Snake River Webcam – Riverbank Views South of Jackson

The Snake River Webcam looks across the Snake River from the bank at Snake River Cabin and RV Village, a 19-kilometer (12-mile) drive south of Jackson, Wyoming. A broad bar of gray cobbles fills the foreground, the river slides past in a smooth green sheet, and a steep slope of sagebrush, grass and dark conifers climbs from the far bank, with a distant summit at the right edge. Boats float through the frame, and on the morning of October 10, 2026, a small craft with several people aboard drifted past the gravel bar. See Jackson Hole, which streams about two dozen live cameras around the valley, runs the camera.

About the Snake River at Hoback Junction

The Snake runs about 1,740 kilometers (1,080 miles) from its start in Yellowstone National Park and is the largest tributary of the Columbia River. Out of Yellowstone it passes through Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park, a natural glacial lake enlarged by Jackson Lake Dam, then meanders south down the valley of Jackson Hole. Below the town of Jackson it forms the Snake River Canyon of Wyoming, turns west and crosses into Idaho, where Palisades Dam holds back Palisades Reservoir. The name grew out of a misread hand sign: the Shoshone sign for salmon was the same as, or close to, the common Plains sign for snake, and Plains peoples called the Shoshone the Snake People.

The camera stands on the riverbank at Snake River Cabin and RV Village, on U.S. Highway 89 roughly 2 kilometers (1.3 miles) north of Hoback Junction. The property rents cabins in nine layouts alongside RV and tent sites, and whitewater outfitters collect rafting guests at the property. The community around the junction is Hoback, a census place in Teton County at 1,792 meters (5,879 feet) that counted 1,176 residents in 2010.

A short way downstream, about 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of Jackson, the Hoback River joins the Snake. The Hoback rises at Hoback Peak in the northern Wyoming Range and runs 89 kilometers (55 miles), squeezing through the steep, narrow Hoback Canyon before the junction, and it is protected as a National Wild and Scenic River. It takes its name from John Hoback, who traveled with the Astor Expedition and used the river as a passage from the Snake to the Green River.

Weather and Climate on the Snake River Near Jackson

The closest long-term weather records come from Jackson, about 110 meters (360 feet) higher up the valley. Its 1991 to 2020 normals put the January average high at minus 3 C (26 F) and the low at minus 14 C (6 F), and about 199 centimeters (78 inches) of snow falls there in an average year. In winter, snow can cover the gravel bar and the far slope, leaving the dark conifers as the main contrast in the frame. Spring is slow, and April still averages 10 C (50 F) by day and minus 3 C (26 F) at night.

Summer days are warm and the nights stay cold. Jackson’s July average is 26 C (79 F) in the afternoon and just 5 C (41 F) at night, and ten years of modeled weather data for the cabins make July the driest month, with about 15 millimeters (0.6 inches) of precipitation. October averages 13 C (55 F) by day and minus 4 C (25 F) at night, and in the second week of the month the far bank shows yellow leaves against the evergreens under low gray cloud.

Things to Do Near Hoback Junction

South of the junction the Snake enters its canyon, and the Alpine Canyon run there is the most popular whitewater on the river. Commercial trips cover the 12.7 kilometers (7.9 miles) from the West Table put-in to Sheep Gulch, a Class III stretch of Wild and Scenic river that thousands of people raft each summer. Big Kahuna, about 8.8 kilometers (5.45 miles) into the run, is known as the biggest hit on the Snake, and paddlers surf the waves at Lunch Counter. From Jackson the bus ride to West Table takes about 30 minutes, and guests at the cabins are picked up on site.

Upstream on the Hoback, the highway through Hoback Canyon leads to the Hoback Basin, once known as Jackson’s Little Hole, and the small town of Bondurant. North of the cabins, Jackson has the elk antler arches on Town Square and the National Elk Refuge, created in 1912, where an average of 7,500 elk spend the winter and horse-drawn sleighs carry visitors out among them. Snow King Mountain, Wyoming’s first ski area, rises on the southeast edge of town, and Grand Teton National Park fills the northwest of the valley.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More Wyoming cameras, from Jackson’s Town Square to Yellowstone, where the Snake begins, and a town on the Little Snake River:

• Jackson Hole Webcam
• Yellowstone National Park Webcam
• Baggs Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Snake River Webcam located?

The camera is on the bank of the Snake River at Snake River Cabin and RV Village in Teton County, Wyoming, roughly 2 kilometers (1.3 miles) north of Hoback Junction. Jackson is a 19-kilometer (12-mile) drive north, and Grand Teton National Park lies beyond the town.

What can you see on the Snake River Webcam?

A cobble gravel bar in the foreground, the Snake flowing across the middle of the frame, and a steep far bank of sagebrush, grass and conifers with a summit at the right edge. Boats sometimes pass on the river, and the trees on the far bank change color with the seasons.

What is the weather like on the Snake River near Jackson?

Cold, snowy winters and warm, dry summers. In nearby Jackson, January averages minus 3 C (26 F) by day and minus 14 C (6 F) at night, July averages 26 C (79 F) by day and 5 C (41 F) at night, and about 199 centimeters (78 inches) of snow falls in an average year.

Where does the Snake River start and end?

It starts in Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming and ends in the Columbia River, of which it is the largest tributary. Its full length is about 1,740 kilometers (1,080 miles).

Can you go whitewater rafting on the Snake River near Jackson?

Yes. The Alpine Canyon run in the Snake River Canyon is the river’s most popular whitewater trip, 12.7 kilometers (7.9 miles) of Class III water from West Table to Sheep Gulch, with rapids such as Big Kahuna and Lunch Counter. Outfitters also pick up guests at the cabins.

Why is it called the Snake River?

The name comes from a misunderstood hand sign. The Shoshone sign for salmon was the same as, or close to, the common Plains sign for snake, and Plains peoples called the Shoshone the Snake People.

Where does the Hoback River meet the Snake River?

Near Hoback Junction, about 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of Jackson and a short way downstream of the camera, after the Hoback leaves its narrow canyon.

Source: See Jackson Hole (SeeJH)