As you well know by now, I’m a crazy planner. At the beginning of each year I build out a document with each date of the year to keep track of my travel. I mark weekends, company holidays, and can’t-miss events like weddings. Then I look at my list of places I’d like to go and consider the season, length of trip, and so much more. Once I get a basic outline, I sometimes share it with close friends to see if they’d like to join us on any of our excursions.
This year, I shared it with a friend who happened to have the exact same dates and locations in mind for her own trip so we thought we’d do parts of it together. The Egresis are some of our favorite outdoorsy friends but they live in Washington State, so when we realized that we could be in the same place at the same time, it was just perfect.
Their trip was a little different than ours since they drove from the Seattle area and spent more time camping than we did. Plus, they took on quite a few more hiking miles and early morning and late night wildlife photography than we did.
Best Sights in Grand Teton National Park
There are lots of delightful viewpoints and turnouts along the main highway through the park, but most of them are dependent on the weather and fog. If you can’t see the mountain range in the morning, be sure to drive by again in the afternoon or evening so see if the clouds have lifted. We got so luck most days we were there but there was one day where you couldn’t see the mountains at all. It was so nice to have three days in the park so we could ensure we could see everything.
We particularly loved Jenny Lake and the Cascade Canyon Trail, but be sure to arrive at sunrise and get the first ferry across the lake to avoid the crowds. The perimeter trail along String and Leigh Lakes was amazing views as well.
Additionally, we enjoyed whitewater rafting on Snake River as well as Astoria Hot Springs.
Best Sights in Yellowstone National Park
You can’t visit Yellowstone without seeing Old Faithful erupt at least once. For best viewing, download the Yellowstone National Park app and then check the eruption prediction times so you can time your arrival. We chose to get there for the first eruption in daylight to avoid the hoards of people. Another tip is to check which direction the wind is blowing and snag a spot upwind so the steam from the geyser doesn’t block your view of the spewing water. We got to see five of the six major geysers by chance alone.
You can plan to be in Hayden or Lamar Valleys around dawn and dusk for your best chance to see wildlife, but so much of it is luck. We ended up seeing a grizzly bear, two wolves, dozens of elk, a handful of moose, deer, and hundreds of bison. Don’t worry about seeing bison, you likely won’t be able to get through the park without seeing at least a few blocking the roads. We also saw lots of bald eagles, ravens, roadrunners, grouse, hawks and so many other birds, plus a bobcat, pikas, and all kinds of varmints. Basically the more time you spend in the park with a keen eye, the more you’ll see.
West Thumb Basin, Artist Paint Pots, and Mammoth Terraces were some of our favorite micro regions.
To get the best views of the Grand Prismatic, you should actually take the Fairy Falls Trail. Otherwise you won’t be able to get the whole thing in your photos. You don’t end up doing the full 4+ miles.
Best Places to Eat and Drink in Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole Still Works: The only distillery in Wyoming so it’s a very small operation. Many of the spirits were smooth and sippable, and we especially loved the Absaroka which is a gin finished in whiskey barrels.
Jackson Hole Winery: Similarly, there are only two wineries in the whole state. This one was certainly delightful. With spectacular views and a wide range of yummy wine, we enjoyed our time here and even bought a bottle of pinot noir which we don’t normally like.
Bin22: We loved the wine bar and appetizers here. I just wish they did takeout.
Persephone Bakery: The food was good, and the patio was nice, but we were too cold to enjoy it. Come at opening to avoid the crowds.
Hand Fire Pizza: I love a good architectural repurpose and this pizza place is in an old movie theater. The food is delicious; the service was excellent.
The Bunnery Bakery & Restaurant: Our favorite bakery in Jackson. The food is yummy, but you right at opening to avoid crowds, even on weekdays.
Cafe Genevieve: Our favorite restaurant in Jackson. We loved our lunch here and considered returning for another meal. Definitely a must-visit on your own trip.
We didn’t actually eat at Piste Mountain Bistro but you should definitely take the ski lift up here at Teton Village after 5 p.m. when it’s free for the beautiful sunset views. Bring your own snacks as you’ll pay $8 for a bag of chips if not.
Don’t eat at Big Hole BBQ. Poor service and unappetizing food.
Tips for a Similar Trip
Jackson refers to the city, Jackson Hole refers to the region or valley.
We camped in Yellowstone so cooked all of our meals on a JetBoil backpacking stove. Easy to manage and we highly recommend, but do your grocery shopping in Jackson (Albertson’s was the best), because there isn’t much at the campground visitor centers and general stores up in Yellowstone. But the real tip here is to not plan on cooking eggs in the morning. Many of the geothermal features here smell like sulfur or rotten eggs so the morning we ate eggs, we both felt queasy. We know the eggs we ate were safe to eat, but our brains could not handle the contradicting smells.
It’s easy to explore Grand Teton National Park while staying in Jackson, but you should definitely plan to stay inside Yellowstone National Park. It’s a massive park that could take more than 2 hours each way to drive from your lodging outside the park. The main road is called Grand Loop and it kinda makes a big figure eight. We stayed at Canyon Campground and it was a perfect home base for exploring each day. Other convenient spots would be Norris or Madison Campgrounds. Regardless, you’ll need to book your campsite around six to nine months in advance because they fill up almost as soon as spots open up for the year.
We flew into Jackson Hole airport and I mentioned that we camped. If you have camped before, you know there is so much gear you need to bring. To cut back on luggage, we decided to sleep in our car. We specifically rented a large SUV that had lay-flat seats so we could do this comfortably with just our sleeping pads and sleeping bags. It wasn’t the most glamorous but camping never is, right?
One last fun fact: the Jackson Hole Airport is the only airport in the country that is located inside a national Park.
Enjoy your trip!