Client ratings of this location:
- 2024: 4.62/5.0
This location was new for us in 2024, and I can definitively say: it’s a winner. But I’m also committed to improving our trip quality in 2025, using what we learned last season in terms of itineraries, off-trail routes, wildlife activity, points of interest, and weather conditions.
Most trips in this location take place in Yellowstone National Park, which has an abundance of backcountry thermal features and wildlife, including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, raptors, and Sand Hill cranes. Due to the regulations and the nature of the landscape, these itineraries have more on-trail hiking and established campsites than other locations.
Our other trips take place in the adjacent Teton Wilderness, which is on the park’s southwest boundary and managed by Bridger-Teton National Forest. This area is notable for its remote and hard-to-reach valleys and plateaus, including the Thorofare River and Trident Plateau, the most remote points in the lower 48. The opportunities for solitude and off-trail mountainous travel offset the more skittish wildlife and lack of thermal features.
What we like
- For the lower 48, this is big wilderness
- In the park, wildlife and thermal features
- In the national forest, classic high mountain travel
- Minimal backcountry traffic and virtually no bugs
What we dislike or are challenged by
- In the park, opportunities for off-trail travel and dispersed camping are limited due to the park’s regulations and extensive trail system
- The high elevations of the mountainous areas pose a challenge for those from lower elevations who have not properly acclimated
- Extensive areas of blow-downs create the need for careful planning and route-finding when off-trail
- At this latitude and these elevations, fall conditions arrive early and groups may experience some cold nights (between 20 and 30 degrees F) and/or cold-and-wet conditions
- After a long and dry summer in the West, these trips may be affected by faraway or local wildfires in the form of poor air quality or area closures