Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Just south of Yellowstone in northwestern Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park is even
more dazzling than its larger and more prominent neighbor in its mountain splendor. The
Tetons soar skyward, three in a sea of 12 peaks topping 12,000 feet. The mountains are
young—still growing, in fact—and utterly spectacular, perhaps the most dramatic anywhere
in the Lower 48. The park itself contains approximately 310,000 acres (roughly 15 percent
the size of Yellowstone), 100 miles of paved road, and much to the delight of hikers, some
200 miles of trails.
Like Yellowstone, Grand Teton is home to healthy populations of wildlife—this is
among the best places in the West to see a moose—but the rugged terrain and limited num-
ber of roads affords the animals better places to hide. Still, you always need to be prepared
for bear encounters in the park. Beyond the stunning natural and geological history of the
region, Grand Teton offers some interesting human-built attractions—including the histor-
ic and elegant Jenny Lake Lodge, the Chapel of the Transfiguration, and the Laurance S.
Rockefeller Preserve—that are well worth seeing. At the end of the day, though, Grand
