The drive south out of Jackson starts with a small lurch of reluctance. The Tetons are still visible in your rearview mirror when you join US-89, and for the first twenty miles, through Hoback Canyon, the road follows the Snake River so closely you can hear it through the windows — fast and grey-green and a little cold-looking even in July.
That feeling passes. By the time you reach Alpine Junction and the valley opens into Wyoming’s Star Valley, something else takes over: the steady pleasure of a road that keeps rewarding you.
This is the US-89 corridor — the scenic answer to the Jackson-to-Salt Lake City question that most people don’t know to ask. The interstate option (US-189 to I-80 to I-15) is faster by about an hour. But it trades limestone canyons, a turquoise glacial lake, and one of Utah’s most underrated scenic byways for a lot of Wyoming scrubland and a long stretch of interstate. Take US-89.
The essentials
Distance: ~451 km (standard scenic route via US-89)
Drive time: 5–6 hours direct; plan 8–10 hours if you’re stopping properly
Route: US-89 south from Jackson through Star Valley, WY → Afton → Montpelier, ID → Garden City, UT → Logan Canyon → Logan → I-15 south to Salt Lake City
Best time: May–October. Peak Logan Canyon foliage is typically mid-October.
Worth knowing: Some optional detours (Intermittent Spring, Hardware Ranch) involve unpaved roads and need a high-clearance vehicle. Details below.
Hoback Canyon: the first 13 miles
Leave Jackson on US-89/US-26 south. Within a few miles you’re in Hoback Canyon, where the road narrows and the Snake River presses against the cliff walls on your right. Pull over at one of the small turnouts if you can — the canyon walls are striped with rust and cream, and the river is close enough that you can feel the cold air rising off the water.
There aren’t any services here, so fill up in Jackson before you leave.
Star Valley, Wyoming
The canyon opens abruptly into Star Valley, a 45-mile agricultural plain ringed by mountains that most people drive straight through. That’s a mistake.
The towns here — Freedom, Thayne, Afton, Smoot, Auburn — are quiet and a little faded, the kind of places where the feed stores are still open and the coffee is made in a pot. The valley itself was settled by Mormon ranchers in the 1880s, and the architecture reflects it: simple white clapboard, flat lawns, small chapels at every other corner.
If you need fuel or food, Afton (population around 2,000) is your best option. It’s also where you’ll find the Elkhorn Arch— a frame of interlocked elk antlers spanning the width of the main street, which is larger than it sounds and oddly touching — and access to the Intermittent Spring, three miles east on a gravel road.
About the Intermittent Spring detour
The spring pulses — about 18 minutes running, 18 minutes dry — in a rhythm that nobody has fully explained. It’s the only known intermittent spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and in late summer it runs on a reliable enough cycle that you can sit and wait for it.
The access road is gravel but passable in most conditions for standard vehicles. About 1.5 miles in, there’s a short hiking trail. Allow 45–60 minutes for the round trip if you want to catch a cycle.
Crossing into Idaho: Montpelier and the Lava Hot Springs detour
South of Afton, US-89 crosses into Idaho near the small town of Montpelier. This is a decision point.
If you want to add a worthwhile detour and an overnight stop, take US-30 west from Montpelier toward Lava Hot Springs(about 45 minutes). The town exists almost entirely around a set of natural hot spring pools on the Portneuf River. The public pools are mineral-rich, genuinely hot, and busy enough in summer that arriving before 11 a.m. or after 4 p.m. makes a difference. There are diving boards and water slides at the upper end if you have children, and a quieter swimming area downriver if you don’t.
Overnight options in Lava Hot Springs are modest but functional. If you’re splitting this into two days, this is the right place to stop.
From Lava Hot Springs, continue west on US-30 to Pocatello, then south on I-15 to connect back with the main US-89 corridor via Preston, Idaho.
If you’re doing the drive in one day, skip Lava Hot Springs and stay on US-89 through Montpelier, continuing south toward the Idaho-Utah border and Bear Lake.
Bear Lake, Utah/Idaho
Forty miles south of Montpelier, Bear Lake announces itself from a ridgeline above Garden City with a shock of colour that genuinely stops people in their tracks. The lake is a particular blue — vivid, almost Caribbean — caused by suspended limestone particles. Photographs tend to undersell it.
Garden City, the small town on the Utah shore, is best known for its raspberry shakes, sold at a cluster of drive-in stands along the main road. The fruit is grown locally, the shakes are thick enough to stall a straw, and stopping here has become something of a ritual on this drive. Arrive hungry.
Bear Lake is also a working recreation destination — boating, paddleboarding, and a state park campground on the south shore if you want to stay. But even a 30-minute stop from the ridge pullout is worth it.
Logan Canyon National Scenic Byway
From Garden City, US-89 climbs back into the mountains and enters Logan Canyon — 41 miles of road that winds along the Logan River through Cache National Forest. This is the section of the drive most people remember.
The canyon walls are limestone, stacked in horizontal layers and pale in morning light, darker by late afternoon. The river appears and disappears alongside the road. In autumn, the maples and aspens turn orange and gold in a dense corridor that lasts most of the drive. In summer, the canyon stays noticeably cooler than the valley floors on either side.
A few places worth slowing down for:
Tony Grove Lake — A 7-mile spur road north off US-89 (paved, but narrow and winding) leads to a cirque lake at 8,100 feet. The aspen groves on the way up are exceptional in October. Allow an extra hour.
Temple Fork / Spawn Creek — A handful of small turnouts with access to the Logan River, popular with fly fishers. Good for stretching your legs.
The summit — At the top of Logan Canyon, just before the descent toward Garden City (or, heading south, as you climb out of Logan), there’s a long views over the valley. Pull over here.
Logan, Utah
The canyon opens into Cache Valley and the city of Logan — Utah State University, wide streets, a 19th-century tabernacle on the hill. It’s a legitimate food stop with actual options.
A few that are worth the time:
Herm’s Inn — A long-running Logan institution in a converted house, known for breakfast and lunch. Cash only; expect a short wait on weekends.
Angie’s Restaurant — Diner food done correctly, open from early morning, reliable and inexpensive.
The Crepery — Savory and sweet crepes, good coffee, usually less crowded than the breakfast spots.
Logan to Salt Lake City
From Logan, US-89 continues south through Cache Valley before joining I-15 near Brigham City. The final 80 miles to Salt Lake City are motorway. They’re neither scenic nor avoidable — I-15 is simply the road in this section. Put on a playlist.
Allow extra time if you’re arriving between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on a weekday — the approach into Salt Lake from the north slows considerably.
The extended adventure route: 2 days, 486 miles
The route linked from this article (via MyScenicDrives) is a different trip entirely — longer, more remote, and genuinely worth considering if you have the time and the right vehicle.
It stays on US-89 through Logan Canyon but adds three significant detours: Hardware Ranch Scenic Backway (a dirt road wildlife area in the Cache National Forest, excellent for elk viewing in winter), Tony Grove Lake, and Old Ephraim’s Grave (a Forest Service site reached via a 9-mile dirt track that genuinely requires high clearance — don’t attempt it in a standard sedan or after rain).
The route then swings south to add the Nebo Loop Scenic Byway near Payson, Utah— a 35-mile mountain loop past Mt. Nebo (Utah’s highest peak at 11,877 feet) — before returning north on I-15 to Salt Lake City on Day 2.
Total: ~486 miles, about 10 hours of driving across two days. The overnight stop is in Payson, Utah.
This route is best in late September or early October, when the Nebo Loop aspen colour is at its peak. It’s not practical in winter — Hardware Ranch and Old Ephraim’s Grave are inaccessible when wet or snowed in, and Tony Grove Road closes seasonally.
Seasonal notes
Spring (April–May): US-89 is open and largely uncrowded. Snow can linger in Logan Canyon into April. Intermittent Spring runs strongest in late spring.
Summer (June–August): Peak season. Bear Lake and Garden City are busy on weekends. Start early.
Autumn (September–October): The best time to drive this route. Logan Canyon foliage peaks around the second or third week of October; the Nebo Loop runs about a week earlier.
Winter (November–March): US-89 stays open through Logan Canyon but can be icy and slow. Teton Pass (the approach out of Jackson) requires chains or AWD in storm conditions. Check Wyoming DOT and Utah DOT before leaving.
One thing to bring back
A bottle of Garden City raspberry jam from one of the roadside stands. It travels well, it costs almost nothing, and it’ll remind you why you took the long way.