot in front of you for most of a day. The park's own note on it is short and telling: this is an extremely busy trail July and August.