Snake River Canyon south of Jackson
— — the green water that won't sit still.
Not only on a wall.
“South of Jackson the Snake leaves the broad valley and squeezes into a narrow canyon, riding US 26/89 toward Alpine for about twenty-two miles. Rafts ride it through the summer, threading rapids with working names like Lunch Counter and Big Kahuna. The water runs cold off the Palisades release upstream, and the canyon walls hold afternoon shade longer than the valley. Cottonwoods crowd the banks. Bighorn sheep show up on the cliffs above the road. — from the studio
Snake River Canyon south of Jackson, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
The Snake River Canyon runs roughly twenty-two miles between Hoback Junction, eleven miles south of Jackson, and the town of Alpine at the head of the Palisades Reservoir. US Highway 26/89 follows the river the entire length through Bridger-Teton National Forest, with the river on one side and steep canyon walls on the other. The canyon section drops about 400 feet over its length and is rated up to Class III at typical summer flows. Most commercial whitewater trips put in at West Table and take out at Sheep Gulch.
The canyon's water comes off cold releases from Jackson Lake Dam upstream and is supplemented by tributaries through the valley. Summer flows commonly run 3,000 to 10,000 cubic feet per second through the canyon, and the named rapids — Lunch Counter, Big Kahuna, Three Oar Deal — build with the volume. Below Alpine the river backs into Palisades Reservoir on the Idaho line, slows, and reorganizes before continuing west across the Snake River Plain. The canyon stays runnable from late May into early September most years.
Access is straightforward: the canyon is on US 26/89 between Jackson and Alpine, a drive of about forty-five minutes end to end. Commercial outfitters operate from put-ins at West Table Creek and Pritchard Creek; the standard whitewater run is roughly eight miles. There are pull-offs and small day-use sites along the highway, but the canyon's outer rim is largely roadless. The Bridger-Teton National Forest does not charge an entrance fee for canyon access. Wildlife watchers occasionally spot bighorn sheep on the rock above the south side of the highway.