Hi there!
So you want to go to Devils Tower National Monument and Grand Teton National Park!
You will get to see some of the best places to visit in Wyoming!
In September and October 2021, I did a road trip from Devils Tower to Grand Teton National Park, and beyond.
It took me 4 days to drive from Devils Tower to Grand Teton National Park.
That is one way, from departing Devils Tower National Monument on the last day I was there, to entering Grand Teton National Park for the first time.
No, it doesn’t need to take you 4 days to drive from Devils Tower to Grand Teton National Park!
How long is the drive from Devils Tower to Grand Teton National Park?
Driving directly, it might take around 7 hours of driving time from Devils Tower to Grand Teton National Park.
Explore the map.
So, this means that it can be doable to drive from Devils Tower to Grand Teton National Park in one day.
Driving to Grand Teton from Devils Tower, you can enter through the Moran entrance. (There are a few entry stations for Grand Teton National Park.)
You can make your route from Devils Tower to Grand Teton National Park so that there are some Wyoming scenic byways along the way.
This will add on about 30 minutes of drive time compared to the quickest way to get there. No stops are necessary either, it can be all about the views as you drive!
But, if you do want to make some stops, then there are a few you can make along the way!
In which case, you may want to at least take 2 days to drive from Devils Tower to Grand Teton.
Below will show you one driving route to start to give you some ideas… the way I did it!
Download offline maps before you go!
It’s quite possible that you will have minimal data in some places as you are driving through Wyoming.
It will be best to download offline google maps before you go!
If you’ll be doing some day hikes in Wyoming, see the best apps for hiking in Wyoming!
More below for ideas on driving from Devils Tower to Grand Teton!
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Now…
What is there to see between Devils Tower and Grand Teton National Park?
Explore the map.
Driving to Devils Tower
Devils Tower is in eastern Wyoming which means that it’s near South Dakota.
If you will be starting your drive to Devils Tower from further east, then be sure to see the best places to visit it South Dakota and South Dakota campgrounds.
If you are driving from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton, then with a detour of an extra 1.5 hours or so of drive time, Devils Tower is on the way to Grand Teton National Park.
Driving the scenic route to Devils Tower from Mount Rushmore, it is about a 3 hour drive. If you drive directly without the scenic route detour, it’s around 2.5 hours or maybe a little less.
Be sure to see about how to drive from Mount Rushmore to Devils Tower for that.
And now, about the drive from Devils Tower to Grand Teton!
1. Devils Tower National Monument
Side note! Check the reviews at partner websites included below!
How to save money on your trip to Grand Teton National Park
I use hotels.com to look for the cheapest hotels. You can also try the expedia hotels site (good for car rentals too) or see if you like any of the vrbo vacation rentals or cabins.
/end side note
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Devils Tower National Monument is known for its iconic rock formation.
If you only want to dedicate 1-2 hours to Devils Tower, that’s completely reasonable.
There are some quick things to do at Devils Tower.
There is also the Devils Tower campground if you want to spend an overnight here.
See more about planning your drive from Devils Tower to Grand Teton:
2. Driving through Bighorn National Forest on the Cloud Peak Skyway
Driving directions: Buffalo WY to Tensleep WY
Along with being along the way to Grand Teton National Park, the Cloud Peak Skyway is along the way to Yellowstone National Park.
And it’s said to be the scenic route for the drive from Devils Tower to Yellowstone, and it’s also said to be the route with the least grade.
The Cloud Peak Skyway is a drive from Buffalo WY to Tensleep WY, and it will take you through Bighorn National Forest. You will also end up driving through the Tensleep Canyon.
The highest point you will get by driving the Cloud Peak Skyway is 9,666 feet as you are driving the Powder River Pass.
Driving from Buffalo to Tensleep without stops will take you less than 1.5 hours.
You can also take it even more slowly along the Cloud Peak Skyway by spend the night in Bighorn National Forest if you can manage to book a Wyoming national forest cabin!
There are chain hotels in Buffalo WY.
If you’re up for a solid day hike in Wyoming, the road to the West Tensleep trailhead is off of the Cloud Peak Skyway.
See more about planning your drive from Devils Tower to Grand Teton:
3. Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway
Driving directions: Thermopolis WY to Shoshoni WY
If you will be driving the Cloud Peak Scenic Byway then you will next naturally end up on the Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway to get to Grand Teton.
Yes, this is a scenic drive along a river through a canyon!
Next up, shortly after Shoshoni WY, you will pass through Riverton WY, which is a “major” city in Wyoming.
There are chain hotels in Riverton WY… and there’s also a Walmart if you need to load up on food and/or supplies!
4. Driving through Shoshone National Forest
No detour necessary to drive through Shoshone National Forest if you have been following the driving route above!
But, again, if you’d like to make a stop, then you might be interested in driving to Brooks Lake!
Aside from seeing Brooks Lake, which you can drive right up to (there is also a small campground along the lake), you can also hike in Shoshone National Forest to Jade Lake.
The Jade Lakes Trail goes to 2 lakes. Going to both of them is around a 5.5 mile hike. You might want to give yourself around 3 hours for the hike.
5. Driving through Bridger-Teton National Forest
And then Shoshone National Forest connects to Bridger-Teton National Forest, so once again no detour necessary.
You can drive with distant views of the Teton mountain range for your first glimpse of the Tetons!
6. Moran WY
Now, this is not exactly a “stop” to make (I did not do anything notable in the town of Moran itself besides sleep), but Moran WY can be a reference point on a map as a gateway town of Grand Teton National Park when you are driving from Devils Tower and driving through the Wyoming national forests mentioned above.
The main gateway town of Grand Teton National Park is Jackson WY or Jackson Hole. The hotels there are quite expensive though.
So I was happy to find a budget room at the Hatchet Resort located in Moran WY.
It was also a perfect location to stay in terms of driving from Devils Tower to Grand Teton. (map)
It was located on the main road right outside of Bridger Teton National Forest, and it’s about a 10 minute drive to the Moran entrance and the Grand Teton Scenic Loop Drive. (More on that next!)
7. Grand Teton National Park
You’ve made it to Grand Teton National Park!!
The 42-mile Grand Teton Scenic Loop Drive is the scenic drive of Grand Teton National Park.
Along the way you will also pass by the turn-off for Jenny Lake Scenic Drive.
And then hiking in Grand Teton National Park is also a thing.
There are shorter hikes (hiking from the Taggart Lake trailhead for example), and there are longer hikes (hiking from the Lupine Meadows trailhead for example).
For Grand Teton National Park, the most popular gateway town is Jackson WY or Jackson Hole.
See more about planning your drive from Devils Tower to Grand Teton:
- Best things to do in Grand Teton National Park
- Driving through Grand Teton National Park
- How to spend one day in Grand Teton National Park
Driving from Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton and Yellowstone are connected.
So moving on from Grand Teton National Park, it can be perfect to drive to Yellowstone National Park next!
You can make your first major stop in Yellowstone the West Thumb Geyser Basin.
This is a Yellowstone geyser basin where you can see many thermal features with a lakeside walk along Yellowstone Lake.
👆 It can be perfect to drive from Devils Tower to Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone! There are over 10,000 hydrothermal features in Yellowstone National Park! This includes more than 500 geysers! This means that there are truly so many things to do in Yellowstone National Park!
See more about planning your drive from Devils Tower to Grand Teton to Yellowstone:
- Driving from Grand Teton to Yellowstone
- Best things to do in Yellowstone National Park
- How to spend one day in Yellowstone National Park
And that’s one way you can drive from Devils Tower to Grand Teton National Park!
More for your Devils Tower to Grand Teton road trip planning:
- Best places to visit in Wyoming
- Wyoming national forest cabins
- Driving from Mount Rushmore to Devils Tower
- Best places to visit in South Dakota
- Campgrounds in South Dakota
- Things to do in Custer State Park
And, after Grand Teton National Park, maybe you want to keep heading west to Idaho and Craters of the Moon National Monument! And then you can make the return trip back east along southern Wyoming and drive through Medicine Bow National Forest and the Snowy Range Scenic Byway!
Or, after Grand Teton National Park maybe you want to loop back around and make the return trip to the east with a detour through North Dakota to go to another national park! (map) In which case…
HAPPY DRIVING FROM DEVILS TOWER TO GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK!