Access/Entry Points
Grand Teton National Park runs along a north-south axis, bordered on the west by the Teton Range. Teton Park Road skirts along the lakes at the mountains’ base. From the north, you can enter the park from Yellowstone National Park, which is linked to Grand Teton by an 8-mile stretch of highway (U.S. 89/191/287) running through the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, along which you might see some bare and blackened trees from the 1988 and 2016 fires. If you enter this way, you will already have paid your entrance fee to both parks, but you can stop at the park information center at Flagg Ranch, just outside Yellowstone, to get Grand Teton information. From mid-December to mid-March, Yellowstone’s south entrance is open only to snowmobiles and snowcoaches.
Grand Teton National Park runs along a north-south axis, bordered on the west by the Teton Range. Teton Park Road skirts along the lakes at the mountains’ base. From the north, you can enter the park from Yellowstone National Park, which is linked to Grand Teton by an 8-mile stretch of highway (U.S. 89/191/287) running through the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, along which you might see some bare and blackened trees from the 1988 and 2016 fires. If you enter this way, you will already have paid your entrance fee to both parks, but you can stop at the park information center at Flagg Ranch, just outside Yellowstone, to get Grand Teton information. From mid-December to mid-March, Yellowstone’s south entrance is open only to snowmobiles and snowcoaches.
You can also approach the park from the east, via U.S. 26/287. This route comes from Dubois, 55 miles east on the other side of the Absaroka and Wind River ranges, and crosses Togwotee Pass, where you’ll get your first views of the Tetons towering over the valley. Travelers who come this way can continue south on U.S. 26/89/191 to Jackson without paying an entrance fee, and enjoy spectacular mountain and Snake River views.
Finally, you can enter Grand Teton from Jackson in the south, driving about 12 miles north on U.S. 26/89/191 to the Moose Junction turnoff and the park’s south entrance. Here you’ll find the park headquarters and the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center, plus a small developed area that includes restaurants and shops.
Visitor Centers & Information
There are three visitor centers in Grand Teton National Park, plus a couple of smaller information centers. The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center (tel. 307/739-3399) is a half-mile west of Moose Junction and jam-packed with info and exhibits about the park’s natural and human history. Here you’ll find displays on glaciation and park ecosystems, old wagons, Native American artifacts, and a wall on the history of mountaineering in the area. In summer, it’s open 8am to 7pm; hours change to 8am to 5pm in May and mid-September to late October and 9am to 5pm in March and April. Colter Bay Visitor Center (tel. 307/739-3594), the northernmost option, features an Indian Arts Gallery and a big porch with Jackson Lake views; it’s open 8am to 7pm in summer and 8am to 5pm in May, September, and the first half of October. The Jenny Lake Visitor Center, at the southern end of Jenny Lake, is getting an upgrade during summer 2017. Rangers will staff a temporary visitor center in the area until the new center opens in 2018. It’s open 8am to 7pm in summer and 8am to 5pm in late May/early June and September.
Visitor Centers & Information
There are three visitor centers in Grand Teton National Park, plus a couple of smaller information centers. The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center (tel. 307/739-3399) is a half-mile west of Moose Junction and jam-packed with info and exhibits about the park’s natural and human history. Here you’ll find displays on glaciation and park ecosystems, old wagons, Native American artifacts, and a wall on the history of mountaineering in the area. In summer, it’s open 8am to 7pm; hours change to 8am to 5pm in May and mid-September to late October and 9am to 5pm in March and April. Colter Bay Visitor Center (tel. 307/739-3594), the northernmost option, features an Indian Arts Gallery and a big porch with Jackson Lake views; it’s open 8am to 7pm in summer and 8am to 5pm in May, September, and the first half of October. The Jenny Lake Visitor Center, at the southern end of Jenny Lake, is getting an upgrade during summer 2017. Rangers will staff a temporary visitor center in the area until the new center opens in 2018. It’s open 8am to 7pm in summer and 8am to 5pm in late May/early June and September.
On the Moose-Wilson Road, you’ll find the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve Center (tel. 307/739-3654), open 9am to 5pm daily in summer. Finally, there is an information station at the Flagg Ranch complex (tel. 307/543-2372), which is located approximately 5 miles north of the park’s northern boundary, open daily 9am to 4pm from early June through early September, although it may be closed for lunch.
Fees
There are no park gates on U.S. 26/89/191, so you can get a free ride through the park on that route; to get off the highway and explore, you’ll pay $30 per automobile for a 7-day pass ($50 for both Yellowstone and Grand Teton). If you expect to visit the parks more than once in a year, buy an annual pass for $60. And if you visit parks and national monuments around the country, purchase an Interagency Annual Pass for $80 (good for 365 days from the date of purchase at nearly all federal preserves). Anyone ages 62 and older can get an Interagency Senior Pass for a one-time fee of $10, and people who are blind or who have a permanent disability can obtain an Interagency Access Pass, which is free. All passes are available at any entrance point to the parks. Most of the money from entrance fees goes back into the park where it was collected, so consider it a contribution worth making.
There are no park gates on U.S. 26/89/191, so you can get a free ride through the park on that route; to get off the highway and explore, you’ll pay $30 per automobile for a 7-day pass ($50 for both Yellowstone and Grand Teton). If you expect to visit the parks more than once in a year, buy an annual pass for $60. And if you visit parks and national monuments around the country, purchase an Interagency Annual Pass for $80 (good for 365 days from the date of purchase at nearly all federal preserves). Anyone ages 62 and older can get an Interagency Senior Pass for a one-time fee of $10, and people who are blind or who have a permanent disability can obtain an Interagency Access Pass, which is free. All passes are available at any entrance point to the parks. Most of the money from entrance fees goes back into the park where it was collected, so consider it a contribution worth making.
Fees for tent camping are between $24 and $37 at all six park campgrounds. For recorded information on campgrounds, call tel. 307/739-3603. For more information on camping, see “Where to Camp in Grand Teton,” in chapter 7. All tent campgrounds are first-come, first-serve.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
