The iconic Grand Teton at 13,770' towers over Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park. The jagged summit-formed of 2.7 billion year-old gneiss and 2.5 billion year-old granite-towers over the rest of the range. The Teton fault began lifting the range skyward less than ten million years ago making this one of the youngest mountain ranges in the world. Ice age glaciers sculpted arêtes, ridges and canyons to complete the picture.

People have traveled to this mountain for generations to scale its slopes or simply take in the view. The efforts to protect both the summit and valley below lead to the establishment and expansion of the park. Today we know that this summit and the valley below will always be protected.

Name Origin

French fur trappers called the range Les Trois Tetons , meaning the three breasts. Wilson Price Hunt called them "Pilot Knobs" in 1811 because he had used them for orientation while crossing Union Pass. Today the three Tetons-Grand, Middle and South- are best seen from the west. On the east side of the range, the view of the South Teton is mostly blocked by other peaks.