The Quiet Side Of The Tetons
Driggs • Victor • Tetonia • Alta Wy

Farming with a view, Teton Valley, Idaho, agriculture

There may be no place prettier to farm than in Teton Valley Idaho

Idaho's Teton Valley lies, snug against the 13,000' peaks of the Grand Teton Range, Along the eastern border of Idaho, a border it shares with Wyoming. Teton Valley shares the Grand Tetons with our neighboring valley to the east, the more famous, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Folks describe Teton Valley as and its towns Victor, Driggs, and Tetonia "The quiet side of the Tetons."

Teton Valley has good access to three National Forests and two National Parks - Grand Teton and Yellowstone. The indigenous wildflowers, wildlife and the Grand Tetons provide the ideal backdrop for day hikes, horseback riding, mountain biking, or a quiet river float. Other activities include golfing, whitewater rafting, and melodrama and the Grand Targhee Ski and Summer Resort.

While Jackson Hole to the east has mushroomed into a tourist megalopolis, the rustic communities of the Valley, on the western flank of the Tetons, has managed to develop its own character as it has morphed into an outdoors-adventure capital. The charming towns of Victor, Driggs and Tetonia are the Idaho communities of Teton and Alta Wyoming is also in the Valley.

The Grand Teton Range rises majestically over the Valley to the east, and the Big Hole Mountains, home to some of the region's best single-track mountain biking, flank the valley on the west. Many trekkers use trails in the Jedadiah Smith Wilderness to access Grand Teton National Park, particularly the park's northern peaks.

Moon over the Grand Tetons, Victor, Idaho, Teton Valley

Full moon over the Grand Tetons in Teton Valley

Teton Valley is the gateway to the Grand Targhee Ski and Summer Resort, and many canyons lead into prime backcountry for hiking or skiing. In the summer, anglers wet a fly on the valley's Teton River, cowboys and cowgirls ride to their hearts' content, and Tetonia hosts a rodeo, Driggs launches its annual Hot Air Balloon Festival, and Victor lights up Independence Day with a parade and fireworks. One of the biggest events of the summer, though, occurs in August when the Targhee Bluegrass Festival takes over the slopes of the Grand Targhee Resort.

Friendly and unpretentious, Teton Valley is for people who love the mountains enough to live, work, and play in them-including many service-industry stiffs who keep Jackson running but can't afford to live there.

6,500+ people call Teton Valley home at an elevation of 6200 ft. World class powder skiing and snowmobiling, horseback riding, fly fishing, golf, hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, camping, rafting, hunting, and much, more are available in the area.

Teton Valley Rodeo

The jagged, snow-capped Tetons to the east and the rolling Big Hole Mountains to the west cradle the gentle, flat course of the Teton River. Teton Valley fly-fishing has become a tradition of providing quality dry fly fishing for tens of thousands of fishermen in Idaho and is destination-fishing resort for people the world over.

The Teton Geotourism Center in Driggs has much information on the Teton Scenic Byway region through interactive exhibits and displays showcasing the area’s spectacular resources. They are agreat resource for trip planning and navigating your way along our paths and roads whether it’s lodging, recreational activities, local food, art or music.

Teton Valley's Winter Landscape

Greater Yellowstone News

Yellowstone in Recovery

In June 2022, unprecedented amounts of rainfall caused substantial flooding, rockslides, and mudslides within Yellowstone National Park. Historic water levels caused severe damage to roads, water and wastewater systems, power lines, and other critical park infrastructure. ......... All you need to know

Click on photo to see larger or purchase

Winter is here

Come See It

Lightning Flashes over Yellowstone Lake Campsite

Backpacking The Thorofare in Yellowstone – The Most Remote Place in the US Lower 48 ~

The logistics of planning a backpacking trip in Yellowstone are a bit tricky but manageable. The biggest challenge is the lack of commercial airline service in Wyoming. Cody, West Yellowstone, and Jackson Hole airports are all extremely expensive, offer few options, and almost always require a connection. Rental car availability and price can also be a challenge in those markets. I have opted for Salt Lake City for all my Yellowstone trips as the logistics, aside from a long drive, are easier to manage at a fraction of the price. ........ Rest of the story

Fire is good;

Yellowstone has long been shaped by fire and not just the cool, creeping ground fires often described as "good" for grass production. The natural history of fire in the park includes large-scale conflagrations sweeping across the park's vast volcanic plateaus. Most Americans steeped in Smokey the Bear's "Only you can prevent forest fires!" mantra, the very thought that forest fires might have a positive side seemed preposterous. We all learned this as children and it is damned hard to change, as our indoctrination to this policy was total. ...... Learn More

A forest reborn

The Greater Yellowstone Bald Eagle:

Bald Eagles are again a common site along the rivers and lakes of the Greater Yellowstone Region, and they always bring a thrill to Yellowstone visitors when they set their eyes on one of these magnificent birds. The thrill of seeing our national bird soar above never fails to awe a spectator........ read more

Is social media ruining our nature excursions?

Social media, the curse and blessing of the twenty-first century. A focus on the evolution of the problem inflicted on nature, ways of to mitigate how it affects our beautiful places, our wildlife, our experience. Dichotomies and conundrums to ponder. Since the advent of the digital photography and its ease of use and economy after initial investment, America and the world have hit the road and the road comes back to us on our social media. .................... rest of article Addendum, this is getting worse than ever.


Click on photo to purchace

Study: More elk killed by cougars than by wolves in Idaho: More elk are being killed by cougars than by wolves in Idaho, a study by the state Department of Fish and Game has found.The study found that wolves accounted for 32% of adult female elk deaths and 28% of elk calf deaths, while cougars accounted for 35% of adult female elk deaths and 45% of elk calf deaths. The study also found ............ rest of story

Return of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout by Kelsey Dayton

The water in Atlantic Creek in the remote Thorofare region of Yellowstone National Park was clear. So clear that Dave Sweet could see the fish before he even cast. They were everywhere: dozens of beautiful trout with distinctive red slashes under their jaws. Sweet had journeyed for two days on horseback to the major spawning tributaries of Yellowstone Lake for those fish. Over the next few days he and his daughter would see thousands of Yellowstone cutthroat trout and catch some as long as 25 inches. But just as exciting were the younger, smaller fish. They, Sweet realized, mark a turning point in a battle to save a species..................... Rest Of Story

Huge Yellowstone Cutthroat trout

The Resort Town Curse
by Daryl L. Hunter

In 1962 as a child my family went through Carmel California, and after my exclaimation how beautiful the place was, my mother explained to me that it was against the law to cut down a tree in the town and it was so beautiful. I wondered why every town didn't do that. A few years later my hometown, San Luis Obispo, did enact all kinds of restricted zoning like Carmel's as a part of an urban renewal plan, and now I couldn't afford to move back there if I wanted to. This town is now populated with what they call "Grey Gold", rich retired people that ran up the property values so high that native born could no longer afford to live there. I have lived in many resort towns since, and I have noticed a trend. I am attracted to them when they are still little, quaint and undiscovered, but it usually isn't long before word spreads about the next great place. .............. Rest of story

A Protective Firewall For Grizzlies
By Daryl L. Hunter

The delisting of the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear is imminent and this we should celebrate (''''dancing''''). Now that our happy dance is complete, we must ensure the grizzlies' recovery is permanent. To ensure "continuity of achievement," the grizzlies need a firewall to protect the success of this achievement from human foible.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee was formed in 1983 to help ensure recovery of viable grizzly bear populations and their habitat in the lower 48 states through interagency coordination of policy, planning, management, and research. Many people have been working on this recovery for decades, for some; it has been most of their career. I can understand why the delisting of the grizzly before their retirement is their goal. A metaphorical gold watch if you will.

Many will argue differently,................. Rest of Article

Grizzly 399 and her quadruplets doing their part in Grizzly Recovery in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Click on photo to see larger or to purchase.

Buy Here

Helpful ebook for photographers

The Grand Teton Photo and Field Guide is an encapsulation of the flora, fauna, and photography of Jackson Hole Wyoming and Grand Teton National Park. Also included are thumbnails of the history and geology of the valley. This book is for all visitors with a desire to seek out wildlife, photograph the landscape, or merely learn about the history, geology, and lay of the land of Grand Teton National Park. The author provides general overviews including hot links with more in-depth descriptions of subjects of individual interest.

In the “Lay of the Land” section, includes the obvious highlights along the loop through Grand Teton Park. Hot links to side roads will give you more in-depth description of side roads and feeder roads and their highlights. Also included are descriptions of all two-rut roads that are legal to travel on in Grand Teton Park. GPS links to Google Maps are provided throughout.

As a field guide, profiles of most of animals and birds in the area are described. Jackson Hole is full of wildlife but there are places where animals are, and there are places where they are not. It is a waste of time to scrutinize a landscape devoid of what you are looking for, so this guide narrows options down to the hot spots. I provide maps of the likeliest places to find the popular critters of Grand Teton National Park. I also touch on trees, shrubs, and wildflowers with minimal explanations.

Huge Bull Moose, dwarfed by the giant peaks of hte Grand Tetons.

Click on photo to see larger or purchase

The grandeur of Grand Teton Park has made it one of the most photographed places in the world. The opportunity to harness multiple juxtapositional elements has drawn photographers for over a century since William Henry Jackson took the first photos here in 1878. Grand Teton Park’s plethora of famous vistas are profiled as well as many which are less clichéd that can bring new perspectives of a well-documented landscape. Grand Tetons’ iconic landscape photo opportunities are described in detail; however, they barely scratch the surface of opportunities as it takes a photographer with an artist’s eye to unveil as they follow their own intuition and vision. The author who shies away from clichéd landscapes provides a chapter of his favorite places that aren’t landscape clichés.

In the photography section the author includes chapters on composition, exposure basics, when to shoot and why. Daryl has summarized what he teaches in his, half day, Grand Teton workshops in a simple concise way.

If you are only in Grand Teton Park for a day there is a chapter called the “Portfolio Packer Morning Trip,” that does just that, all the icons and several favorite places in a five our blitz. But it is better to spend more time and dig deep into the embarrassment of riches of Grand Teton National Park................. More Info

Idaho Landscape Gallery