Drive north from Teton Village through the Granite entrance this week and the Moose-Wilson Road looks the same as always. You pass Granite Canyon Trailhead and keep going toward the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve. At the Preserve the road ends. Grand Teton National Park has closed the stretch between the Preserve and Moose to all use from September 8 through November 15, 2026. KHOL put it in one line: "Drivers and cyclists coming north from Teton Village can get up to – but not pass – the Laurence S. Rockefeller Preserve."
For most of the year this road has two ends. This fall it has one, and that end is at Teton Village. Until the corridor closes to cars for winter, every car, bike, and hiker going into the park's south end has to come in from the Village side.
Why the Road Stops at the Preserve
This is Phase II of the Moose-Wilson Road project. The park is moving the road north of Sawmill Ponds so it meets a new roundabout on the Teton Park Road. The roundabout is being built just north of the Moose Entrance Station, where Menor's Ferry Road meets the Teton Park Road. Once it's done, northbound Moose-Wilson traffic will be able to get onto the Teton Park Road without going through a second entrance station.
This work is separate from the paving many locals remember. Phase I ran from 2022 to 2023. It paved the rough 1.4-mile section and upgraded the Granite entrance, the Granite Trailhead and Poker Flats parking, the Kaufmann Creek bridge, pullouts, and signs. Buckrail reported the road was fully paved in 2023. So the part you drive from the Village is the part that's already done. The construction is all north of the Preserve.
The park has spaced the closures across the season. The stretch between the Preserve and Moose was closed from May 1 to June 19. From June 20 through September 7 it was open, but with delays of 45 minutes or more and possible temporary closures. The current closure started September 8. NPS says it scheduled the work this way to get as much done as possible in warm weather and to reduce disruption in later seasons.
Some Jackson Hole residents use the Moose-Wilson Road as a shortcut to the airport or to WY-390, according to WyoFile. When the corridor closed for two days in July, Buckrail reported that travelers were sent around on WY-22 and US-26/89/191. That detour is now the route until mid-November. Drivers who do reach Moose from the highway should also expect delays of up to 20 minutes at the roundabout site, not counting the wait at the entrance station.
Death Canyon Is Closed, So the Park Points Hikers to the Village Side
The second closure matters more for hikers. Death Canyon Road and Trailhead are closed for the whole 2026 season. The old trailhead is closed to all traffic, including people on foot. The park's alert tells hikers to start from Granite Canyon, the LSR Preserve, or Taggart Lake instead. Taggart Lake is at the other end of the park, and its trailhead is only partly open while construction continues there. On its construction page, the park names two routes that start near the Village:
"Access to Phelps Lake, Death Canyon, and destinations beyond will still be possible from alternative trailheads, including Granite Canyon and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort."
So for this fall, one of the park's busiest south-end trail areas is reached from Teton Village. The routes are longer. KHOL reported that the Death Canyon closure has added mileage for hikers coming from other trailheads. The park also warns that parking at the Preserve is limited and waits can be long.
| Destination | How to get there this fall | What limits it |
|---|---|---|
| Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve | Drive north through the Granite entrance on the Moose-Wilson Road | 50-space lot open around the clock through October 31; Preserve Center closed since September 21 |
| Granite Canyon Trailhead | Drive in from the Granite entrance | Parking is limited; the park lists it as an alternative to Death Canyon |
| Phelps Lake and Death Canyon | Longer hikes from Granite Canyon, the Preserve, or Jackson Hole Mountain Resort | The old Death Canyon Trailhead is closed to all use for 2026 |
| Moose | Not by the Moose-Wilson Road; the detour runs via WY-22 and US-26/89/191 | Up to 20-minute delays at the roundabout site |
The Jackson Hole Mountain Resort route has its own fall timing. The Aerial Tram's last sightseeing day of 2026 is tomorrow, October 4. The Bridger Gondola runs sightseeing from October 5 through October 11. The resort's hiking page lists its hiking season as May through October. Its winter safety page says "No uphill traffic allowed." The resort hasn't published rules for hiking up the mountain between the end of gondola service and winter opening on November 27, so it's best to ask the resort before planning a hike that starts on its trails.
The Fall Calendar, Date by Date
Over the next eight weeks, the corridor goes from a construction closure to its normal winter closure. The dates overlap:
- October 4: The Aerial Tram's last day of summer sightseeing.
- October 5–11: Bridger Gondola sightseeing, the last lift-served way up the mountain before winter.
- October 31: Last day the 50-space LSR Preserve lot is open.
- November 1: The Preserve lot closes through April 30. The Moose-Wilson Road's usual seasonal vehicle closure also starts that day and runs until mid-May, depending on conditions.
- November 15: The construction closure is scheduled to end, and the corridor switches to winter recreation use as conditions allow.
- November 27: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort opens for winter.
Two details matter for anyone who walks or rides the road. First, the Preserve Center building has been closed since September 21 and doesn't reopen until after May 31, so only the parking lot is left this fall. Second, the park's January 2026 Superintendent's Compendium separates two winter stages. In the first, called Winter Road-Wheeled Access, walking and biking may be allowed on the closed road. Once the road is designated Winter Road-Oversnow Access, bikes are not allowed and travel is limited to skiing, snowshoeing, walking, and similar non-motorized uses. In winter the park leaves the road unplowed from Death Canyon Road to Granite Canyon Trailhead. The park's pages don't say whether cars can still reach the Granite Canyon parking area after November 1, so check road status before you go.
What the Work Leaves Behind in 2027
The construction is building toward a new layout for the corridor. The new Death Canyon Trailhead will sit about a mile from the old one. It will have restrooms, a hiker staging area, and about 90 paved parking spaces. Death Canyon Road will be paved and shortened by a mile, and the closed section will become an extension of the Valley Trail toward Phelps Lake Overlook and Death Canyon. Hikes into Death Canyon will be longer. NPS lists May 2026 to June 2027 as the timeframe for both the trailhead and the Teton Park Road roundabout. Buckrail reported in May that the facilities were expected to be finished by June 2027. The park says it sped up construction this year ahead of Grand Teton's centennial in 2029.
A bigger change was approved in August. On August 14, 2026, Acting Intermountain Regional Director Bert Frost signed an amendment to the Moose-Wilson Corridor plan. It adds a separated multiuse pathway along the corridor and a road realignment between Sawmill Ponds and Death Canyon Road. Both were options studied in 2016. Under the decision, the pathway has to run as close to the road as practicable to reduce effects on wildlife and wetlands. The park hasn't set a completion date. Its next steps are a project timeline and topographic surveys. WyoFile's August coverage noted cyclist safety as part of the debate. For Teton Village, the pathway would add a bike and foot route along the corridor that starts at the Village's own entrance. For now, nobody should plan around a date.
Before You Head Out
The conditions page, last updated September 30, warns that black and grizzly bears are active across the park, even in most winter months. It advises hiking in groups of three or more, making noise, carrying bear spray, and staying 100 yards from bears. Pets aren't allowed in the park's backcountry, so the longer Granite Canyon routes to Phelps Lake are for people only. The park says timelines can change. Its road construction page and alerts and conditions page are the places to check on the morning you go.
Bryan Lyster has lived and worked between Wilson and Teton Village since 2007, and changes in Grand Teton's south end affect how this side of the valley gets around. If you have questions about how corridor access, trailhead changes, or the 2027 projects might affect a Teton Village home you own or are considering, Let's Connect.
