The Lake

The Tetons with Lake Jackson in the foreground.

They say, "A picture is worth a thousand words." This is true in many cases, but in the case of scenery, a picture is not as good as being there. These mountains are breathtaking. This picture was taken from The Lake Jackson Dam.

There are two parallel roads traversing the park. US-191 more or less follows the Snake River through the valley known as Jackson Hole between the town of Jackson and Moran Junction. The other is the park road that runs between Lake Jackson Junction and Moose Junction. Be sure that you take the park road if you want to see the sights close up.
See the park map.

The park road requires a $20 per car admission fee for 7 days access to the park. $40 will give you access to both Yellowstone N. P. and Grand Teton for 12 months. And if you're 62 years-of-age or older, get the Golden Age Passport for $10. This allows lifetime entrance to all National Park System areas to American Citizens. This is one of the nicer benefits of reaching our "golden years" that we've noticed.

This dam was built in the early 1900s.

This is our first of several views of the Snake River.

With its headwaters high in Yellowstone National Park, the Snake River feeds Lake Jackson, then winds south through Jackson Hole near the town of Jackson and turns west as it grinds through the Grand Canyon of the Snake River. Then it passes into Idaho where it sweeps in a wide arc providing irrigation water for the prosperous farms of Southern Idaho. When it reaches Oregon it makes a right turn to flow north and form the Oregon-Idaho border. It continues north through Hells Canyon then makes a left turn at Lewiston to wander through The Palouse of Southeastern Washington and joins great Columbia River in The Tri-Cities area northwest of Walla Walla.

Just a bit too cold for swimming, the river hosts a small crowd of anglers seeking the fish that congregate near the spillway.