Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Grand Teton National Park surrounds and preserves the abrupt, vertical rise of a world-renowned set of jagged, glacier-carved mountains. This incredible countryside and scenery attracts about 4 million visitors each year. The pristine glacial lakes at the foot of the mountains support extensive populations of wildlife, including the large number of elk, moose and bison that inhabit the Park and the nearby National Elk Refuge. The Teton Range itself is a little different in that the gneiss and granite at the core of the range is some of the oldest rock on Earth, while the mountains are among the youngest on Earth.

Elevations at Grand Teton National Park vary from 6,400 feet on the flat and sagebrush covered valley floor to 13,770 feet on the granite summit of Grand Teton. Winters here are snowy and bitterly cold, with the lowest temperature ever recorded being -63°F. The snow usually begins to build up in early November and can last well into April. Summers are reasonably warm but short. Consequently, if you want to visit in the summer, you'll want to plan ahead.

Grand Teton National Park has many backcountry hiking trails in the mountain range and around the many lakes, but you'll need a permit for overnight camping. You don't need a permit to climb the peaks, unless you're staying overnight. The National Park offers several scenic byways, including the Jenny Lake Scenic Drive (a one-way road which skirts Jenny Lake), the Teton Park Road (which follows the base of the mountains from Jackson Lake Juncton to Moose) and the Signal Mountain Summit Road (with an 800-foot climb to great panoramic views of the Tetons, Jackson Lake and the Jackson Hole valley.