Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Mountains of the Imagination

Rising above a scene rich with extraordinary wildlife, pristine lakes, and alpine terrain, the Teton Range stands as a monument to the people who fought to protect it. These are mountains of the imagination. Mountains that led to the creation of Grand Teton National Park where you can explore over two hundred miles of trails, float the Snake River, and enjoy the serenity of this remarkable place.

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

A Changing Climate

A melting glacier or a pika's habitat - all signs of a changing climate.

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Explore Geology

From the rocks forming the mountains to the forces shaping the landscape.

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

A Grand Spectacle

Golden aspens, red hawthorns, bugling elk, and great migrations—experience fall in the Tetons.

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Play in the Snow

Discover everything to do with Winter in Grand Teton. Plan your trip or learn something new from home.

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Backpacking in the Teton Range

Get out deep into the park and experience the wild side of Grand Teton. Get your permits early for this upcoming season.

Last updated: November 3, 2022

Hi there!

So you want to drive from Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone National Park as part of your great Wyoming national parks road trip!

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Grand Teton and Yellowstone are connected!

Since Grand Teton and Yellowstone are connected, it can be perfect to make it a Grand Teton and Yellowstone kind of trip!

It is basically a direct route that connects Grand Teton in the south to Yellowstone in the north.

So it is a simple drive!

MAP: Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone National Park

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Explore the map.

For reference points:

Grand Teton: Jenny Lake is a pretty central and popular spot along the popular road in Grand Teton National Park.

This main road is Teton Park Road that’s a part of the 42-mile Grand Teton scenic loop drive.

Yellowstone: Old Faithful geyser is a pretty central and popular spot along the popular road in Yellowstone National Park.

You can see the geyser erupt from ground level, and you can also see it from the Old Faithful geyser overlook. (The most popular spots in Yellowstone are the reliably predictable geyser eruption and the very colorful hot spring.

From Jenny Lake in Grand Teton to Old Faithful in Yellowstone is around a 2 hour drive.

To get to the popular Yellowstone gateway town to stay in of West Yellowstone MT (aka good town to look for hotels), it’s about an additional hour continuing in the same direction.

So from Old Faithful to West Yellowstone MT is around a 1 hour drive.

This means that to get from Grand Teton National Park to West Yellowstone MT by driving through Yellowstone National Park might be around a 3 hour drive.

Although ultimately it will depend on where in Grand Teton National Park you’re coming from and how much traffic you encounter in the national parks.

See more: Things to see while driving through Grand Teton National Park

Also for reference, Jackson WY to West Yellowstone MT is around a 2.5 hour drive if you do NOT drive through Yellowstone National Park.

If you do drive through Yellowstone National Park, then Jackson to West Yellowstone is at minimum around a 3 hour drive.

Continue the drive onwards to Idaho: Yellowstone to Craters of the Moon National Monument.

See more about things to do in Craters of the Moon… including wild caving on your own through lava tubes!

If you’ll be driving across Wyoming to get to Grand Teton National Park, then also see the best hikes in Wyoming.

Are you driving from the east to Grand Teton and Yellowstone?

See more things to do on your way to Grand Teton and Yellowstone:

  • Driving from Devils Tower to Grand Teton to Yellowstone
  • Driving from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton to Yellowstone
  • Driving from Badlands National Park to Grand Teton to Yellowstone

Download offline maps before you go!

It’s quite possible that you will have minimal data as you are driving from Grand Teton to Yellowstone.

It will be best to download offline google maps for Wyoming of the Grand Teton area and Yellowstone area before you go! This is free.

If you will be hiking in Wyoming, I recommend also the free mapsme app. You will need to also download the Wyoming map there. See more about hiking in Wyoming (and that app).

More below about making the drive from Grand Teton to Yellowstone!

🌋

Things to do when you’re driving from Grand Teton to Yellowstone

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

1. Grand Teton National Park

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

The Potholes Turnout in Grand Teton National Park can be the perfect last stop on Teton Park Road!

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

See more about Grand Teton National Park:
  • Best things to do in Grand Teton National Park
  • How to spend one day in Grand Teton National Park
  • Driving the 42-mile scenic loop drive in Grand Teton National Park

Or, if you have already seen all of Grand Teton National Park that you want to on the previous day and you’re ready to get to Yellowstone… start the drive north to Yellowstone!

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

👆 Road from Grand Teton to Yellowstone: You will pass by Jackson Lake and Colter Bay.

2. John Rockefeller Parkway

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

You can drive from Grand Teton to Yellowstone directly!

The John Rockefeller Memorial Parkway is the road that connects Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone National Park.

This means that it is a direct drive from Grand Teton to Yellowstone!

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

👆 Why is it called the John D Rockefeller Jr Memorial Highway? John Rockefeller is credited for being a big part of expanding Grand Teton National Park.

3. Welcome to Yellowstone National Park!

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

When driving the road that connects Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone National Park, you’ll be entering from Yellowstone’s south entrance.

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

If you will be visiting Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and one more national park within a year that has a similarly priced national park entry fee, then it will be worth it to get the annual national park pass. As long as the entry booth is staffed, you can buy this when you arrive at your first national park.

Now, you have arrived in Yellowstone and you’ll be driving through Yellowstone National Park!

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

👆 You will pass a number of signs indicating the Continental Divide.

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

4. West Thumb Geyser Basin Trail

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

The first “big” stop you will come across will be the West Thumb Geyser Basin.

This can be a perfect first stop to make in Yellowstone! This is one of the many thermal basins in Yellowstone where you can see hot springs and geysers.

You will see hot springs, and if you’re lucky you may see a small geyser erupting.

This also makes for a nice lakeside walk along Yellowstone Lake.

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

After you have finished up walking around the West Thumb geyser basin, next you can make a slight detour to drive along Yellowstone Lake for a bit before turning around to continue your drive towards Old Faithful. This is not the direction of Old Faithful, but it’s a great scenic drive!

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

5. Old Faithful Geyser

The next major stop you may want to make is at the Old Faithful Geyser. This is one of the most popular spots in Yellowstone and it’s one of the best things to do in Yellowstone.

Once you arrive at the Old Faithful Geyser parking lot, you’ll want to head to the visitor center to see when the next geyser eruption is predicted.

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

The most popular spot to watch the geyser is from the observation boardwalk that is right in front of the geyser.

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

You can also hike up to the Observation Point to see the geyser from above. You just want to make sure you give yourself enough time to get there before the next eruption!

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

See more about this Yellowstone stop: Old Faithful geyser overlook

The Old Faithful area is a rather large area, and you can also walk around the Upper Geyser Basin area to see if you can catch other geysers erupting too.

There are several geysers near the Old Faithful Geyser that the National Park Service provides prediction times for. Note the PLUS or MINUS number! The geyser prediction time can be plus or minus 10 minutes or it can be plus or minus 2 hours!

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

If you have brought along your bikes for your Wyoming national parks road trip, this is a good area to make use of them! There is a paved path where you can ride up and down past geysers. See the geyser biking route. You can also rent a bike at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge.

And then once you’ve finished up at Old Faithful, you can keep driving north where you will find a couple more smaller thermal basins. Depending on how much time and daylight you have left, you may consider skipping one or both of these.

Black Sand Basin Trail

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

See more about this Yellowstone stop: Black Sand Basin

Biscuit Basin Trail

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

See more about this Yellowstone stop: Biscuit Basin

6. Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook Trail

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

And then if you continue driving north, you will see a sign for the Fairy Falls trailhead.

This is where you will find the trail to the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook, which is another icon in Yellowstone National Park that you may very likely want to make time for. Towards the end of the trail, this becomes a steep hike.

You will get to see the colorful Grand Prismatic Spring from above.

But, if you got a late start in starting your drive to Yellowstone AND you will be spending a full day in Yellowstone the next day, then you are better off waiting for the next day to see the Grand Prismatic Spring.

That’s because to see the Grand Prismatic Spring at its best (aka bright colors!), you will want to see it when the sun is high and shining onto it. That’s when it will look its best.

If you visit it towards sunset, it won’t look as bright and colorful.

But of course, if sunset is your only chance to see the Grand Prismatic Spring, well then, you’ll want to see it anyway! It is a Yellowstone icon after all.

If you start your drive towards Yellowstone in the morning, you can make it to the Grand Prismatic Spring to see its bright colors! … if it’s a day with the sun out!

See more about this Yellowstone stop: Grand Prismatic Spring overlook

If you want to see the Grand Prismatic Spring from ground level, that is just a little bit further up the road to the north, along the Midway Geyer Basin trail.

And then you can continue your drive further north to see more smaller thermal basins.

Firehole Lake Drive

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Thermal spots along Firehole Lake Drive for example:

  • Great Fountain Geyser
  • White Dome Geyser

Fountain Paint Pots Trail

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Thermal spots along Fountain Paint Pot Trail for example:

  • bubbling hot spring
  • small geyser with frequent eruptions
  • bubbling mudpots
  • fumarole

“Big” town to stay in near Yellowstone National Park: West Yellowstone MT

And then from here, it can be perfect to drive onwards for a stay in West Yellowstone MT. This is one of the popular gateway towns for Yellowstone National Park.

3 days in Grand Teton and Yellowstone itinerary:

  • One day in Grand Teton National Park
  • Driving from Grand Teton to Yellowstone
  • One day in Yellowstone National Park
And those are some ideas for driving to Yellowstone National Park from Grand Teton National Park!

Plan more of your Wyoming road trip and beyond:

  • Driving from Yellowstone to Craters of the Moon
  • Things to do in Craters of the Moon National Monument
  • Driving from Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone
  • Best places to visit in South Dakota with VIEWS!
  • National parks in South Dakota
  • North Dakota national park

HAPPY DRIVING IN GRAND TETON AND YELLOWSTONE!

Grand teton national park to yellowstone national park

Can you drive through Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone?

The John Rockefeller Memorial Parkway is the road that connects Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone National Park. This means that it is a direct drive from Grand Teton to Yellowstone!

How far apart are Grand Teton and Yellowstone?

With Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park being just 31 miles apart, the two parks make for an incredible weeklong road trip.

Can you do Yellowstone and Grand Tetons a day?

Good to know: One day is really too short to see both parks. That's why our 'combo' itineraries foresee at least 2 days for Grand Teton and Yellowstone. So if you only have a day in the area, you'll have to choose just one park.

Which park is better Grand Teton or Yellowstone?

Yellowstone has 300+ miles of paved roads, while Grand Teton only has around 152. So yes, you do have a lot more wilderness to explore in Yellowstone than in Grand Teton. But bigger isn't always better. In Yellowstone, you might spend hours just driving from one attraction to another.