Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park -  From stunning mountain vistas and shimmering alpine lakes to abundant wildlife and world class skiing, the question is "what are you waiting for?"  A regal mountain range that stands at 7,000 feet above the valley floor, these mountains play host to coniferous forests and alpine meadows, often splashed with wildflower color. With lakes that are set against the foot of these grand mountains, Grand Teton offers picture book scenery and serenity.

What to see and do:

1. Cathedral Group turnout - This turnout offers a great view of the three highest peaks in the Teton range: Teewinot, the Grand Teton and Mt. Owen.

2. Teton Glacier turnout - About 4 miles north of Moose Junction on Teton Park Road, this turnout highlights the largest glacier in the park.

3. Snake River Overlook - This overlook is along U.S. 26/89/191. Ansel Adams took a famous photograph of the Tetons from this site.

4. Signal Mountain Turn - off the park road south of Jackson Lake Junction. A fairly narrow paved spur road climbs to a parking area, then a very short walk to the summit gives an excellent 360 degree view of Jackson Hole.

Five of the seven Grand Teton National Park campgrounds and RV parks are first come, first served. The five are:

Colter Bay Campground

Gros Ventre

Jenny Lake

Lizard Creek

Signal Mountain

Jenny Lake Campground is a tent-only campground and very popular so you must be there first thing in the morning to get a site.

Similarly Colter Bay's Campground sites fill by noon. Lizard Creek offers views of the Tetons and fishing and sites tend to fill by 2pm.

Signal Mountain offers a mix of spruce and fir trees, hillsides, and lake and mountain views. Gros Ventre is the largest campground and is the last to fill.

The two other campgrounds Colter Bay RV Park and Flagg Ranch accept advanced reservations and we mention them as they are the only campgrounds with RV hookups. Colter Bay is an RV-only campground.

For more information click here  http://www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm

For camping gear click here  http://www.campersglory.com/

Our National Parks

Our National Parks - A National Treasure 

Our National Park System received 281 million recreation visits in 2010. These visits contributed 258,400 jobs, $9.8 billion in labor income, and $16.6 billion in value added to the national economy.

Our National parks contain many of our nation's most treasured landscapes, from the majestic mountain ranges of Alaska to the vast saw-grass prairies of the Everglades. To safeguard these treasures, the National Park Service combines the best available science with innovative education and stewardship programs, such as Biodiversity Discovery, the Climate Change Youth Initiative, and Geoscientists-in-Parks.

We encourage you to "Explore Nature." Learn about the natural resources in parks, from the rocks under our feet to the sky overhead and everything in between. Discover the issues that affect our parks and how we join with neighbors and partners to address them. Meet the people who protect our parks and learn how you can help preserve these treasures for generations to come.

Check out the latest about our wonderful National Parks here:

http://www.nature.nps.gov/

CDTA Closes Down

It is indeed a sad story.  The Continental Divide Trail Alliance (CDTA) will close its doors and shut down its operations because of the lack of funding. For many years, the CDTA has been the vision and guiding force in planning, developing, and maintaining the awesome Continental Divide Trail. The hiking and backpacking community will certainly miss them as an advocate for the hiking experience.  Go to the CDTA web site to read the entire story.

http://www.cdtrail.org/page.php