Yellowstone and Grand Teton Road Trip: Jackson to Bozeman, Leg By Leg

Grand Teton and Yellowstone are the easiest two-park road trip in the West to string together, because they touch. A single 8-mile parkway links them, so you can drive north from Jackson through the Tetons, loop through Yellowstone's geyser basins and canyon, and fly home from Bozeman, Montana. That's about 330 miles one way, plus whatever you drive inside Yellowstone, which is a lot.

This post covers the road: the route, the miles, the 2026 road work, where to sleep, and how many days to give it. Each park gets a short plan along the way, and the full days are in my guides.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton Road Trip at a Glance

• Parks: Grand Teton and Yellowstone, linked by the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway.
• Start and finish: Jackson, Wyoming, to Bozeman, Montana (one way), or a loop back to Jackson.
• Driving: about 330 miles one way by way of the Grand Loop, or about 280 miles as a loop from Jackson that skips the drive out to Bozeman.
• Time behind the wheel: more than the miles suggest. Speed limits top out at 45 mph in Yellowstone, and wildlife stops traffic.
• How many days: 5 at the least, 7 to enjoy it.
• Best seasons: mid-June through September.
• Pass: each park charges its own $35 vehicle fee in 2026; the $80 America the Beautiful pass covers both.

Orientation sketch, not to scale. Check the official park maps for detail. Routes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); state lines from the U.S. Census Bureau.

How Many Days Do You Need?

Give it 7 days if you can, 5 if you can't. The math: Grand Teton needs one full day, two if you want to hike. Yellowstone is the problem child. Its Grand Loop Road is about 142 miles around, the main sights sit 20 to 40 miles apart, and a bison in the road can add half an hour without warning. Most people need three days to cover the loop without spending every hour in the car. Add a travel day at each end and you're at six or seven.

With five days, you'll get one day in the Tetons and three in Yellowstone, and you'll pick between the Lamar Valley and the northern loop. With three, skip the full loop and choose the lower half of Yellowstone (the geyser basins, the lake, and the canyon), which is the closer half from the Tetons anyway.

Which Direction to Drive It

I'd drive it south to north: fly into Jackson Hole Airport, which sits inside Grand Teton National Park, and fly out of Bozeman. Starting in the Tetons puts the easy, compact park first and saves the bigger one for when you've got your road legs. Bozeman has more flights and usually cheaper rental cars than Jackson, which helps on the way home.

The catch, as always, is the one-way drop fee. If it's steep, drive it as a loop from Jackson: up through the Tetons, around Yellowstone's Grand Loop, and back out the South Entrance. Salt Lake City is the budget option, about 280 miles and 4.5 to 5 hours south of Jackson, and Idaho Falls is in between.

The Route, Leg By Leg

Jackson to Grand Teton: About 12 Miles, 20 Minutes

U.S. 26/89/191 runs north from Jackson along the east side of the valley to Moose Junction and the park's south entrance. The Teton Park Road leaves the highway at Moose and runs closer to the mountains, past the lakes, before rejoining it near Jackson Lake Junction. The highway itself stays outside the fee booth, so you can see the range from the turnouts before you ever pay.

Know about the 2026 work before you go. A roundabout is under construction near the Moose Entrance Station, the Moose-Wilson Road had delays of up to 45 minutes over the summer, the Death Canyon Road and trailhead were closed through mid-November with reopening possibly pushed into 2027, and the North Park Road between Leeks Marina and Lizard Creek ran one lane in the daytime with overnight delays. None of it blocks the trip, but it changes how long things take. Grand Teton needs no reservation or timed entry. How to fit the lakes, the river viewpoints, and Mormon Row into one or two days is what my Grand Teton National Park guide lays out.

A short plan for Grand Teton: Enter at Moose and take the Teton Park Road to South Jenny Lake. Walk the Discovery Trail, ride the shuttle boat (mid-May into September), and climb to Hidden Falls, your turnaround. Eat at the Jenny Lake General Store or Dornans at Moose, then drive the highway to Snake River Overlook and stop at Mormon Row, where construction continues into 2027. My Grand Teton National Park guide has the full days.

Grand Teton National Park. Dawn light on the peaks reflected in a beaver pond at Schwabacher Landing, in late October (NPS photograph by J. Bonney). Photo: National Park Service (J. Bonney), Wikimedia Commons. Public domain (U.S. Government work).

Grand Teton to Yellowstone: About 58 Miles From Jackson, 1.5 Hours

North past Jackson Lake to Moran Junction and Colter Bay, then through the Rockefeller Parkway, a strip of National Park land with Headwaters Lodge at Flagg Ranch, to Yellowstone's South Entrance. There's gas at Colter Bay and Flagg Ranch, and you'll pay Yellowstone's own entrance fee at the gate.

Grand Teton National Park. Early light on the Teton Range from Glacier View Turnout on the highway north of Moose (NPS photograph by C. Adams). Photo: National Park Service (C. Adams), Wikimedia Commons. Public domain (U.S. Government work).

The Lower Grand Loop: Old Faithful, the Geyser Basins, Canyon, and the Lake

From the South Entrance it's 22 miles to West Thumb on Yellowstone Lake, and about 17 more west over the Continental Divide to Old Faithful. From there the loop heads north past Midway and Lower Geyser Basins to Madison and Norris, east to Canyon, and back south through Hayden Valley to the lake. That lower loop is about 96 miles, and almost nobody drives it in one day without regretting it.

Two 2026 projects slow this part down: bridge work on the Firehole River near Old Faithful and parkwide chip sealing. Gas is at Old Faithful, Grant Village, Canyon, and Fishing Bridge. Cell service is spotty between the developed areas, so download offline maps. Which geyser basins, overlooks, and walks to put on which day is exactly what my Yellowstone National Park guide works out, with nine plans for one to three days.

A short plan for Yellowstone: In road season, roughly late May into October, come in the South Entrance and drive by way of West Thumb to Old Faithful. Check the predicted eruption at the visitor center, loop Geyser Hill, and watch the geyser. Eat at Old Faithful, walk through the Inn, and go on to Midway Geyser Basin, your turnaround. Skip Biscuit Basin, closed as of October 2026. My Yellowstone National Park guide has the full days.

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 Upper Grand Loop: Mammoth and Tower-Roosevelt

The northern half runs from Norris to Mammoth Hot Springs, east to Tower-Roosevelt, and back south over Dunraven Pass to Canyon, about 70 miles. Dunraven Pass is the highest road on the loop and the first to close in fall. The Lamar Valley is a spur east from Tower Junction toward the Northeast Entrance, about 30 miles each way, and it's the road wildlife watchers drive at dawn.

In 2026, structural repairs on the Gardner River High Bridge, between Mammoth and Tower, ran one lane with delays of up to 15 minutes through the summer.

The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River and the canyon's yellow walls, from Artist Point (NPS photograph by Diane Renkin). Photo: National Park Service (Diane Renkin), Wikimedia Commons. Public domain (U.S. Government work).

Yellowstone to Bozeman: About 80 to 90 Miles, 1.5 to 2 Hours

You have two good exits. From Mammoth, drive 5 miles down to the North Entrance and Gardiner, under the Roosevelt Arch, then U.S. 89 north down the Yellowstone River valley to Livingston and Interstate 90 west to Bozeman, about 80 miles. From the geyser basins, leave by the West Entrance at West Yellowstone and take U.S. 191 north through Gallatin Canyon, about 90 miles of two-lane road along the river. Either one makes a good last morning.

Yellowstone National Park. Grand Prismatic Spring from the Grand Prismatic Overlook Trail, with the Midway Geyser Basin boardwalk beyond (NPS photograph by Diane Renkin). Photo: National Park Service (Diane Renkin), Wikimedia Commons. Public domain (U.S. Government work).

A Sample 7-Day Driving Schedule

This is the driving skeleton only. The park days themselves are in the guides.

Day	Drive	Driving Time	Overnight Town
Day 1	Jackson Hole Airport to your room in Jackson or the park, under 30 miles	Under 1 hour	Jackson or Colter Bay
Day 2	Grand Teton, driving from Jackson or Colter Bay	Local driving	Jackson or Colter Bay
Day 3	Grand Teton to Old Faithful through the South Entrance, about 100 miles from Jackson	About 2.5 hours	Old Faithful or West Yellowstone
Day 4	Yellowstone's geyser basins, driving from Old Faithful or West Yellowstone	Local driving	Old Faithful or West Yellowstone
Day 5	Old Faithful to Canyon by way of Norris, about 40 miles, then on to the lake or Canyon lodging	About 1.5 hours	Canyon or the lake
Day 6	Canyon to Mammoth over Dunraven Pass, about 50 miles, with the Lamar Valley spur if you're up early	About 2 hours	Mammoth or Gardiner
Day 7	Mammoth to Bozeman through Gardiner and Livingston, about 85 miles	1.5 to 2 hours	Fly home from Bozeman

Where to Stay Along the Way

• Grand Teton: Jackson has the most rooms and the highest prices. In the park, the lodges are Jackson Lake Lodge, Signal Mountain Lodge, Jenny Lake Lodge, Colter Bay Village, and Headwaters Lodge at Flagg Ranch, all seasonal.
• Yellowstone, south and west: the Old Faithful Inn, Old Faithful Snow Lodge, Old Faithful Lodge Cabins, Grant Village, and the Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Lake Lodge Cabins inside the park; West Yellowstone just outside.
• Yellowstone, north: Canyon Lodge, Roosevelt Lodge Cabins, and the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel inside; Gardiner and Cooke City outside.

Moving your bed two or three times saves hours of backtracking in Yellowstone. In-park rooms book up far ahead, and seasons differ by lodge, so check the dates for your trip before you build around one.

Best Time of Year to Drive It

Mid-June through September is when the whole route is open: every road in both parks, the lodges, and the campgrounds. July and August are the busiest, with the longest lines at the entrances and the geyser basins.

Late May and early June and late September into October are quieter and colder, with snow possible at any time. Some lodges and roads open late or close early; Dunraven Pass and the Beartooth Highway beyond Cooke City close first, typically in mid-October.

Winter changes the trip completely. Most of Yellowstone's roads close to regular cars from early November to late April. The only road open to cars all year runs from the North Entrance at Gardiner through Mammoth and Tower to Cooke City. Grand Teton's Teton Park Road closes to cars in winter as well, though the main highway through the valley stays open. Check Yellowstone National Park alerts and Grand Teton National Park alerts for the opening and closing dates in your year.

Road Trip Tips for Yellowstone and Jackson Hole

• Budget time, not miles. A 30-mile leg in Yellowstone can take an hour and a half with a wildlife jam. Pull completely off the road to watch animals, and never stop in a travel lane.
• Fill up in the developed areas. Gas is at the villages inside Yellowstone, at Colter Bay and Flagg Ranch, and in every gateway town. Long stretches between them have nothing.
• Download maps and the guides. Cell service is limited inside both parks and between the villages.
• Pack for every season. Summer mornings at Old Faithful can be near freezing, and snow can fall in any month.
• Buy one pass. Two parks at $35 each for a week, plus any other park this year, quickly makes the $80 annual pass the better deal.

Plan Your Days Inside Each Park

This post gets you from park to park, with a short plan for each stop. The full days are what my guides are for: each one has 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, plus orientation maps, the park's history, and the animals you're likely to see. You get an EPUB and a printable PDF, so the day's plan can ride in the car with you.

• Yellowstone National Park: nine itineraries, 15 animals to look for, 7 maps, and 37 photographs
• Grand Teton National Park: nine itineraries, 15 animals to look for, 6 maps, and 37 photographs

For This Route

The Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier Collection covers all 2 parks on this route (Yellowstone and Grand Teton) in one download. It also includes Glacier, which this route doesn't reach.

Short on time at one stop? Just an Afternoon is my free four-hour plan for every U.S. National Park.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton Road Trip FAQ

Do I need a reservation to enter Yellowstone or Grand Teton? No. Neither park used timed entry in 2026. Lodging and campgrounds in both parks are by reservation and fill months ahead.

Which airport is best? Jackson Hole for the Tetons, Bozeman for northern and western Yellowstone, or one of each for a one-way trip. Salt Lake City, Idaho Falls, Cody, and Billings also work, at the cost of a longer drive.

Can I see both parks in one day? You can drive through both in one long day, but you'll see them through the windshield. Give Grand Teton at least a day and Yellowstone at least two.

Is the drive between the parks open in winter? The highway from Jackson north through Grand Teton stays open, but Yellowstone's South Entrance road closes to cars for the winter, so you can't drive from one park into the other between early November and spring. In winter, Yellowstone by car means the northern road from Gardiner.

More Road Trips and Park Pages

• Glacier to Yellowstone Road Trip: Crossing Montana to the Tetons

Before you go: roads, campgrounds, and visitor centers close for snow, fire, and repairs, so check each park's alerts and current conditions, updated daily: Yellowstone, Grand Teton. For every park at a glance, see the park conditions dashboard.

Planning a different route? See all my National Park road trips.

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