Explore Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park is a national park of the United States in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately 310,000 acres (130,000 ha; 1,300 km2), the park includes the major peaks of the 40-mile-long (64 km) Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Grand Teton National Park is 10 miles (16 km) south of Yellowstone National Park, to which it is connected by the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway. Along with surrounding national forests, these three protected areas constitute the almost 22-million-acre (89,000-square-kilometer) Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the world's largest intact mid-latitude temperate ecosystems. The human history of the Grand Teton region dates back at least 11,000 years. In the early 19th century, the first European colonizers encountered the eastern Shoshone people. Between 1810 and 1840, the region attracted fur trading companies that vied for control of the lucrative beaver pelt trade. U.S. government expeditions to the region commenced in the mid-19th century, with the first permanent white colonizers arriving in the 1880s. Efforts to preserve the region as a national park began in the late 19th century, and in 1929 Grand Teton National Park was established, protecting the Teton Range's major peaks. In the 1930s, conservationists led by John D. Rockefeller Jr. began purchasing land in Jackson Hole to be added to the existing national park. Against public opinion and with repeated Congressional efforts to repeal the measures, much of Jackson Hole was set aside for protection as Jackson Hole National Monument in 1943. The monument was abolished in 1950 and most of the monument land was added to Grand Teton National Park. Grand Teton National Park is named for Grand Teton, the tallest mountain in the Teton Range. At 13,775 feet (4,199 m), Grand Teton rises more than 7,000 feet (2,100 m) above Jackson Hole. The park has numerous lakes, including 15-mile-long (24 km) Jackson Lake as well as streams and the upper main stem of the Snake River. Though in recession, a dozen small glaciers persist at the higher elevations near the highest peaks in the range. Some of the rocks in the park are the oldest found in any American national park and have been dated at nearly 2.7 billion years. Grand Teton National Park is an almost pristine ecosystem and the same species of flora and fauna that have existed since prehistoric times can still be found there. More than 1,000 species of vascular plants, dozens of species of mammals, 300 species of birds, more than a dozen fish species, and a few species of reptiles and amphibians inhabit the park. Due to changes in the ecosystem, some of them human-induced, efforts have been made to provide enhanced protection to some species of native fish and the increasingly threatened whitebark pine. Grand Teton National Park is a popular destination for mountaineering, hiking, fishing, and recreation. There are more than 1,000 drive-in campsites and over 200 miles (320 km) of hiking trails that provide access to backcountry camping. Noted for world-renowned trout fishing, the park is one of the few places to catch Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout. Grand Teton has several National Park Service–run visitor centers and privately operated concessions for motels, lodges, gas stations, and marinas.