Shannon O'Brien Travel Itineraries

The best destinations

Photo of Wyoming
Photo of Wyoming

The Best of Wyoming

#34 best destination in the world

Map view

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

Photo of Jackson

Best time to visit: Jan-Feb, Dec

Cost: $$

  • Ski resort at Teton Village, in the Teton Range of the Rocky Mountains
  • It is named after the historically significant Jackson Hole valley and is known for its steep terrain and large continuous vertical drop of 4,139 ft (1,262 m)

Cascade Canyon Trail, Grand Teton National Park

Photo of Grand Teton National Park

Walk difficulty: Moderate

Best time to visit: mid May-late Sept

Cost: $

  • National park that includes the major peaks of the 40-mile-long (64 km) Teton Range as well as most of the valley known as Jackson Hole
  • Along with surrounding national forests, the park constitutes part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the world's largest intact mid-latitude temperate ecosystems

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of Yellowstone National Park

Walk difficulty: Easy

Best time to visit: late April-May, Sept-early Oct

Cost: $

  • Largest hot spring in the United States, and the third largest in the world, after Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand and Boiling Lake in Dominica
  • Grand Prismatic Spring was noted by geologists working in 1871, and named by them for its striking coloration
  • Its colors match most of those seen in the rainbow dispersion of white light by an optical prism: red, orange, yellow, green, and blue

National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson

Photo of Jackson

Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct

Cost: $

  • Museum located in Jackson Hole, that preserves and exhibits wildlife art
  • It is located on a bluff in the midst of a real wildlife habitat, the institution overlooks the National Elk Refuge
  • The core of the collections reflects traditional and contemporary realism
  • In addition to 14 galleries, the museum has a sculpture trail

Devils Tower Trail

Photo of Devils Tower

Walk difficulty: Easy

Best time to visit: May, Sept

Cost: $

  • Devils Tower is a butte, possibly laccolithic, composed of igneous rock in the Black Hills
  • It rises to 867 feet (264 m) from summit to base
  • Devils Tower was the first United States national monument, established on September 24, 1906, by President Theodore Roosevelt

Old Faithful Geyser Loop Trail

Photo of Old Faithful

Walk difficulty: Easy

Best time to visit: June-Sept

Cost: $

  • Cone geyser in Yellowstone National Park, named in 1870, and was the first geyser in the park to be named
  • It is a highly predictable geothermal feature and has erupted every 44 minutes to two hours since 2000

Mammoth Terraces, Mammoth Hot Springs

Photo of Mammoth Hot Springs

Walk difficulty: Easy

Best time to visit: late April-May, Sept-early Oct

Cost: $

  • Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park
  • It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day in a solution)
  • Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas

Yellowstone Lake Overlook Trail

Photo of Yellowstone Lake

Walk difficulty: Moderate

Best time to visit: late April-May, Sept-early Oct

Cost: $

  • Yellowstone Lake is the largest body of water in Yellowstone National Park
  • It is also the largest freshwater lake above 7,000 ft (2,100 m) in North America