Visitor Centers and Museum
To best use your time, make your first stop the Moose Visitor Center (south end) or the Colter Bay Visitor Center (north end). Ask the ranger at the desk about park activities and services. And ask for tips about what you can see and do in the time you have. You may even decide to lengthen your stay in the Tetons.
Moose Visitor Center includes information services, a publications sales outlet, and a backcountry and boating permits office. This building also houses the park headquarters and all administrative offices. Summer hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; from Labor Day to mid-May 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The visitor center is on the Teton Park Road just west of Moose Junction. Check the map in advance. With such impressive scenery you can easily miss this junction.
Colter Bay Visitor Center includes the Indian Arts Museum, free film showings, a publications sales outlet, and a backcountry and boating permits office for the park’s north end. Summer hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; from Labor Day to the end of September, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed from October to mid-May. Check the map in advance and watch for the sign that will direct you to the Colter Bay area and its Colter Bay Visitor Center, 6 miles north of Jackson Lake Junction and 17 miles south of Yellowstone National Park. The Indian Arts Museum there houses the extensive David T. Vernon Collection of Native American Arts. Be sure to inquire about museum tours and Indian arts and crafts activities.
Colter Bay Visitor Center serves park visitors in summer.
Moose Visitor Center is open all year.
At either visitor center pick up a copy of the free park newspaper, Teewinot. Turn to the calendar-style activities schedule and look it over at the desk so you can get the ranger’s advice on the best activities for you and your party. Teewinot also lists concession-operated accommodations, services, and facilities. These offer many valuable ways to experience the park. The Teewinot is also available at park entrance stations, campgrounds, and concession facilities.
The Indian Arts Museum at Colter Bay houses a large Plains Indian collection. Ranger-guided activities throughout the park provide information about its natural and human history. The Grand Teton Natural History Association sells maps and other publications to enhance your understanding of the park.
Wayside Exhibits.
As you drive through the park on the main roads, take your time and stop at the wayside turnouts along the roads. At many turnouts wayside exhibits identify the scene before you and briefly interpret the natural and human history of Jackson Hole and the Teton Range. These turnouts are usually located at excellent scenic viewpoints and provide safe parking areas for viewing and photographing the mountain scene.