Exploring Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons
The dizzying statistics of Yellowstone best articulate the wealth of this outdoor paradise: over 30,000 elk, 2,100 bison, 200 grizzlies, and countless bighorn sheep, wolves, and smaller species (enough animals for a full-fledged wildlife safari without leaving the States), as well as netherworldly sink holes and geysers, canyons and hot springs, the fishing Mecchas of Slough Creek and the Yellowstone River, and over 3,500 square miles of remote backcountry supported by 1,210 miles of hiking routes and 900 miles of horse trails. Whether you travel by foot or cycle, the remote back roads weaving through the Old Faithful region will offer fresh ways of visiting the park's most well-known attraction, while exploration of the Upper Geyser Basin will reveal the other thermal features of the park, such as Firehole River, Giant Prismatic Geyser, and Lone Star Geyser and its 20-minute eruptions. Elephant Back Mountain and Avalanche Peak, near Lake Yellowstone Hotel, reward the tenacious hiker with stunning vistas of the park from their summits, as well as staggering views of Yellowstone Lake. Aescend these peaks one day; the next, descent into the Yellowstone's 20-mile Grand Canyon and head for Artist's Point at the canyon's brink, a stunning, colorful chasm of echoing waterfalls.
To Yellowstone's south, the jagged granite spires of Grand Tetons National Park looms over one of the country's premier multi-sport playgrounds. Hike the 14.8-mile trail weaving around Emma Matilda and Two Oceans Lakes or along the world-renowned Hermitage Point Trail, canoe along placid Jackson Lake, peddle the sick single-track routes of Cache Creek, horseback through Gros Ventre Wilderness, raft for days along Snake River, or go for the extreme on a four-day climbing course that concludes with a full ascent of 13,770-foot Grand Teton.
