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In English | Other mountain ranges in the country are higher, larger, or more extensive, but the Teton Range in Wyoming is perhaps the most famous and most photographed in the entire country. It rises, with an astonishingly dramatic and jagged presence, almost vertically from a sagebrush-covered plain to a height of 7,000 feet above the majestic Snake River and surrounding Jackson Hole Valley. Often covered in snow until July—and with a handful of small glaciers and snowfields that remain year-round—the Teton Range has the same subtlety as its nonexistent foothills. These mountains are the heart of the 310,000-acre Grand Teton National Park (GTNP), which is located just seven miles south of Yellowstone National Park.

Founded in 1929 and expanded in 1950—thanks in large part to land donated by John D. Rockefeller Jr.—GTNP draws more than 3 million visitors each year. Although the stunning beauty of the Teton Range remains its biggest draw, the park is also gaining a reputation as a popular spot for wildlife viewing, with bears (black and brown), bison, elk, Canadian deer and Wolves. And climbers challenge themselves by climbing the buttresses, ridges and granite ridges with varying degrees of incline.

In the winter, an average of 10 feet of snow transforms the park, burying trails and lakes, to the delight of fans of snowshoeing, cross-country and Nordic skiing. From November through April, the park's hotels and restaurants are closed, as are many of its roads, giving the place a quiet charm that some find impossible to resist. The white landscape often makes it easy to spot wildlife as well.

“Grand Teton National Park offers abundant wildlife viewing and recreation opportunities year-round, and can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities,” says GTNP Park Ranger and Regional Interpreter for the Nature Reserve, Kristen Dragoo. Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve.

Entrance to the park in times of COVID-19

Park visitor centers are open, though auditoriums are closed at the Craig Thomas Visitor and Discovery Center and the Colter Bay Visitor Center. Restaurants at Signal Mountain Lodge are open, as are most restaurants managed by the Grand Teton Lodge Company. Until the end of 2021, the dining room at the Jenny Lake Lodge is only open to hotel guests. Restaurants, activities and stores that are open may have modifications or limitations, such as offering only takeout or limited seating. For facility updates, visit the park's website. Get the most current restrictions related to the pandemic.