Mayhew - Lonely Planet Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks

The natural wonders dont stop at the parks boundaries. The two parks and their surrounding protected areas form a large, interconnected area six times the size of Yellowstone and with a fraction of the crowds. Here youll find blue-ribbon trout streams, fabulous hiking trails and a scattering of charming Wild West towns with their gaze set firmly on the great outdoors. Budget some time to get a taste of the West in Cody, try Montanas biggest skiing in Big Sky and drive Americas most scenic highway across the Beartooth Plateau.

The Essential Outdoor Vacation

Mountain bikers, skiiers, hard-core backpackers, boaters, kayakers and winter enthusiasts will all find a million adventures in Greater Yellowstone. Inside the parks, youll have to share space with three million visitors a year, but even in summer its possible to shake the crowds. Some experiences are destined to become indelible memories the taste of smores over a campfire, wrinkled noses at the smell of sulfurous steam and the electrifying thrill of hearing wolves howl. Beyond a great vacation, its a modern pilgrimage to two of the countrys most admirable and enduring national landmarks.

| BRYAN MULLENNIX/GETTY IMAGES/TETRA IMAGES RF

By Carolyn McCarthy, Writer

Ive seen a wolf pack claim a bounding pronghorn, watched a grizzly shake off after his alpine swim, and logged long backcountry miles to see peaks lapping to the horizon. At a time when the natural world is facing serious pressure, the Greater Yellowstone region remains one of the last intact ecosystems of the northern hemisphere. This is the great American wilderness. See for yourself its nothing short of sublime. Yellowstone and the Tetons are nature as it is meant to be: both powerful and restorative.

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