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Grand Teton/Yellowstone accessibility in Model 3
- Thread starter theeskimo
- Start date
wreighven
Member
Agree with @PLUS EV on that question; it really depends on what the winds in WY are doing, and your range on your Model 3 (since it varies wildly). The distance is right around 170 miles. I started from Rock Springs on June 28th with a 93% SoC in my LR+ X and got to the Jackson SuperCharger with 39% SoC. I get a rated 351 miles range, and used 54% of my battery (so by my math that is ~190 rated miles used). That day there was a strong wind from the Southwest.
Wyomingtim
Member
I've made that trip many times. Winter and summer. It's about 170 miles. It's uphill from Rock Springs to Jackson, and there's always some wind, so that hurts the range. But the speed limit is relatively low, so that extends your range.
Wyomingtim
Member
Ya know, you're right, to my surprise.
Rock Springs is 150 feet higher than Jackson. I'm just so used to Jackson being at a higher elevation relative to everywhere I travel, I didn't double check that. Sorry about that.
mbdionio
Member
darthkarl
Member
Done that trip many times in my LR model 3.
Range is not an issue with descent weather and road conditions. However, it might be a bit hairy in the middle of a sub-zero Wyoming winter with a 50 mph headwind. Regardless of range, 191 sucks balls in a blizzard in any sort of vehicle - many years ago I slid off that same road in a Ford Explorer in a Thanksgiving snow storm near Pinedale...very un-fun.
Just getting back from our Grand Teton/Yellowstone trip...it was a great success! Here are a few details on the stops we made, and things we did in the M3:
From Portland to Jackson:
From Portland our charging stops were: Pendleton, Baker City, Boise, Burley, Idaho Falls, and then Jackson. Overall, with a few random pull offs and stops, that route totaled 831 miles and took just under 14 hours. The drive was super smooth, and very scenic. Driving east in the Columbia River Gorge during sunrise is truly gorgeous
In Jackson:
We camped for the first 3 nights in the Jackson area at the Gros Ventre campground. It's first come first serve and usually reaches max capacity on a daily basis before noon. We got there around 730AM (they start filling spots at 8AM), and had no issues waiting in the short line and getting a spot. We charged up to 80% at the Jackson super charger the morning we got the campsite, and because everything in Grand Teton is quite close to the campground, we were able to get through 2 days going to Jenny Lake, String Lake, Colter Bay, and a bunch of other random pull offs to the north and east to observe the views and the wildlife before we were down to 20% and headed back into Jackson to charge.
Both Jenny Lake and String Lake are quite touristy, and less than 20% of the people we encountered felt the need to wear a mask. The earlier you get there the better to get a parking spot AND to avoid the busiest times of the day. We did the Jenny Lake trail to Cascade Canyon trail hike (we didn't take the boat across Jenny lake, too tightly packed with people...walking around is only an extra 3 miles round trip...) and it was beautiful. Much less crowded than the rest of the trails around the lakes.
The last big drive we did was to head north to Swift Creek Outfitters to do some horseback riding. It was 90 miles round trip, the last 7 miles of the trip were on a gravel road. No issues with the gravel or the quality of the road, the M3 handled it just fine. The scenery on the ride at Swift Creek is wonderful and the people there are very respectful and kind. We chose Swift Creek because they operate on a first come first serve basis, no reservations required for parties up to 8 people.
In Yellowstone:
The drive from Jackson to Yellowstone is really beautiful and there are plenty of cool spots to stop off on the way. We decided to drive through the south entrance of the park and swing by Thumb Geyser and a few other spots on our way to West Yellowstone, MT. The drive was a total of around 135 miles and was easily done with a 75% charge in the M3. We arrived with just above 30%.
From there we spent 1 whole day doing Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic. Definitely recommend looking up the projected eruption times of Old Faithful and getting there early in the morning if one happens to line up. It starts to get uncomfortably busy there around 930-10AM. Same with Grand Prismatic...it's gorgeous and a must see, but not much social distancing happens at either...and again, less than 20% of people using masks These drives are pretty close to West Yellowstone and were easily doable with only 70% charge. We ended our day with 35%.
The next day we headed up into the Lamar Valley, hitting Mammoth Hot Springs on the way. It was around 195 miles round trip for that drive, and because of the low speeds and regen it was easily doable with an 80% charge...We ended the day with 30% back in West Yellowstone. Again...you need to get to Mammoth early if you want to avoid large crowds. From Mammoth we drove out to Lamar Valley and hiked a portion of the Lamar Valley trail from the west side of Mount Norris south to Cache Creek and then around the south side of Mount Norris. Very pretty trail, makes you feel as if you're lost in the old west. The trail head is located right at the road and it seems to be a popular place for a portion of the Bison herd to hangout and graze. We definitely had to be careful to not get too close to a few pods of Bison, but it was very neat to observe them from a distance. We learned from our wrangler during our horse back riding adventure that the best way to safely hike around Bison is to gain their attention by using a non aggressive but audible whistle and to make sure their head turns so that they can see you and know that you are human. After that just don't get too close, and there shouldn't be any problems. You don't want to get too close and surprise them without them knowing you are there.
Our next day consisted of completely random driving around the park, stopping wherever we saw something interesting. We started the day with an 85% charge and our total mileage was around 200...we ended the day with 28% back in West Yellowstone.
From Yellowstone to Portland:
Heading back we decided to take the northern route through Montana. Our charging stops on the way back were: Butte, Superior, Spokane, Kennewick, and The Dalles. Definitely be careful on the stretch from Kennewick to The Dalles. This area has VERY high winds and even though I knew this, and used the wind setting (30mph) on ABRP, we ended up using 20% more battery than both ABRP and the car projected us to use. Luckily we charged to 85% in Kennewick and not the ABRP recommended 65%. We arrived in The Dalles with just 15% battery left.
From Portland to Jackson:
From Portland our charging stops were: Pendleton, Baker City, Boise, Burley, Idaho Falls, and then Jackson. Overall, with a few random pull offs and stops, that route totaled 831 miles and took just under 14 hours. The drive was super smooth, and very scenic. Driving east in the Columbia River Gorge during sunrise is truly gorgeous
In Jackson:
We camped for the first 3 nights in the Jackson area at the Gros Ventre campground. It's first come first serve and usually reaches max capacity on a daily basis before noon. We got there around 730AM (they start filling spots at 8AM), and had no issues waiting in the short line and getting a spot. We charged up to 80% at the Jackson super charger the morning we got the campsite, and because everything in Grand Teton is quite close to the campground, we were able to get through 2 days going to Jenny Lake, String Lake, Colter Bay, and a bunch of other random pull offs to the north and east to observe the views and the wildlife before we were down to 20% and headed back into Jackson to charge.
Both Jenny Lake and String Lake are quite touristy, and less than 20% of the people we encountered felt the need to wear a mask
. The earlier you get there the better to get a parking spot AND to avoid the busiest times of the day. We did the Jenny Lake trail to Cascade Canyon trail hike (we didn't take the boat across Jenny lake, too tightly packed with people...walking around is only an extra 3 miles round trip...) and it was beautiful. Much less crowded than the rest of the trails around the lakes. The last big drive we did was to head north to Swift Creek Outfitters to do some horseback riding. It was 90 miles round trip, the last 7 miles of the trip were on a gravel road. No issues with the gravel or the quality of the road, the M3 handled it just fine. The scenery on the ride at Swift Creek is wonderful and the people there are very respectful and kind. We chose Swift Creek because they operate on a first come first serve basis, no reservations required for parties up to 8 people.
In Yellowstone:
The drive from Jackson to Yellowstone is really beautiful and there are plenty of cool spots to stop off on the way. We decided to drive through the south entrance of the park and swing by Thumb Geyser and a few other spots on our way to West Yellowstone, MT. The drive was a total of around 135 miles and was easily done with a 75% charge in the M3. We arrived with just above 30%.
From there we spent 1 whole day doing Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic. Definitely recommend looking up the projected eruption times of Old Faithful and getting there early in the morning if one happens to line up. It starts to get uncomfortably busy there around 930-10AM. Same with Grand Prismatic...it's gorgeous and a must see, but not much social distancing happens at either...and again, less than 20% of people using masks
These drives are pretty close to West Yellowstone and were easily doable with only 70% charge. We ended our day with 35%.The next day we headed up into the Lamar Valley, hitting Mammoth Hot Springs on the way. It was around 195 miles round trip for that drive, and because of the low speeds and regen it was easily doable with an 80% charge...We ended the day with 30% back in West Yellowstone. Again...you need to get to Mammoth early if you want to avoid large crowds. From Mammoth we drove out to Lamar Valley and hiked a portion of the Lamar Valley trail from the west side of Mount Norris south to Cache Creek and then around the south side of Mount Norris. Very pretty trail, makes you feel as if you're lost in the old west. The trail head is located right at the road and it seems to be a popular place for a portion of the Bison herd to hangout and graze. We definitely had to be careful to not get too close to a few pods of Bison, but it was very neat to observe them from a distance. We learned from our wrangler during our horse back riding adventure that the best way to safely hike around Bison is to gain their attention by using a non aggressive but audible whistle and to make sure their head turns so that they can see you and know that you are human. After that just don't get too close, and there shouldn't be any problems. You don't want to get too close and surprise them without them knowing you are there.
Our next day consisted of completely random driving around the park, stopping wherever we saw something interesting. We started the day with an 85% charge and our total mileage was around 200...we ended the day with 28% back in West Yellowstone.
From Yellowstone to Portland:
Heading back we decided to take the northern route through Montana. Our charging stops on the way back were: Butte, Superior, Spokane, Kennewick, and The Dalles. Definitely be careful on the stretch from Kennewick to The Dalles. This area has VERY high winds and even though I knew this, and used the wind setting (30mph) on ABRP, we ended up using 20% more battery than both ABRP and the car projected us to use. Luckily we charged to 85% in Kennewick and not the ABRP recommended 65%. We arrived in The Dalles with just 15% battery left.
dgpcolorado
high altitude member
^ If you can assemble a list of the Supercharger Stations you visited, you ought to list them in the "Superchargers Visited" game thread:
Superchargers Visited
You just need the name of the Supercharger Station and the date you first charged at it and those who maintain the database will enter you into the game.
