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Wyoming National Parks - The adventure and communion with nature never stops
Any trip to Wyoming cannot be complete unless you take a visit to the Wyoming National Parks. Because of the rich geological and ecological diversity in the area, Wyoming holds several of the best National Parks, National Monuments and National Wildlife Refuges across the country. Included in the Wyoming National Parks are Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.
Take your camera, binoculars and backpack* and get ready to enjoy a few days out in the great outdoors. In Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks alone, there are over 2-million acres of back-country wilderness with well over 1,000 miles of hiking trails. Be prepared! Whether you are on a one-day hike or over-night camping trip in the back-country, make sure you are properly dressed and your backpack* has all the essentials. (Backpack*: water, food & outdoor gear or Jackson's Hole Adventure Survival Kit) If you are planning on hiking or camping in the back-country of the Wyoming National Parks, you will need a Back-Country Permit. The permit is available at either the Yellowstone or Grand Teton National Park Ranger Station. There also are hundreds of miles of Boardwalk and other National Park Visitor Trails that do not require a permit. So wherever you hike in your Wyoming National Parks, "Be Safe", "Have Fun" and "Give the Wildlife Their Space".Yellowstone National ParkSpanning almost 3,500 square miles of the Northwest corner of Wyoming,
Yellowstone National Park
was formally established on March 1, 1872 and its boundary extends into Idaho and Montana. It is the home of various types of flora and fauna that are now considered endangered or rare. Among some of the most famous plant attractions in the park are the collection of conifers in the park. It holds some species of pines that are now considered endangered. For wild plant life enthusiasts, another important must-see sight is the naturally occurring algae and plant bacteria which are found in the hot springs. These species thrive only in extremely hot living conditions and are thus not found anywhere else in the country. Yellowstone attractionsIn terms of animal life, the park is also a wonderful attraction. The fish species found in the park include the sought after Yellowstone cutthroat trout which is famous among many angler fishers.
Aside from these, many animals such as elk, moose, mule deer, antelope, mountain lion, big horn sheep, mountain goat, coyote, black bear, grizzly bear, bison, and even wolves inhabit the area. It is also a reserve for the gray wolf which is an endangered species that was only reintroduced back into the wildlife recently. Since then, the gray wolves' population has grown and they have been sighted in several other states. The Hayden and Lamar Valleys are some of the best locations in Yellowstone for viewing wildlife. Always keep a safe distance between you and the wildlife. Geological formationsThe geological formations in the Yellowstone national park are another important point of interest. The Yellowstone Park is part of a great volcanic area called the Yellowstone Caldera. The last major eruption of the volcano occurred over a hundred thousand years ago, but the leftover of the massive explosion is still visible today.
The geothermal activity persists in underground lava flows that heat up many underground springs which erupt into some 300 geysers such as the Old Faithful Geyser which erupts on average every 92 minutes. Steamboat Geyser is the world's tallest active geyser and has infrequent, unpredictable eruptions reaching 300-400 feet. There are over 10,000 Geo-thermal features in Yellowstone which makes up for over half of the Geo-thermal features in the entire world.The Grand Teton National ParkRising over a mile above the scenic valley known as Jackson Hole, is the majestic Teton Range. Grand Teton National Park was named after this mountain range The Grand Tetons. "Tetons" were dubbed by some French-Canadian trappers with a vivid imagination.
The Grand Teton is the tallest peak at 13,770 feet above sea level. Basically there are no foothills and the base is at 6,300 feet above sea level. This rare feature adds to the massive beauty of ones visual experience while in Grand Teton National Park. In the past couple of years, Grand Teton National Park was at the top of the "Natural Wonders of the World" list. And just recently, Jackson Hole was ranked in the top ten of the "Most Adventurous Places to Visit". The Grand Tetons have been called the "Swiss Alps of North America". The mountains are only the "Tip of the Glacier" as nature has it because with glaciers, you also have rivers, lakes and streams with a few waterfalls in between. The Snake River, Jackson Lake, Jenny Lake, String Lake, Leigh Lake and Hidden Falls are just a few of these magnificent features that Grand Teton National Park has to offer. And with The Grand Tetons and all of these Wyoming National Parks "Wonders of Nature" does not get your attention, maybe The National Elk Refuge will with the World's Largest Elk Herd of some 10,000+ at times that migrate there every winter. The National Wildlife Museum is also another must see during your visit and if you are here in the winter months, be sure and book a sleigh ride that takes you out among the Elk on the National Refuge. Not only is the wildlife abundant in Grand Teton National Park, the Park is the home of several rare species of plants such as pine species including the White Bark Pine, Aspens, Cottonwoods, Alders, and even the Engelmann Spruce which lives in altitudes of up to 10,000 feet around the alpine zone.With the Wyoming National Parks, the adventure and communion with nature never stops. 
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