Yellowstone Day Trip From Jackson: Drive Times, Winter Closure, and Tips

Jackson to Yellowstone's South Entrance is about 53 miles and about 1 hour 15 minutes, and Old Faithful is about 100 miles and roughly 2.5 hours, but you can't drive that route right now. The South Entrance closed to regular vehicles on November 1, 2026, and it stays closed to cars through the winter. From late spring into the fall, this is a very workable day trip. In winter, the only way in from Jackson is a guided snowcoach or snowmobile tour.

So the first question isn't how far it is. It's what month you're going. This post covers both versions, plus fees, the road through Grand Teton, and what to do about the construction delay south of Moran. For the driving season, there's a simple plan below, and my Yellowstone guide has the rest of the park.

Yellowstone National Park. Old Faithful erupts on a spring morning, seen from Observation Point above the Upper Geyser Basin, with the Old Faithful Inn and lodges behind (NPS photograph by Jacob W. Frank). Photo: National Park Service (Jacob W. Frank), Wikimedia Commons. Public domain (U.S. Government work).

Yellowstone Day Trip From Jackson at a Glance

• Distance: about 53 miles to the South Entrance and about 100 miles to Old Faithful.
• Drive time: about 1 hour 15 minutes to the South Entrance and roughly 2.5 hours to Old Faithful, each way, without traffic.
• Route: US 26/89/191 north from Jackson to Moran Junction, then north past Jackson Lake and through the Rockefeller Parkway to the South Entrance.
• Open to cars now? No. As of November 2026, you can drive as far as Flagg Ranch, about 2 miles short of the entrance, and no farther.
• Fees: $35 for Yellowstone and a separate $35 for Grand Teton, each per vehicle and good for seven days.
• Reservations: none needed to drive into Yellowstone in 2026.
• Transit: none. In winter, guided tours from Jackson are the way in.
• Best months: June through September for driving; mid-December to mid-March for a guided winter tour.
• Time in the park: about eight hours in the driving season, with an early start.

Is the Road From Jackson to Yellowstone Open?

Here's where things stood when I checked in November 2026.

• Yellowstone's South Entrance: closed to regular vehicles since November 1, 2026, along with the West and East entrances and nearly all the park's roads.
• Jackson to Flagg Ranch: open. Grand Teton says US 89/191 and US 26/287 are plowed and open for winter travel from the town of Jackson to Flagg Ranch, just south of Yellowstone.
• Teton Park Road: closed from November 1 to April 30 between the Taggart Lake Trailhead and Signal Mountain Lodge. You don't need it for this drive, because the main highway stays open.
• Guided oversnow travel: scheduled to start December 15, 2026, weather permitting.
• Driving in from another side: the only road in Yellowstone that stays open to cars all winter runs from the North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana, to the Northeast Entrance. From Jackson, that means going all the way around the park through Idaho and Montana, which isn't a day trip.

The park says most roads stay closed to regular vehicles until about late April, and they're usually all open by Memorial Day weekend. I couldn't find a posted 2027 opening date for the South Entrance as of November 2026, so check my Yellowstone alerts page before you plan a spring trip around it.

Jackson, Wyoming, the starting point for this drive. Photo: Monster1000, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0.

What a Winter Day Trip From Jackson Looks Like

From November 1 until oversnow travel starts on December 15, 2026, there's no way into Yellowstone from Jackson. You can drive north through Grand Teton, but the road ends for cars near Flagg Ranch.

From mid-December to mid-March, you can still do Yellowstone in one day from Jackson, as long as someone else does the driving. Two options I found:

• Teton Science Schools snowcoach tour: December 15, 2026, to March 15, 2027. It's about 12 hours, leaves from the Jackson campus at 700 Coyote Canyon Road with a 6:30 a.m. pickup, drives to Flagg Ranch, and continues by snowcoach. Stops include Old Faithful. Public tours were $375 per person with a four-person minimum; park passes and gratuity aren't included.
• Jackson Hole Wildlife Safaris: snowcoach and snowmobile tours from December to March, about 10 to 12 hours, with pickup at Jackson and Teton Village hotels, most leaving at 6 a.m. Snowcoach seats were listed at $395 to $450 per guest and snowmobiles at $450 to $825 per machine, plus taxes and fees. The company's page isn't consistent about whether entrance fees are included, so ask when you book.

Those are prices as of November 2026. Winter temperatures in the park run from about zero to 20°F, so dress for standing around outside. Book ahead, because these tours are small: the Teton Science Schools coach takes eight guests at most.

How Long Does the Drive Take in Summer?

The math is simple. It's about 30 miles from Jackson to Moran, about 23 more to the South Entrance, and then about 50 minutes to Grant Village inside the park. From there, Old Faithful is the usual next stop, and you'll be around 100 miles from Jackson when you reach it.

Two things stretch that number. The park speed limit is 45 miles an hour or lower, and wildlife jams can stop traffic for a while. There's also a stretch of Grand Teton road work to know about. As of November 2026, US 26/89/191 south of Moran Junction has a temporary signal and one-lane traffic, with 20-minute delays both ways, scheduled from October through December 2026.

If you're flying in, Jackson Hole Airport is north of town, so you'll start the trip a few miles closer to the park. Yellowstone's interior roads are slow, so I wouldn't plan to go farther than Old Faithful or the lake on one day from Jackson. The big loop is a lot of driving for one day.

The Yellowstone River winds through the open grasslands of Hayden Valley (NPS photograph by Jacob W. Frank). Photo: National Park Service (Jacob W. Frank), Wikimedia Commons. Public domain (U.S. Government work).

The Route

Take US 26/89/191 north out of Jackson through Grand Teton National Park to Moran Junction, about 30 miles. Continue north past Jackson Lake to Colter Bay, then through the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway and past Headwaters Lodge at Flagg Ranch. The South Entrance is about 2 miles beyond Flagg Ranch.

• Gas: fill up in Jackson. In season, there's also gas at Colter Bay and Flagg Ranch, and at the villages inside Yellowstone. Don't count on the seasonal stops in winter.
• Food: pack lunch and snacks. Most of what's on this route is seasonal.
• Don't take the side roads: Grassy Lake Road, which heads west from Flagg Ranch, is unplowed in winter, and Moose-Wilson Road closes from November 1 until about mid-May, depending on conditions.
• RVs: the park's roads have tight curves and steep grades, so check the rules for long vehicles first.

If you'd rather not come back the same way, my Yellowstone and Grand Teton road trip runs one way from Jackson to Bozeman.

Getting There Without a Car

There's no public transit from Jackson to Yellowstone and none inside the park, so you'll need a car or a tour. In winter, the guided tours above include the ride from Jackson to Flagg Ranch and the snowcoach beyond it.

Entry, Fees, and Reservations

This is the part that catches people on this route: you're going through two National Parks, and they don't share a pass.

• Yellowstone: $35 per private vehicle, good for seven days. Passes are sold at the entrance stations by cash or card. No vehicle reservation was required in 2026.
• Grand Teton: a separate $35 per private vehicle for seven days. The park says visitors traveling to or from Yellowstone through Grand Teton must pay its entrance fee separately.
• America the Beautiful pass: $80 for U.S. residents, and it covers both parks, so it pays for itself on this one trip.
• Non-U.S. residents: those 16 and older pay an additional $100 per person at Yellowstone unless they hold an annual or America the Beautiful pass.

A Sample Day Trip Timeline

This one's for the driving season, once the South Entrance reopens.

• 6:00 a.m.: leave Jackson.
• 7:15 a.m.: reach the South Entrance.
• 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.: your time in the park, about eight hours. The simple plan below tells you how to spend it.
• 4:30 p.m.: start back toward the South Entrance.
• 6:00 p.m.: stop in Grand Teton on the way south.
• 8:00 p.m.: back in Jackson.

A Simple Plan Inside the Park

Enter here: the South Entrance, in the driving season only. It's been closed to regular vehicles since November 1, 2026. Park here: the Old Faithful area, once you've made the drive up from the entrance. First stop: the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center, for the predicted eruption time.

Use the wait to walk the Geyser Hill boardwalk, then find a bench well before the predicted time. Eat the lunch you packed and step into the lobby of the Old Faithful Inn, which is open seasonally. Your turnaround is Midway Geyser Basin, about 15 minutes north, for Grand Prismatic Spring. Parking there is very limited, so if the lot's full, use the Fountain Paint Pot boardwalk farther north. A winter snowcoach tour sets its own stops. My Yellowstone guide has the canyon, the lake, and longer days.

Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park, which you pass on the way north from Jackson. Photo: Michael Gäbler, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 3.0.

Stops Worth Adding Outside the Park

• Grand Teton National Park: the drive runs right through it, and Oxbow Bend is near the highway. You've already paid the fee, so it's worth a stop.
• Colter Bay: a practical stop on Jackson Lake for gas and a break, in season.
• Flagg Ranch: the last stop before the entrance, and the place where winter tours switch to the snowcoach.
• Jackson: it's your start and finish, so save dinner for town.

When to Go

Late May through June. Roads are usually all open by Memorial Day weekend. Snow lingers up high, and rivers run high.

July and August. The warmest, busiest months. Afternoon thunderstorms are common, and wildfire smoke is possible. Leave early.

September to mid-October. Cooler days and fewer people, and I think this is the best window for a day trip from Jackson. Some services close in September, and early snow can close roads for a while.

November to April. Not a driving trip. Take a guided tour from mid-December to mid-March, or skip Yellowstone and spend the day in Grand Teton.

The Miller Ranch in Jackson, Wyoming. Photo: Acroterion, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Day Trip Tips

• Check the road status before anything else, especially in spring and fall. Early and late snow can close roads for a while.
• Don't stop in a travel lane to watch animals. Use the pullouts.
• Budget for two entrance fees, or bring an America the Beautiful pass.
• Allow extra time for the road work south of Moran Junction through December 2026.
• If you're short on time, plan on a smaller part of the park rather than the whole loop. It takes hours to drive between Yellowstone's entrances.
• If you'd like to see more than one corner of the park, an overnight inside it gets you much farther than a day trip can.

Official pages: Directions.

What to Do Once You're There

This post gets you to the park and home again the same day, with one short plan once you're in. The fuller days are what my Yellowstone National Park guide is for: nine itineraries for one, two, or three days at easy, moderate, and strenuous effort, each with a backup plan for bad weather or a closure, 15 animals to look for, and 7 orientation maps. You get an EPUB and a printable PDF, so the plan rides along in the car.

Only have a few hours on the ground? Just an Afternoon is my free four-hour plan for every U.S. National Park, Yellowstone included.

Making more than one day trip? The Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier Collection covers Yellowstone along with Grand Teton and Glacier in one download.

Yellowstone Day Trip FAQ

How far is Jackson from Yellowstone? About 53 miles and 1 hour 15 minutes to the South Entrance, and about 100 miles and roughly 2.5 hours to Old Faithful.

Can you drive from Jackson to Yellowstone in winter? No. The South Entrance closed to regular vehicles on November 1, 2026. You can drive north as far as Flagg Ranch, but beyond that you'll need a guided snowcoach or snowmobile tour, which start December 15, 2026, weather permitting.

Can you see Yellowstone and Grand Teton in one day from Jackson? You can drive through both, but you won't see much of either. I'd pick Yellowstone as the main event and treat Grand Teton as the stop on the way back.

Do you pay twice? Yes, unless you have an America the Beautiful pass. Each park charges $35 per vehicle as of November 2026.

More Yellowstone Trip Ideas

• Yellowstone and Grand Teton Road Trip: Jackson to Bozeman, Leg By Leg
• Glacier to Yellowstone Road Trip: Crossing Montana to the Tetons

Before you go: roads, tram and shuttle schedules, and visitor centers change with the season, so check the Yellowstone National Park alerts and current conditions, updated daily, the morning you leave. For every park at a glance, see the park conditions dashboard.

Starting somewhere else? See all my National Park day trips, or more National Park trip ideas, from road trips to visiting with kids.

This is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service. Driving times are estimates without stops or traffic, and conditions change; check the park's current alerts before you go.