Grand Teton National Park

About

Grand Teton National Park sits just south of Yellowstone in northwestern Wyoming, and the two together form one of the most intact temperate ecosystems left in the United States. The Teton Range rises sharply from the valley floor of Jackson Hole with no foothills to soften the transition, which is why the skyline feels so dramatic from the moment it appears.

The namesake Grand Teton tops out at 13,775 feet and climbs more than 7,000 feet from the sagebrush flats below. The range itself runs about 40 miles and is still growing, pushed up slowly by the Teton fault at its base. Between the peaks and the valley sit a string of glacier-carved lakes, most famously Jenny Lake, Jackson Lake, and String Lake, all with trails that hug the water and views that stop most people in their tracks.

More than 200 miles of hiking trails cross the park, from short lakeshore walks to the multi-day Teton Crest Trail. Wildlife is abundant: moose in the willow flats, bison on the plains, pronghorn sprinting across the highway corridor, and both grizzly and black bears in the backcountry.

A Grand Teton road trip is almost always best combined with Yellowstone, and smaller guided tours pace the two parks so mornings catch the Tetons at their clearest, before afternoon clouds build over the range.