- Distance: 41.6 Miles (66.95 km)
- Rating: 1-A, Gentle sweeping corners, immaculate asphalt - no surprises Ratings Explained »
- Travel: Either direction for best results
- Start: Alpine Junction, Wy
- End: Jackson Hole, Wy
- Fuel: Alpine Junction, Hoback Junction and Jackson Hole
- Along the Way: Follow the route of the Snake River as you head towards Jackson Holy, Wyoming
- Highlights: Fantastic Asphalt and spectacular scenery, be sure to go just north of Jackson Hole for a mesmerizing view of the Grand Tetons (We've ended the route at the Teton viewpoint)
- Advisories: Traffic. This is a major route into Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park
Summary
A Long, Long Time Ago (I can still remember), the Snake River Canyon used to be an epically technical canyon. Then during one dry summer an errant cigarette lit the steep mountains ablaze. After 40-years of full-fire suppression the mountain was loaded with dry, dead wood and grasses. You can probably guess the result. The following spring was unseasonably wet and without the vegetation to hold the soil together, massive mud-slides moved most of the road into the Snake River. It took almost ten years of major reconstruction (and delays) to rebuild the road - only the second time they made it "safer" (aka a lot less technical).
The result is a road that lacks the challenge or the cornering opportunites of yesteryear. This isn't quite as bad as it sounds. The heavy traffic load the road can endure used to mean slow going, but now, with widened lanes and lots of passing opportunities traffic moves through quite nicely and the scenery is still as fantastic as it ever was.
The best part of the route is still the section between Alpine Junction and Hoback Junction. The corners are more plentiful and the immaculate road surface is just twisty enough to keep you entertained while you gander at the amazing mountains, the river-rafter popular Snake river far below and savor the clear air. After Hoback Junction the road becomes quite plain but takes you to Jackson Hole, a favorite CanyonChaser weekend destination.
Do you have a better photograph of this Road?
If you do, email us your photograph and if we use it, you could win the Ultimate Collectors Edition of Faster, Faster and Faster and The Doctor, the Tornado and The Kentucky Kid a $40 value that has the Directors Cut of all three movies, remastered in 5.1 digital surround sound! More than seven hours of content!
Email photos to contest at canyonchasers.net with the name of the road in the subject line. (Or just click on that link and we'll fill in the subject line for you.)
Rate This Road
Have you ridden this road? How would you rate it? With one star meaning you thought this was a super-lame road with very little value, to five stars meaning that you felt like this was the mother of all roads - a road by which other roads should be judged.
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Ratings Explained
The CanyonChasers road rating is two parts. The first part, numbers 1 through 5, describe how technical the road is, with number 1 being a gently sweeping road and number five being very technical with challenging corners. The second part of the rating is a letter, A, B, C, D and F. The letter describes the quality of the road surface with A being perfect, pristine smooth and F being degraded, bumpy and crumbly. Rolling joints, tar-stips or "gummy worms" will drop the road one letter grade.
This road information is for planning and recreational purposes only. You may find that construction projects, traffic, or other events may cause road conditions to differ from the CanyonChasers ratings. Ratings may not be applicable to all riders, all bikes and all skill levels.