A pathway that would connect Teton Village with the Moose entrance of Grand Teton National Park is up for reconsideration, thanks to a 2025 federal executive order, “Make America Beautiful Again by Improving our National Parks.” The park announced in March that this included planning for the Moose-Wilson Road.
Issued in July, the order reignited a decades-long debate that had been put to rest in 2016. That’s when a park study determined a bike path along the Moose-Wilson road could impact surrounding wetlands, wildlife corridors and a culturally significant site, ultimately opting against the pathway.
The order calls for projects “improving visitor services, enhancing access, and reviewing policies that may unnecessarily restrict recreation in national parks,” according to the National Park Service’s public affairs.
In 2012, Grand Teton proposed moving the road altogether, away from the wetlands. It’s looking at a pathway that would run alongside the now-paved road of one of the park’s frequently congested areas during peak season.
Friends of Pathways Advocacy Director Sam Petri said his organization has been hopeful for the pathway since it was first mentioned in park considerations about three decades ago. It’s the missing section of what bike enthusiasts call the “Grand Loop,” a 35-mile stretch to circumnavigate Jackson, Moose and Wilson by bike path.
Pushback from conservation groups has been swift.
Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation points to the area’s concentration of suitable habitat for migratory ungulates and grizzly bears.
“A new pathway could fragment this habitat more,” JHWF’s spokesperson Ashleigh Hillary said.
The area is also home to a significant cultural site.
But pathway proponents suggest the area is already impacted by the highly trafficked road.
A bike path could get visitors out of their cars, Petri told KHOL, which he believes means conservation and pathways groups share common goals.
“The idea that conservation and pathways are mutually exclusive, it inhibits solutions and overlooks opportunities to get people out of their cars and manage human use more responsibly,” Petri said
.For nearly three decades, park officials have wavered on whether to build the bike path. A final call from the federal government could take years.
This summer’s construction projects will close parts of the Moose-Wilson road until mid-June. The stretch of road where the pathway is being considered will be closed through June 19.
The nearby Death Canyon trailhead is also closed for a relocation plus a parking and trailhead improvement project. The Teton Park Road north of the Moose entrance could also close for up to two weeks to allow for paving.The projects come as the park gears up to celebrate its centennial in 2029.
