Pathways in Grand
Teton National Park are
part of the 180-mile
proposed trail network
called the Greater
Yellowstone Trail.
people are familiar with its most famous
feature, Yellowstone National Park, the
ecosystem itself is much more exten-
sive and encompasses another nationally
protected stretch of land to the south,
Grand Teton National Park, as well as five
national forests, three national wildlife
refuges, state
lands, tribal
lands,
private
lands and numerous Bureau of Land
Management holdings.
With a region as large as the GYE, land-
scapes are guaranteed to be varied. But the
range of scenery here is nearly indescribable.
Some would say it’s an embarrassment of
riches, a notion that isn’t taken for granted
by locals, including Tim Adams, executive
director of Teton Valley Trails and Pathways
(
tvtap.org
), a trail advocacy group based in
eastern Idaho. “This part of the country has
such incredible assets,” Adams
says. “Two national
parks and endless
federal
lands that people can access. And the diver-
sity of land uses, from mountains to agri-
culture and everything in between, is part of
what makes this region so treasured.”
When it comes to connecting that diver-
sity, the conversation naturally shifts to the
Greater Yellowstone Trail. Stitching together
the greatest assets of each part of the region,
the trail will not only showcase the land-
scapes along the way but also take trail
enthusiasts to the wild lands that the region
is so famous for.
Three main segments, each roughly 60
miles in length, make up this burgeon-
ing trail network. The easternmost chunk,
in Teton County, Wyoming, meanders
through Grand Teton National Park
and Jackson Hole. The segment eventu-
ally crosses the Teton Range via Teton
Pass, where it bottoms out. From there
it brings riders to the second segment, in
Teton Valley, Idaho, which is respectfully
referred to as the “quiet side of the Tetons.”
The third piece, which begins in northern
Teton Valley, Idaho, traces Henry’s Fork of
the Snake River above Ashton, Idaho, and
into Montana. The northern terminus of
the trail is in West Yellowstone, Montana,
a popular entry point for Yellowstone
National Park.
The segments have their own character
and draw, but each is part of a united effort
to better connect people to public lands.
The trail system serves as a corridor between
towns and through the region, and also as a
link to the wild lands of the West through
which it runs.
Visionary Thinking
“There are pieces and parts that have been
worked on by communities for [more than]
25 years, but initially there wasn’t a plan, a
vision for a whole system,” says Tim Young,
executive director of Wyoming Pathways
(
wyopath.org
), which works to enhance
trails and pathways for safe biking and
walking. “The segments that inspired the
route began in the 1990s, and we’ve been
chipping away ever since.”
The roots of the Greater Yellowstone
Trail can be traced in some part to the
MillenniumTrails program, an initiative
created by the Clinton administration in
rails
to
trails
winter.16
17
