Moran Junction to Moose

South of Moran [1], U.S. Highway 26/89/191 immediately crosses the Buffalo River (a.k.a. Buffalo Fork of the Snake River), where bison were once abundant. With a little help from humans, bison have been reestablished and are now often seen just south of here along the road.

Teton Viewpoints

Several park road turnouts provide popular photo-opportunity spots, the most famous being Snake River Overlook. Ansel Adams’s famous shot of the Tetons was taken here and has been imitated with less success by generations of photographers.

Throughout the summer, a progression of different flowers blooms in the open sagebrush flats along the road, adding brilliant slashes of color. They’re prettiest in late June; in the high country, the peak comes a month or more later than elsewhere.

Just north of Snake River Overlook is the turnoff to Deadman’s Bar. A steep partially dirt road (not for RVs) drops to one of the primary river-access points used by river rafters. The river bar received its name from an incident in 1886. Four German prospectors entered the area, but only one—John Tonnar—emerged. Bodies of the other three were found along the Snake River, and Tonnar was charged with murder. The jury in Evanston believed his claim of self-defense and he was set free, an act that so angered locals that they vowed to take care of future Jackson Hole [2] criminals with a shotgun. A skull from one of the victims is on display in the Jackson Hole Museum.

Schwabacher Landing sits at the end of a one-mile gravel road that splits off just north of the Glacier View Turnout. It’s a pleasant place for riverside picnics, and some of the most famous Teton Range photos—the ones you see in local galleries—were taken just a few hundred yards upstream from the parking area. Schwabacher Landing was formerly a common starting point for rafting trips, but the river channel has shifted westward, making access difficult. Most floaters now put in at Pacific Creek or Deadman’s Bar.

Cunningham Cabin

The turnoff to the Cunningham Cabin is six miles south of Moran Junction. The structure actually consists of two sod-roofed log cabins connected by a covered walkway called a “dogtrot.” Built around 1890, it served first as living quarters and later as a barn and smithy. A park brochure describes the locations of other structures on the property.

Pierce Cunningham came here as a homesteader and, with his wife, Margaret, settled to raise cattle. Although this was some of the better land in this part of the valley, the soil was still so rocky that they had a hard time digging fencepost holes. Instead, they opted to build the buck-and-rail fences that have become a hallmark of Jackson Hole ranches.

Cunningham Ranch gained notoriety in 1893 when a posse surrounded two suspected horse thieves who were wintering at Cunningham’s place while he was away. Vigilantes shot and killed George Spencer and Mike Burnett in an example of “mountain justice.” Later, however, suspicions arose that hired killers working for wealthy cattle barons had led the posse and that the murdered men may have been innocent.

Spread Creek is just north of the Cunningham cabin; it gained its name by having two mouths, separated by a distance of three miles.

Triangle X Ranch

Triangle X Ranch is one of the most famous dude ranches in Jackson Hole [2]. Although it’s on park land, the Turner family has managed Triangle X for more than 60 years. (One of the owners, John Turner, was director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the first President Bush.) Stop by just after sunup to watch wranglers driving 120 head of horses to the corrals. It’s a scene straight out of an old Marlboro ad.

Southwest from Triangle X, the road climbs along an ancient river terrace and passes Hedrick Pond, where the 1963 Henry Fonda movie Spencer’s Mountain was filmed. Although the book on which the movie was based was set in Virginia, the producers found the Tetons a considerably more impressive location. Trumpeter swans are often seen on the pond. Hedrick Pond isn’t visible from the road and there are no signs pointing it out, but you can get there by parking near the S-curve road sign 1.4 miles south of Triangle X. The pond is a good example of a kettle pond, created when retreating glaciers left behind a block of ice covered with gravel and other deposits. The ice melted, leaving behind a depression that filled to become Hedrick Pond.