Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve Center

Elevation: 6,400 ft. 

The Laurance S. Rockefeller (LSR) Preserve is a 1,106-acre (448 ha) refuge within Grand Teton National Park on the southern end of Phelps Lake. The site was originally known as the JY Ranch, a dude ranch. Starting in 1927, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. purchased much of the land in Jackson Hole for the creation of Jackson Hole National Monument and the expansion of Grand Teton National Park. But he retained the 3,100-acre (1,300 ha) JY Ranch as a family retreat.

Over the years the family gave most of the ranch to the national park. Laurance S. Rockefeller donated the final parcel in 2001. The donation came with special preservation and maintenance restrictions, with the vision that the preserve remain a place where visitors can experience a spiritual and emotional connection to the beauty of the lake and the Teton Range.

JY Ranch

The lands that formed the JY Ranch were first homesteaded in 1903 by Dave Spalding. He sold the property in 1906 to Louis Joy, who, with Struthers Burt, converted the property to Jackson Hole's first dude ranch, abbreviating Joy's last name to "JY." The ranch was purchased by the Rockefellers' Snake River Land Company in 1932, becoming a family retreat.

Natural Features

The LSR Preserve features several types of natural communities. Sagebrush meadows are relatively dry and are home to a variety of wildflowers and animal species. The preserve's forests are predominantly composed of fir, spruce, and lodgepole pine with intermittent growth of cottonwoods and aspens. Sedges and other low plants grow in the wetlands providing food and cover for migrating birds.

Eight miles (13 km) of trails provide public access to these natural communities.