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Wyoming 2023 Trip➤

In September of 2023, my husband I set out to explore some National Park units in the state of Wyoming. We visited Yellowstone, Grand Teton National Park, The John D. Rockefeller Parkway, and Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. After exploring Yellowstone and Bighorn Canyon from our base in Cody, we transferred over to Jackson. On our way from Cody to Grand Teton National Park, we drove over the John D. Rockefeller Parkway.

Grand Teton National Park➤

The Tetons are the youngest of all the mountain ranges in the Rocky Mountain chain. Most other mountains in the region are at least 50 million years old but the Tetons are less than 10 million and are still rising. The Jackson Hole valley is of the same age and continues to sink. The tallest peaks tower almost 7,000 feet above the valley floor, already at an elevation of about 6800 feet. With no foothills, the resulting landscape is dramatic and breathtaking.

In the 1920s, John D. Rockefeller Jr. agreed to acquire thousands of acres around Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and then donate this land to the government for a national park. At the urging of Horace Albright, then director of the National Park Service, Rockefeller formed a company called the Snake River Land Company to buy up property around the Snake River in secret. Rockefeller wanted to keep his name out of it to keep the price lower.

Meanwhile, in 1929, President Calvin Coolidge signed the act creating Grand Teton National Park, at half its present size. The park only protected the Teton Range and 6 lakes at the foot of the mountains. Rockefeller encountered resistance from locals when he tried to donate his land to expand the park.

In 1943, Rockefeller told President Franklin Delano Roosevelt he would sell to the highest bidder if the government didn’t use his land for the park. Roosevelt used the Antiquities Act and declared additional land in the valley to be Jackson Hole National Monument. The two units were combined to become the present Grand Teton National Park in 1950.

John D. Rockefeller Parkway➤

The John D. Rockefeller Parkway serves as a scenic link between Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The NPS named it for John D. Rockefeller in recognition of the pivotal role he played in the creation of Grand Teton National Park.

Prior to visiting Wyoming I asked the NPTC members how to best experience a parkway park unit other than driving on it. (I’d marked my visit to the George Washington Parkway with a visit to Mount Vernon.) They mentioned a small visitor center at Flagg Ranch, but it had closed for the season when we were there. A club member mentioned a lot he’d spotted just south of Flagg Ranch with a path leading to the river. We stopped there and walked a short way to the Snake River, snapped a few photos and then continued on to Grand Teton National Park.

Grand Teton Posts➤

• Snake River Overlook
• Lakeshore Trail
• Jackson Lake
• Oxbow Bend
• Schwabacher Landing
• Jenny Lake
• Teton Wildlife Sunset Tour
• Signal Mountain
• Hidden Falls
• Mormon Row
• National Elk Refuge
• Taggart Lake
• Chapel of the Transfiguration
• Menors Ferry Historic District
• Jackson National Fish Hatchery

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Location: 100 Grassy Lake Rd. Moran, WY
Designation: National Parkway
Date designated/established: 1972
Date of my visit: September 27, 2023