WY-22 and ID-33: Teton Pass to Teton Valley

The Route at a Glance

Teton Pass carries the only paved road over the Teton Range, and for most of the people who drive it every day it is a commute. This route runs west from Jackson across the Snake River to Wilson, climbs WY-22 over the pass, crosses into Idaho near the foot of the west side and follows ID-33 from Victor north up Teton Valley to Driggs, about thirty-three miles and under an hour in good weather.

Above Wilson the highway climbs at a ten percent grade. The old Forest Service road, which drivers used until the present highway opened in 1969, climbs beside it as a surfaced path for walkers and cyclists. At the summit, Teton Pass stands at 8,431 feet, with Jackson Hole spread out to the east. The road down the west side passes the Big Fill, the hairpin that slid off the mountain on June 8, 2024, cutting the road for three weeks, and that was rebuilt by the following summer.

Teton Valley was Pierre's Hole to the fur trappers, named for an Iroquois trapper, and in July 1832 it held the summer rendezvous. As the gathering broke up, trappers and their allies attacked a band of A'aninin, the Gros Ventre, a few miles south of the rendezvous, and the marker at Pierre's Hole tells how that fight began. Driving north from Victor, the Tetons rise to the east, but seen from behind: the range is a block tilted down to the west, so its long gentler slopes face Idaho and the sheer fault face looks over Jackson Hole, as the Teton Range marker north of Driggs explains.

Many of the people who cross the pass each morning live in Victor and Driggs and work in Jackson. The highway is kept open through the winter, but it closes in storms and for avalanche control, so check WYDOT's road report before crossing. Both towns have fuel and food.

The Drive, Stop by Stop

1 stops along the route, in driving order from Jackson, Wyoming to Driggs, Idaho.

1. 1

   Teton Pass

   Wilson

   The summit at 8,431 feet, with Jackson Hole spread out below to the east.

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That's the drive. Take your time, pull over often, and let WY-22 and ID-33: Teton Pass to Teton Valley do what it does best.