Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park

3 million visitors per year – 485 square miles – Best part of the beautiful Teton range.

There are not many places in the world where you can literally stand next to a mountain. Foothills usually intervene. Imagine then Grand Teton, where the mountains rise sharply out of the relatively flat Jackson Hole Valley like stark, granite skyscrapers.

Another geological oddity formed during the ice age, Jackson Hole Valley looks as if some gargantuan infant sculpted it out of Play-Doh. When the valley formed, little driblets from the glaciers formed rocky deposits, called moraines, around the six sparkling mountain lakes that were incongruously punctured into the landscape.

Winding gently through this stranger valley is the Snake River, along the bans of which grow willows, cottonwoods, and the blue spruces in which bald eagles prefer to nest. Beavers have built dams up and down the river, forming wetlands that have an incredibly dense concentration of wildlife, including bears, elk, moose, trumpeter swans, sandhill cranes, and Canada geese.

Peak season tips: From June through August, most of the crowds can be found near Jenny Lake, which has sand beaches and sometimes is warm enough for a quick swim.

Winter is coming. Photo by Elena.

Camping : Campgrounds are generally open from late May to October. In summer, Jenny Lake campground filles the fastest and has a seven-day camping limit – the other five parks have two-week limits. Camping at all six campgrounds is available on a first-come, first served basis except at Colter Bay Trailer Village, where reservations are required.

Best one-day trip: Beginning at the south entrance on Route 191, stop at Mentor's Ferry and the Chapel of the Transfiguration for a look at the dwellings of some of the area's first pionners. Then drive north along Teton Park Road to Lupine Meadow and take the spur road to the trail head, where there is a difficult hike to Amphitheater Lake near the timberline. Attempt this only if you are in good shape. Head back up Teton Road for a stop at South Jenny Lake, which is located at the bottom of the tallest Teton Peak. An easy six-mile hike there circles the lake and affords spectacular views of the mountain. Finally, stop at Colter Bay for a one-mile hike that loops around the wetlands and provides good opportunities for viewing the wildlife up close.

Best experience: In winter, horse-drawn sleighs take visitors to see the herd of 11,000 elk that live in the valley.