Grand Teton National Park

For experienced mountaineers, backpacking Grand Teton National Park is a must. The park stretches high above northwest Wyoming, encompassing 310,000 acres of snowcapped peaks and 200 miles of steep, rugged trail. Every year over 2.5 million visitors come to hike the best trails in Grand Teton National Park, making it among the most popular parks in the United States.

You don’t have to be a backcountry star to appreciate Grand Teton; the western park has plenty of flat, easy and accessible terrain. Even so, the park’s full beauty can only be found by venturing into its heart, where nearly a dozen glaciers dot mountainsides. Hikes like the 36-mile Teton Crest Trail give amazing views of the park’s tallest peaks.

Some backpackers follow trails high up into challenging mountain passes, while others try their hand at Grand Teton National Park’s namesake peak: the nearly 14,000-foot Grand Teton. This mother-of-all-peaks — complete with its own glacier — attracts nearly 4,000 climbers every year, making it one of North America’s premier alpine climbs.