Grand Teton National Park sits just to the south of Yellowstone, but the two parks are nothing like one another. Yellowstone is primarily a geyser show while Grand Teton is named for the forty-mile-long Teton mountain range, the youngest section of the Rocky Mountains, and it’s a non-stop parade of stunning vistas and natural wonders.
Essentially, you have Yellowstone to the north, Jackson Hole, Wyoming to the south, and then the nine snow-covered peaks that comprise the Cathedral Group in the middle. There’s Grand Teton Mountain, weighing in at 13,775-feet-high, and the other eight peaks are at least 12,000-feet-tall. When viewed from the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Highway, the main road connecting the two parks, they look like sharp teeth on the bottom of the big blue sky’s mouth.
Yellowstone spreads its riches around, making visitors travel long distances to partake of all its beauty. Grand Teton loads it all up along the eastern side of the spectacular mountain range. And wherever you stand, the mountains dominate the view like a permanent backdrop for one of the planet’s loveliest stages.
You start with the pointy mountains in the west, split them up with some craggy canyons, throw in a thick green collar of conifer forest, drop in some crystal blue lakes, and then frame it all with the Snake River winding through the marshy Teton Valley.
You can easily see all the main attractions in Grand Teton National Park in two days. And Jackson should be your home base. It’s all pretty straightforward.
As usual, I am going to share our itinerary from our recent Grand Teton trip in late September, so you will have a step-by-step game plan. And unlike Yellowstone, we never found ourselves rushing because the gotta stop spots are all in a line — Bang! Bang! Bang — right off the two main north/south highways which form a necklace around the Teton Valley.
On the first day, we just drive down the west side of the Snake River on our way from Yellowstone to Jackson, stopping at the splendid viewpoints along the way. On the second day, we hit all the key sights on the east side of the Snake River in the morning, and then hopped a three hour river trip in the afternoon. And our evenings were spent tripping around the jet-setter town of Jackson.
Jackson is a very interesting town, starting with the name. EVERYONE calls it Jackson Hole, but technically it’s name is Jackson, Wyoming. And that’s what Google maps uses. So, apparently the place has an identity crisis of sorts.
On our first night in Jackson, we were eating dinner at a fancy restaurant and I asked our waiter, who claimed to have lived there his whole life, why everyone called the town Jackson Hole.
And he said, “Because if you climb to the top of any of the surrounding mountains, you’ll see that the town sits in a big basin that looks kinda like a hole.”
“So, it was essentially a savvy PR move,” I replied as I raised my glass of Jenny Lake Lager beer. “The name sounds pretty cool and you won’t ever get confused with, say, Jackson, Mississippi.”
The young man nodded in agreement. “It’s all about branding, sir.”
YE-ha!
So, Jackson has always been conscious of its trendy mystique, starting with the make believe name.
As we were heading over to the world famous Million Dollar Saloon for an after-dinner drink, Inna said to me, “So what do you think of Jackson?”
I said, “Well, it think it’s a cowboy wannabe version of Park City.”
Park City, Utah, where we visited the week before, drips money and everything is shiny and made to order for the filthy rich. Jackson looked like it was trying to get there too, but still had a ways to go.
It wasn’t until I said that to our boatman the next day as were were drifting down the Snake River that I discovered just how wrong I was.
Our boatman, Jeff, who had lived in Jackson for sixteen years, laughed and shook his head. “Are you nuts? Jackson is two or three times more expensive than Park City. A one bedroom condo in Park City will run you a million. In Jackson it’s at least two. Four out of every five planes landing at the airport are private jets. The favorite line around here these days is that the billionaires are driving the poor millionaires out of town.”
That said, we were able to get an outstanding hotel room in the heart of the town for $200 — light years better than the $400 room at Yellowstone — and we found the cost of dining out quite reasonable. All in all, Jackson Hole is a great town to hang out in, and won’t break the bank.
JACKSON HOLE HIGHLIGHTS
- Million Dollar Cowboy Bar is a neat bar with saddles for bar stools. Good choice for local beers and whiskeys (Jenny Lake Lager & Wyoming Whiskey are both good choices). Live music most nights.
- Silver Dollar Bar – Another well-known local bar. The bison chili was quite tasty.
- Shootout in the Town Square – There is a wild west shootout at six each evening. It lasts less than 10 minutes and is goofy as hell. But it’s definitely amusing and classic Americana.
- If you get a bad weather day, you can easily spend a few hours at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. The outdoor sculpture garden is out of this world!
- https://www.wildlifeart.org/
https://www.facebook.com/inna.young/videos/pcb.10219815813486219/10219815817846328/?type=3&theater
- Jackson is less than 15 minutes from the entrance of Grand Teton National Park ($25 per vehicle and good for 7 days), so it’s easy to get into the park and no big deal to head back into town if you forget something or just want to chill at your hotel.
DAY ONE
- Drove to Jackson Hole, WY from the middle of Yellowstone. (115 miles – 3 hours) *Not including stops!
- Got expensive gas at Canyon Village and then drove south past Lake Village, Bridge Bay, West Thumb, Grant Village, Lewis Lake, Lewis Falls, and out the south entrance on a sunny day (65 miles from Canyon Village to Grand Teton National Park Entrance at 35-45 mph w/ vista stops).
- Ate brunch on the outside patio overlooking the Grand Tetons at the historic Jackson Lodge.
- Sacred Solitude Church
- Signal Mountain
- String Lake hike to Leigh Lake
- Jenny’s Lake scenic drive
- Chapel of the Transfiguration – Small Church where Presidents Jimmy Carter and Clinton worshipped. (10 minute stop)
- Hotel in Jackson Hole: The Lexington at Jackson Hole Hotel & Suites Easy walking distance to everything. Indoor Pool and Jacuzzi. Free Parking. Excellent breakfast buffet. And hot, homemade cookies every afternoon in the lobby!
- http://lexingtonhoteljacksonhole.com/
- Million Dollar Saloon
- Silver Dollar Bar
- Thai Plate for dinner (BYOB)
DAY TWO
- We left about 35 minutes before sunrise and took Highway 191/26 north to watch the morning sun light up the Tetons at Schwabacher Landing (stayed about 30 minutes) * Remember to take some snacks and coffee or juice.
- Snake River Overlook – This is where Ansel Adams took one of his most famous photographs. Easy pull-off. (spent 10 mins)
- Cunningham Cabin – Neat for some pictures of historic cabins and breathtaking landscape. (15 minutes)
- Oxbow Bend – Another beautiful spot similar to Schwabacher Landing with water, wildlife, and great scenery. (Definitely worth a 15 minute stop and walk around)
- Ate lunch again at the Jackson Lodge. You simply can’t beat this place!
- Returned on Highway 191 the way we had come that morning to National Park headquarters at Moose, Wyoming where the river trips depart. (35 miles)
- River trip on the Snake River through Grand Teton N.P. with SOLITUDE FLOAT TRIPS
- https://grand-teton-scenic-floats.com/
- We were hungry and thirsty after the river trip, so we stopped at a funky place with fake tepees and covered wagons called Dornan’s right above the river takeout that had food, a general store, bike rentals, gifts, etc.
*There’s a paved bike trail that parallels Highway 191 all the way to Jackson!
- After the river trip it’s only a 10 minute drive to the Moulton Barn and Mormon Row settlement. (1 hour strolling the grounds)
- Dinner at the Local Restaurant & Bar in Jackson. Yes, that’s actually the name of the place.
- Special thanks goes out to John Rible who traveled to Yellowstone and Grand Teton a few weeks before Inna & I visited. Much of our itineraries were a result of John’s initial recon.
Another grand slam great article, Steve! Way to go. We visit Jackson and vicinity several times a year…it’s less than 2 hours from our house in Idaho Falls. You covered all of the bases with your grand slam. Whatever you missed are things people need to find out on their own. Yellowstone is like a country within a country–huge and often inscrutable. “Liking” Y-stone is an acquired trait whereas it’s Love At First Sight in the Tetons.
The name “Hole” actually dates back to the 19th Century fur trapper days and was attached to Jackson long before the Marketing Department showed up. Wyoming has no personal income tax so wealthy Easterners can become Wyoming citizens and save millions of dollars each year. They think nothing of paying millions for ho-hum mansions. One of our favorite things to do in Jackson is pick up the real estate publications and read about all the various properties selling for more than $10-million. (Anything less expensive is low rent and downright boring.) There are always quite a few such listings. Congratulations on a splendid journey to both Y-stone & the Tetons!
They definitely show you the money. Park City which is pretty high end is like a red-haired step child when it comes to real estate.