what makes the grand tetons a popular winter destination?”
Bikes are banned from all hiking trails in the park, and on the paved roads below. The problem is safety — there are huge RVs careening about, and some roads have only narrow shoulders. Construction has widened Teton Park Road a bit, but traffic on it is still heavy. Instead, road bikers should try Antelope Flats, beginning at a trail head a mile north of Moose Junction and going east. Sometimes called Mormon Row, this paved route crosses the flats below the Gros Ventre Mountains, past old ranch homesteads and the small town of Kelly. It connects to the unpaved Shadow Mountain Road, which actually leaves the park and continues into national forest, climbing through the trees to the summit. After a total distance of 7 miles and an elevation gain of 1,370 feet, you’ll be looking at Mount Moran and the Tetons across the valley. Mountain bikers have a few more options: Try Two Ocean Lake Road (reached from the Pacific Creek Rd. just north of Moran Junction) or the River Road, a 15-mile di
(As one enters Grand Teton National Park the landscape can be overwhelming. The magnificent mountain range, as well as its historical background, captures the hearts of many, young and old.) Standing on the edge of a rocky ridge, the mountain man squinted as he searched and studied the wide horizon. There in his sight were the peaks of the Grand Tetons cleared of their winter covering. The trapper threw off his furry cap in the air, and hallooed as loud as his voice can echo through the valley below. Then the mountain pulled back from the edge of the ridge, lifted his trusty musket and pointed the barrel into the air and fired a shot. Soon returning halloos and shots were echoing over the valleys. Summer has come to the Rockies, and the mountain men gathered for another rendezvous. One hundred and fifty years ago, when the fur trade was at its height, every mountain man would gather at the beginning of summer at a prearranged place under the Teton peaks.(1) There they would gather, bar
