Visiting Wyoming On Your Next Road Trip

Wyoming is a state full of ups and downs - the Rocky Mountains and Grand Tetons, wide open spaces, churning hot springs, bubbling mud pots and tranquil forests, rolling rivers and rippling streams. Wyoming has something extra-special for everyone.

Located in the "Cowboy State's" northwestern corner and also extending into Montana and Idaho, Yellowstone National Park may be accessed via Cody, Jackson or Moran, Wyoming. Yellowstone's current number of geysers and hot springs exceeds 10, 000, with approximately 250 of its geysers "blasting off" each year, including Old Faithful's tried and true waterworks displays. Visitors at the world's first national park should plan to see Yellowstone River's Upper and Lower Falls and the park's own version of Arizona's Grand Canyon. For wildlife watchers, there's encouraging news. Opportunities for viewing local species like antelope, peregrine falcon, moose, wolf and bear are abundant at the most well-known national park in the system.

Also in the northwest near the town of Moose, Grand Teton National Park is another of Wyoming's scenic jewels. This 500-square-mile preserve is a fascinating study in contrasts, with the Teton Range rising imposingly from Jackson Hole's lower valley. Jackson Lake reflects the splendor of 12, 000-foot-high Mount Moran. Not only that, but it also gives anglers a challenging workout with feisty fish like mackinaw, cutthroat and brook trout. Jenny Lake, another fine body of water, is encircled by towering mountain peaks, providing a picture-perfect vista for guests. If canoe trips, mountain hikes or sightings of moose, trumpeter swans or elk are on your vacation wish list, you can find them all here.

Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area covers 201, 000 magnificent acres in southwestern Wyoming and northeastern Utah. Once inhabited by Native Americans, Mormon pioneers, famous explorers and ill-famed bandits, the region was crisscrossed by the Overland Stage Line, Pony Express, transcontinental railroad and Oregon Trail. It's no wonder that folks were drawn to this historic, wild-west locale, where sparsely vegetated hills and badlands contrast sharply with craggy mountains, canyons and forests. The area's 91-mile-long showpiece is Flaming Gorge Reservoir, a lake teeming with trout, bass and salmon. Just south of the Flaming Gorge Dam is Green River, a prime spot for fly fishermen that's surrounded by striking, red rock walls and jade forests. Boaters, rafters, hikers, skiers and snowmobilers share territory with moose, Rocky Mountain elk, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs and bighorn sheep. The area's scenic byways and motor tour loops provide a great visual introduction to Flaming Gorge's bountiful lands and waterways.

Central Wyoming is the home of the "Hot City" of Thermopolis and the cool amusements of Hot Springs State Park. This exceptional park, once the home turf of Shoshone Indians, contains the earth's biggest mineral hot spring, unleashing millions of gallons of hot water every day. Many of the hot spring's 135? streams flow over Rainbow Terrace and into the Big Horn River. Some of the overflow is even diverted to local spas and bathhouses. Park visitors can dip into the soothing delights of a heated mineral bath at the State Bath House or go swimming in indoor/outdoor mineral water pools.

In Wyoming's northeastern region, at the point where Black Hills forests meet plains grasslands, Devils Tower National Monument stands like a steadfast sentinel over the Belle Fourche River. The nation's first monument consists of a series of rocky, vertical columns that come together in the shape of a tree stump. But this stump-like formation, measuring 1, 000 feet in diameter at the base and 275 feet across the top, stands 1, 280 feet above the valley floor and more than 5, 000 feet above sea level. As a key player in early Native American legends and traditions, Devils Tower later became a major landmark for people on the move across Wyoming. Today's federal parklands at Devils Monument include pine and hardwood forests, meadows and prairies where visitors enjoy hiking the trails and rock climbing to the top of the "tower."

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