| Wyoming***
With
one of the best national parks in the USA, plus a mix of low prairies,
snow peaked mountains, cowboys and Indians, this is a very worthwhile
state for the tourist.
Yellowstone
National Park***
the
earliest and most visited park in the country and with good reason
- it hosts tons of wildlife, spectacular geothermal activity, alpine
lakes, fossil beds and a canyon.
Yellowstone is split into five regions:
Roosevelt Country has fossil beds, mountains and the Lamar Valley;
this offers you the best chance of avoiding crowds plus stunning
scenery.
Canyon Country contains both the Yellowstone Grand Canyon and the
highest peak - Mt Washburn, also very beautiful.
Lake Country features many alpine lakes, the most noteworthy being
the massive Yellowstone Lake and its historic hotel.
Geyser Country has a couple of hundred geysers, Old Faithful being
the most productive with spouts nearly two hundred feet high every
hour and a quarter.
Mammoth Country has extensive, weirdly coloured geothermal areas.
Grand
Teton National Park**
seamlessly continuing from the southern boundary
of Yellowstone National Park, the glacier covered Teton Range of
hard granite makes for excellent rock climbing, plus there are plenty
of hiking trails.
Jackson Hole** dwarfed by the Teton
mountains this valley is the most exclusive resort area in the state,
with all manner of outdoor recreational possibilities including
skiing, skating, sleigh riding, horse riding, cowboy stuff, rafting,
and more.
Bighorn Mountains* halfway
across the northern half of the state this range towers impressively
over the plains, with plenty of wildlife grazing the high grasslands
plus the early Native American Medicine Wheel Historic Landmark.
Sheridan and Buffalo on the plains just to the east of the range
both have 19thC historic wild west attractions.
Northeast Corner* in the northeastern
most part of the state there is the opportunity to travel into South
Dakota's top tourist attraction - the Black Hills; also visit the
neighboring Bearlodge Mountains and the Devil Tower National Monument.
Laramie*
good historic district and museums including the University Art
and Geological Museums and the Plains Museum - the best town for
culture in the state.
Cheyenne* the state capital is best
visited during the biggest festival- Cheyenne Frontier Days, with
all sorts of wild west entertainments, especially rodeos.
Idaho**
On
the rugged western side of the Rockies, Idaho is very much a wilderness
state with lots of mountainous forests and wildlife plus the most
whitewater in the USA, but watch out for wildmen, survivalists and
hunters lurking in the shrubbery.
Columbia
Plateau*** this
vast plateau stretches mainly from the western mountains of Idaho
into Oregon and offers dramatic scenery where the big river snakes
through.
Hells Canyon National Recreation Area is far deeper than the Grand Canyon and superb for hiking while the Snake
National River is popular for water based activities including rafting.
Snake
River Valley has lava fields known as the Craters of the Moon.
Nearby Boise, the
state capital, is pleasantly upbeat and as well as acting as a base
for of adventure travel has attractive 19thC aspects - visit the
Grove for social bustle and try the Idaho Historical Museum in Julia
Davis Park.
Salmon River Mountain Range** [for
skiing***] the Sawtooth Recreation Area is the highlight
of this range. Dozens of mountains with a multitude of lakes and
streams, offer excellent hiking and rafting opportunities in the
summer, and skiing in the winter.
Ketchum
is the most exclusive recreational area in the state and has one of
the USA's top ski resorts nearby.
Northern Wilderness* a true wilderness
popular with solitude seekers, hikers, skiers and watersport lovers.
Montana*
Split between an interestingly mountainous
western half and a featureless central plain the state offers few
wow factors and there is little in the way of real urban interest,
though it does have some unique natural attractions and is good
for those seeking rugged empty wilderness trails.
Glacier
National Park** the state's main attraction are these glaciated
mountains traversed by the Going-to-the-Sun Road, good for a scenic
drive, and several trails.
Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex* and Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness*
- as the names suggest, more wilderness areas.
Little Bighorn* the infamous battlefield of Custer's last stand in the otherwise
attractionless eastern plains of the state.
Flathead Lake* popular for camping
and canoeing, and island that's home for wild horses.
|
