Hwy 22 west out of Jackson to W. Yellowstone

[Cabo_Paul]

We will be moving in a couple of days from Jackson, WY to W. Yellowstone, MT. My mileage guide says it is approx the same mileage going up thru the Grand Tetons + Yellowstone as it is taking Hwy 22/20 to W. Yellowstone. Any merit of taking Hwy 22? Does Hwy 22/20 cross over high mountain passes?

Thank you for your thoughts on Hwy 22/20.

[ReneeG]

ThomasFour wrote:
Check road closures in Yellowstone. We just left there and getting from the south end of the park to the west entrance was much longer due to the closure.

In spite of this, I would much rather be stuck in traffic there, then on an interstate.

[ThomasFour]

Check road closures in Yellowstone. We just left there and getting from the south end of the park to the west entrance was much longer due to the closure.

[kknowlton]

x2 on the US 26 route as an alternate to going through Yellowstone. We've driven over Teton Pass in the summer in our pickup, but have never towed or driven an RV over it, and don't plan to. 26 is a pretty ride. With the slower traffic in Yellowstone, taking 26 (especially with the shortcut from Ririe to Rexburg) might be about equal in time, if not miles.

(I suspect you don't mean you have been living in Jackson, just visiting there.)

[bclan6]

I'm a bit confused how you live in Jackson and don't know about that pass? It's horrible. I've wrecked on it in '97 (due to black ice but thankfully the snow banks kept me on the hill).

My brother has wrecked on it with his dually. He has replaced 2 transmissions on 2 different trucks due to having to live in the valley but work in Jackson. My uncle had same thing happen to his trucks.

Every year, once in summer, once in winter, there was a serious wreck with deaths involved on that pass when I lived out there. The guardrails were limited so several people I know have rolled down the side. 1 broke his back but survived, another survived but the driver he was with didn't.

It's a serious hazard, hard on your vehicle and brakes. Avoid it. Easier to go through Yellowstone. The road construction will be over in a week, hopefully.

[ThomasFour]

Just did Teton Pass. Avoid it. I've been thru tons of mountain driving throughout the west and this pass was by far the most difficult. I would not do it again.

[ReneeG]

CloudDriver - the route through Alpine Junction, Idaho Falls, and route 20 up through Island Park is a good one. We take the route when heading to West Yellowstone from our home.

[bobsallyh]

We take our dually up and down that pass minus the 40' fiver. Since I'm the head mechanic on this machine, we use it hard but I wont abuse it. We see some rigs from time to time with overheating situations going up and stinking brakes coming down. Don't know what you have but if a diesel you better have an exhaust brake. And with info that Cloud Driver gave about the re-route in Yellowstone, the directions he gave are excellent. If the pass is the only way that is one thing but there are two options. Also you really don't have to go back into Idaho Falls, you can take off 26 at Ririe and cross over to Rexburg with is on US 20 to West Yellowstone. It will save a couple of miles. We use it if doing what you want to do.

[CloudDriver]

I drove out 24 ft Class C over the Teton pass a few years back and will never do that again.

Be advised that a bridge is being rebuilt on the road between West Thumb and Old Faithful, closing the road until something like June 11th. To get to W. Yellowstone, you will need to drive around the east side of the lower loop to Canyon, then west to Norris, south the Madison, then on to W. Yellowstone. Of course, everyone else will have to use this route as well, making traffic heavier than normal.

IMO the best route from Jackson to W. Yellowstone under these conditions is to go south to Alpine Junction, take route 26 to Idaho Falls then north on route 20.

[rexlion]

Without knowing how steep and how relatively sharp the switchbacks are, I towed a popup (no trailer brakes) over that pass with a Windstar minivan. I geared down and took it slow, and had no problems other than some cars that piled up behind me. If you have towed such roads before and they don't bother you, then you'll be fine. But if you tend to avoid the roads that require a lot of first and second gear plus brake usage, avoid this one.

I said "relatively sharp" switchbacks... I still recall the old gravel road my dad took us on, heading to Takkakaw Falls in the Canadian Rockies. This was about 1969 or '70. We had a 22' Winnie. Those switchbacks were something else. He'd pull forward as far as possible, then back up until the rear end was hanging out over nothing (with my mom in back watching and having the willies), then pull ahead to get around the curve. Now those were real switchbacks! 😉

[TexasShadow]

X2 to using yellowstone park route.

[ReneeG]

This takes you over Teton Pass and is very steep. We have the truck to do it but always avoid and would recommend you do the same especially since you are asking about passes. Go through Yellowstone to West Yellowstone. The road is good, new grades and scenic.