Over the centuries, wealthy individuals the world over have donated generously to their nations, and been gratefully remembered with institutions named in their honour (in Britain, think the Courtauld Institute, the Tate Museum, and the Sainsbury Wing). In the United States, no philanthropists have been as generous as the Rockefellers, who have given the equivalent of $17 billion (£11.3bn).
Although the philanthropic fund started in 1910 by billionaire John D Rockefeller Snr has paid for various programmes in the arts and sciences, its efforts in the world of conservation are perhaps best known. From the Great Smoky Mountains and the Virgin Islands to the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, in which they have bought great swathes of land for the nation, the Rockefellers are remembered not in statues or buildings, but in mountains, valleys and tracts of wilderness that by law will always remain untouched.
The John Moulton Barn, Grand Teton National Park Photo: AP/FOTOLIA
Driving through the southernmost part of the 18-million-acre Greater Yosemite Ecosystem, to which John D Rockefeller Jnr donated 33,000 acres north of Jackson Hole in the Forties to help create the Grand Teton National Park, it is easy to see why the conservationist felt impelled to save this land for posterity. This is America in all its raw, Technicolor glory: Wild West terrain that looks part like a set for Little House on the Prairie and part like a backdrop to Rawhide.
To one side stretch plains for hundreds of miles, their low, golden grasses grazed by thousands of moose and elk (this is the biggest elk sanctuary in the country, home to as many as 10,000 of the creatures). To the other rise the Tetons, a towering craggy mountain range, bristling with fearsome granite spikes, clothed in glossy pine forests and reflected in pretty, deep lakes. It’s so quintessentially American that you almost expect John Wayne to gallop by, bison herds dividing in his wake.
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Rockefeller Jnr’s grandson, Mark, who has holidayed in this area all his life, says it is a part of the world “that has soul, that has spirit”. Like his grandfather, he believes not only that wilderness needs to be preserved for the good of our environment, but for the wellbeing of humankind.
“What we were taught by our grandfather, who first brought my father here in 1924, was that you can find enormous peace and rejuvenation from connecting with the natural world. That might be biking or walking or fishing or camping, or even a drive. But the natural world is fundamental to man’s wellbeing. It’s where we, as a species, are from and it’s a realm we can connect with, where we can escape the competitive, stressful world in which we live.”
Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park Photo: AP/FOTOLIA
Walking around this area, it is full of reminders of just how serious the family has been about preserving America’s wilderness. Drive north and there is the John D Rockefeller Memorial Highway and the 24,000-acre John D Rockefeller Jnr Memorial Parkway that connects the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Walk above Jackson Lake to Lunch Tree Hill and there is a plaque commemorating Junior’s vision in putting this land aside. Park by Phelps Lake and you can explore a 1,006-acre reserve – formerly the family’s private ranch – given to the nation by Mark’s uncle, Laurance, in 2007.
The landscape surrounding his private 4,000-acre Eagle Rock estate, in Idaho, a couple of hours’ drive away, is not as spectacular as that owned by his uncle and grandfather in Wyoming’s Grand Tetons. But it is beautiful in a gentle, big-skied, A River Runs Through It way, bordered by thousands of acres of undulating farmland planted with potatoes, corn and barley (for the local Budweiser brewery), and dissected by exactly the same river (the fast-flowing Snake) on which his family has hiked and fished in the Tetons for generations. There are soaring sandstone cliffs past which the cold, clear river churns on a pebbly bed, forests of rustling cottonwood trees over which ospreys and fish‑eagles soar, their cries echoing in the canyons, and, I’m told, beavers – although we didn’t spot one.
Like the land in the Grand Tetons saved by Mark’s grandfather, this area too was under threat of development. “When we bought it in 1991, not everyone was happy,” Mark says. “There were plans to build a lot of homes on it, which some local people would have liked. But what we now have instead is five miles of protected river frontage on our property, and, thanks to other conservation groups who have joined us, about 60 miles of riverfront from here to the canyon, which means it will be wild and unspoilt forever.”
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Rockefeller’s investment has been of benefit not only to his own family, who come here on holiday from New York. Alongside his own property, he bought and refurbished the local fishing supply shop and South Fork Lodge, set on 80 acres of riverside property, so the rest of us could be accommodated in comfort and learn outdoor skills, from kayaking and fly-fishing to heli-skiing.
“One of the big problems we have in America is access to places to stay near wild spots, so we can get our kids outdoors,” Mark says. “I see it in my own kids, who are locked into technology. But once you get them out into places like this, and teach them outdoor skills, they love it. I’ve seen the look on kids’ faces when they hook a fish for the first time – and suddenly they are hooked too. Their hearts are beating and their adrenalin is pumping, and all they want to do is hook the next one. I think that’s going to be one of the big challenges for this centennial – getting more families and children into the spaces we have.”
Snake River, Grand Teton National Park Photo: AP/FOTOLIA
At South Fork Lodge, operated by the British company Natural Retreats, which runs 18 other properties across the US in areas of natural beauty, there is no obvious sign that it is owned by a Rockefeller. Within the big, solid log cabins overlooking the winding Snake River, boisterous children mix with pairs of glassy-eyed lovers and groups of weekenders tucking into platters of hearty food.
Laid-back Idaho youngsters, with cowboy boots on their feet and tattoos on their arms, laugh over beers by the bar, overlooked by moose-heads, stuffed fish and photographs of triumphant sportsmen.
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In the adjoining Outfitters the next morning, the shop buzzes with the chat of local and international fishermen, comparing their purchases of multicoloured fishing flies, rods, wet-weather gear – and a curious little bottle of a liquid called Trout Bum (catnip for trout, I’m informed).
This is serious fishing country, our 35-year-old guide Zac Peyton explains. “This 65 miles of the South Fork of the Snake River is renowned as one of the best tail-water and dry-fly fisheries in the world. It’s cold all year round, which fish and bugs both like. And it gets about 13,500 cubic feet of fresh snowmelt water flowing by per second, so it’s clean. All that adds up to great fishing.”
I certainly get the bug. Within two days, my partner and I have caught 25 brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout – and a few trees and each other’s shirts in between. We walk for days in forests whose perimeters are ablaze with summer flowers, spotting only a few other hikers (mostly accessorised with bear bells and bear-sprays: this is Big Bear country in which, a parks poster tells us, black and grizzly bears kill about 14 people annually).
John D Rockefeller Jnr (far left in picture) by the campfire in Grand Teton National Park Photo: ROCKEFELLER ARCHIVE CENTRE
We ride horses from a charming old-fashioned ranch, then eat dinner on its wide veranda, serenaded by its country-singing owner. And on Mark’s recommendation, we stop often to take in the great Western scenery: big skies that make even enormous trucks seem like tiny pinheads; skyscraper-height waterfalls; clear blue lakes on which reflected clouds shimmy by; and thick forests that stretch to the horizon – all the elements that give this country such soul.
As Mark puts it: “It’s not easy to find places in which there is no, or little, imprint of society and civilisation. But you get it in Idaho: whether you’re sitting on the banks of the river or on the canyon and looking across the natural forest, you feel like you’re connecting with the natural world.
“Some people get it on beaches, others in mountains. I spent six weeks every year of my childhood, from about five until my late teens, in that area, and for me, it has it all: great mammals, birds, hiking, scenery, fishing. It’s up there as one of the most beautiful parts of America. My uncle Laurance used to say, 'Everyone needs a chance to refresh their minds and renew their spirits by connecting with nature.’ What he tried to do is to give access to the bounty we have to as many people as he could. All I can do is try to continue that legacy.”
Why go?
The state is home to part of America’s first national park, Yellowstone (nps.gov/yell) and 30 state parks. There are lakes, forests, geysers, craters and plains to explore in summer, and, in neighbouring Wyoming, the Grand Teton National Park (nps.gov/grte). In winter there are 20,000 skiable acres in Idaho (skiidaho.us), while the skiing town of Jackson Hole (jacksonhole.com) is just over the state border.
Fly-fishing on the South Fork of the Snake River, Idaho Photo: ALAMY
Where to stay
Teton Springs Lodge & Spa
Traditional condominium-style resort, with family-friendly pool, gym and spa, as well as 16 luxury log cabins set around a golf course. It is five minutes from the little Western town of Victor, 45 minutes from Jackson Hole and an hour from Mesa Falls. Highly recommended are horse riding and dinner at Linn Canyon Ranch (linncanyonranch.com) and dinner in Victor at Spoons Bistro, a short walk from the Thursday-night country music concert in the park (spoonsbistro.com).
001 208 787 7888; tetonspringslodge.com; doubles from $169/£111; cabins from $700/£458, sleeping eight.
South Fork Lodge
Traditional log cabins by the Snake River, with rooms ranging from comfortable doubles to suites with fireplaces, kitchenettes and verandas. Decor is Western; the staff are warm and hospitable; the food is locally sourced, delicious and hearty (trout catches can be cooked to order). The lodge’s Outfitters activity centre offers lessons, outdoor equipment and guiding by some of the finest fishermen in the US. Highly recommended is a full day’s floating on the river with guide Brennan Bradley, who is enthusiastic, no matter how big the bird’s nest one makes from one’s line.
001 855 218 6809; naturalretreats.com; doubles from $160/£105; private house from $550/£360, sleeping eight.
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