Around Grand Teton - Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks - page 444

wotee Pass ( Toe -ga-tee; 9658ft), before dropping into the upper Wind River Valley. To
the north is the 914-sq-mile Teton Wilderness; to the south is the more distant Gros Ventre
Wilderness. Dubois is the only town in the upper valley, east of which the landscape
yields to the semi-arid red sandstone Dubois badlands.
The Bridger-Teton National Forest Buffalo Ranger District Blackrock Ranger Sta-
tion ( 307-543-2386, 307-739-5600) , 8 miles east of Moran Junction, has general in-
formation and free maps of the region.

MORAN JUNCTION TO TOGWOTEE PASS
About 3 miles east of Moran Junction, the paved Buffalo Valley Rd forks off the main
highway to offer a 4-mile detour northeast up the Buffalo Fork to the Turpin Meadow
Recreation Area, a popular launching pad for local outfitters.
There's a USFS campground here and lots of dispersed camping. The road loops south
as the unpaved USFS Rd 30050 to rejoin US 26/287.
Three miles from this junction, just past Togwotee Cowboy Village, a short detour to
the left leads to a scenic overlook with fine views back to the Tetons. A second view-
point, the Togwotee Pass Vista View , is 5 miles further along; the actual pass is another
12 miles from here. The pass, named for a Shoshone medicine man who led the US Army
Corps of Engineers here in 1873, marks the Continental Divide. Just by the pass, the
lovely Wind River Lake makes a perfect picnic spot.
Six miles downhill, the turnoff to Falls Campground offers access to pretty Brooks
Lake Creek Falls , with fine views up to the breccia (lava and ash) cliffs of the Pinnacle
Buttes.
Across from Falls Campground, unpaved Brooks Lake Rd (USFS Rd 515) winds uphill
for 5 miles to gorgeous Brooks Lake , a popular base for camping, canoeing, fishing and
hiking set at the base of dramatic Pinnacle Buttes. The road passes Pinnacle Campground
before it descends to Brooks Lake Campground (tent/RV sites $10/15) , a boat ramp and
a trailhead. From the Brooks Lake turnoff it's 23 miles to Dubois, or 31 miles back to
Grand Teton. For information about the campground (sites $10) call the Wind River
Ranger District ( 307-455-2466)

Idaho's Teton Valley

The west face of the Teton Range soars above this broad valley, which is warmer, sunnier
and more tranquil than its well-known Wyoming neighbor. Most of the valley lies in Teton