by Larry Lagarde

Early next summer, construction on 7 miles of a planned 41 mile long bike path system is set to begin in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP).

Estimated to cost a total of about $45 million, the multi-use path system will run north 3 miles from the GTNP entrance station at Granite Canyon to Moose Junction, north 8 miles from the GTNP primary south entrance on Hwy 89 to Moose Junction, 10 miles on the Teton Park Rd from Moose Junction to North Jenny Lake Junction, 15 miles on the Teton Park Rd from North Jenny Lake Junction to Colter Bay Village. Additionally, there will be shorter path segments in the park such as a 1 mile path from Moose Junction north to Antelope Flats Rd. Teton County and the Town of Jackson have also applied for funds to build a bike path north along Hwy 89 from the Jackson Hole Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center in Jackson to the GTNP primary south entrance.

As a cyclist that has toured through Grand Teton NP, the news of this path system is very exciting; however, I'd like to see the bike path run north into Yellowstone NP. In the summer, traffic on the highway from Jackson Hole north through GTNP and into Yellowstone is heavy and can be dangerous. Several of the pulls over the Continental Divide in Yellowstone NP are real grinds (my Shimano Deore XT rear derailleur sheared in half from the strain on one of them) and the shoulder is narrow or non-existent most of the way.

For more about beautiful Grand Tetons National Park, visit the official website...
http://www.nps.gov/grte/

NOTE: Jackie Skaggs, the Public Affairs Specialist for Grand Canyon National Park, just confirmed that the first multi-use path section being constructed in the summer of 2008 will run north 7 miles from Moose Visitor Center to South Jenny Lake. More info on the project will not be available until next year.

Labels: bike_path, Grand_Teton_NP, Jackson_WY, Yellowstone_NP