Jackson Point Overlook

Jackson Point Overlook is a roadside viewpoint high above Jackson Hole on Signal Mountain. The mountain rises almost 1,000 feet above the valley and is the highest point visitors can drive to in the park. The paved road winds uphill to the overlook, so you get the big view without a summit hike.

On a clear day, the Teton, Gros Ventre and Absaroka ranges and the Yellowstone Plateau spread across the horizon, with Jackson Lake and the valley below. For a photo that keeps the scale, leave the lake and tree-covered valley beneath the Teton skyline; a tight crop of peaks loses the distance between you and them.

The rounded hollows on the valley floor are kettles, also called potholes. Pleistocene glaciers scoured the valley and carved its lakes. When chunks of ice broke away, became buried in sediment and later melted, they left the bowl-shaped depressions you can pick out from above.

Interpretive exhibits add context to the view. Visitors report everything from a quiet pullout to parking congestion, and several favor sunset or golden hour. Give the stop some flexibility if the parking area is busy, and remember that the far ranges are clearest on a clear day.