Snippet Teton Pass

Teton Pass Bad Roads for RVs

Teton Pass is on Highway 22 in Wyoming between Victor Idaho and Jackson Wyoming. This is a bad road for an RV. Summer or winter. Trailers are not allowed on Teton Pass in the winter. Also in the winter turnouts are often packed with snow and snowplows.

Teton Pass No Trailers during the winter
No Trailers during the winter. It seems that trailers are unwilling to stay behind trucks in the winter. They spin out dragging the truck around backward, hopefully not ending up departing the road, although that has happened.
Teton Pass Satellite View
Teton Pass Satellite View

Details

Elevation: 8429 feet

Length: 17 miles

Terrain: 10% grades on both the east and west side of the pass. On the west side, the 10% grade starts at the summit, and trucks are warned to use low gear for the next three miles. On the east side, the 10% grade starts at the summit, and trucks are warned to use low gear for the next 5.5 miles.

Turns: There are many 20 mile-per-hour turns on both sides of the pass.

Turnouts: Nearly all turnouts are on the right side of the road when eastbound. All pictures are from west to east in order.

I am including pictures of the obvious turnouts, just in case you decide that you want to drive over Teton Pass — at least you have been warned. This would be worth a one hundred mile detour.

Coal Creek Trailhead Satellite View
Turnout Coal Creek Trailhead
Turnout west side at apex of first switchback Satellite View
Turnout west side at apex of first switchback
 Turnout west side at third switchback Satellite View
Turnout west side at third switchback
Turnout west of Mt Glory Avalanche Chute Satellite View
Turnout west of Mt Glory Avalanche Chute
Turnout west of Mt Glory east Avalanche Chute Satellite View
Turnout west of Mt Glory east Avalanche Chute
Turnout near Phillips Bench Trailhead Satellite View
Turnout near Phillips Bench Trailhead

Turnaround locations: Westside — Coal Creek Trailhead, at the apex of the first switchback, west of Mt Glory Avalanche Chute. Eastside–Phillips Bench Trailhead, west of Mt Glory east Avalanche Chute.

Runaway truck ramps: When descending on the east side there are two runaway truck ramps, both require you to cross the road to the left, through head-on, uphill traffic.

Runaway truck ramp east side Satellite View
Runaway truck ramp east side

Closures in the winter should be expected due to avalanche danger and snow removal. Numerous avalanche paths cross the road. To control for large avalanches Wyoming sets off numerous small avalanches, typically in the morning. Avalanches bury the road in snow and then are removed by snowplows.

Wyoming Department of transportation Web Camera Link Wyoming Travel Information Service

Teton Pass — Our experience

We drove from Victor to Jackson and into Grand Teton National Park while we were staying in Idaho right after we spent most of September in and around Yellowstone. Here is our post about the Swan Valley when we made our day visit. More hunting in Idaho

We did not take our RV over Teton Pass — only our car. Every RVer we know who has taken this route has regretted the decision. Even if you are successful you will be going very slow both uphill and downhill and everyone behind you will be unhappy..

Next time, we hope to spend an extended time in Grand Teton National Park, and probably will visit it from the east, headed west. We won’t be crossing Teton Pass in our RV — ever.

Here is our link to our interactive map. Bad Roads for RVs

1 thought on “Teton Pass Bad Roads for RVs”

  1. True that… took a rickety 31-foot RV with a bad 02 sensor up that thing the other day and the RV almost went backwards on us. Top speed of 16 MPH with the pedal to the floor with the v10 Ford at 5,000 RPM and 19 cars pissed off behind me…. Would not do that again in an RV.

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