Long considered America’s most beautiful National Park, Grand Teton National Park is the picture-perfect image of mountain grandeur, and the most iconic range in the country.

Located in northwest Wyoming, sitting just South of Yellowstone, jagged and often snowy, mountain peaks spring from out of the plains towards the heavens, inspiring a sense of wonder and creativity in those who stand in marvel before them. These mountains are some of the youngest in the world, yet are made up of some of 2.7 billion year old rock, which are among the oldest in North America (This is the relatively the same age as the basement rock in the depths of Grand Canyon). The peaks rise approximately 7,000 vertical feet from the valley floor, and no foothills obstruct the incredible views.
French-speaking trappers named this area “les trois tetons,” which translates to “the three teats,” named for the range’s tallest mountain, Grand Teton.

At 13,775 feet, Grand Teton jets upward more than 7,000 feet from the plains. Grand Teton National Park is home to a number of lakes, including 15-mile-long Jackson Lake as well as streams of varying length and the upper main stem of the Snake River. Around a dozen small glaciers still remain here in the higher elevations. These glaciers, along with erosion and time have been at work here, carving and shaping the landscape creating lakes, rivers and forests which provide a perfect habitat for the wildlife that lives here.

Join Backcountry Journeys this spring or fall to explore and photograph this vibrant alpine landscape. Here the sagebrush valleys modify into conifer forest and then again into sub alpine terrain with granite spires reaching toward the heavens.

While this standard tour is designed with a focus on landscape photography, Grand Teton National Park is considered to be one the best in the national park system for viewing wildlife, so we certainly will not ignore any of those opportunities, if they should arise. The same species of flora and fauna that have existed here since prehistoric times can still be found within. There are more than 1,000 species of vascular plants, dozens of species of mammals, 300 species of birds, more than a dozen fish species and a few species of reptiles and amphibians, as well.

Through meadows and forests, past roadside herds of bison and meadows adorned with wildflowers, Grand Teton offers easy access to an awe-inspiring collection of elk and bison herds, as well as a pristine mountain wilderness roamed by wolves, grizzly, moose and Pronghorn. Many of these animals can be encountered from the roadside, which is where we’ll often be while exploring the Park on this standard trip. In warmer months, such as June, waterfowl like the White Pelican and swan are regularly seen. With sharp eyes, and some good fortune, it could even be possible to see and photograph more elusive wildlife like wolves, osprey, owl and bald eagle.

We’ll be staying in the quaint cowboy town of Jackson Hole, each day setting out to explore the park by vehicle in search of the best landscape photography spots and wildlife opportunities. Our guides have been guiding, hiking and photographing the Tetons for years, and will show you areas of this 310,000 acre park that most visitors easily miss. We’ll also learn about the compelling cultural and natural history of the area. Look forward to photographing the best spots in the park at precisely the best lighting conditions. We’ll get you those shots you know you want, and some you didn’t even know existed.

We offer this trip during the Spring and Fall Seasons. While spring brings a cornucopia of wildflowers with still snow-capped peaks, autumn in Grand Teton features an incredible display of changing colors.

Join Backcountry Journeys at Grand Teton National Park, this year, for the trip of a lifetime. You’ll be sure to leave with an assortment of excellent new images for your portfolio, as well as memories to last a lifetime.