Well, we just got back from one of our favorite vacations! My husband and I used to travel a lot pre-COVID and we were itching to go somewhere outside our state. We originally had a trip to Italy booked, which got cancelled, so we looked into the US to see where we should go. My husband has been wanting to go to Jackson Hole for the longest time and Grand Teton has been on the top of his list. For me, I prefer somewhere warm and tropical, but I was convinced after I saw everyone on Instagram flock to Jackson Hole.
I hope you enjoy this travel guide! I miss writing these and sharing all the details from our travels! This trip was originally meant for just my husband and I but we ended up having to bring our toddler last minute. So we also made some changes to our itinerary and weren’t able to go to as many restaurants as we hoped. I’ll still share my recs with y’all since I had a lot on my list. Hope you enjoy! Feel free to contact me on Instagram if you have any questions or leave a comment here.
GETTING THERE & TRANSPORTATION
The Jackson Hole airport is so nice and easy to travel to because it’s small so it’s super quick. There’s only a few gates and not really much else. You walk on and off the plane through stairs and it’s so so pretty! You have the Teton mountains in the background and it’s actually located within Grand Teton National Park. It’s also super quick to get through security.
I highly recommend renting a car, it’s definitely a must! Check online to see what rental car companies are available. We went with Hertz because my husband is a Gold member. The Hertz lot is steps from baggage claim, so you grab your bag and conveniently walk to your car. There are other rental companies and they have a shuttle for you to get to their lots.
WHERE WE STAYED
As I mentioned, this trip was originally just going to be my husband and I. We had booked a room at the Wort Hotel, which was recommended by friends. Since we were bringing our son, we decided to rent a house instead and so glad we did! This is where we stayed and we loved it! I got lucky finding this place a week before our trip. We unexpectedly got stuck in Jackson Hole for an additional day, so we rented a room last minute at the Anvil hotel. The hotel was affordable, in a great location right in the middle of town, super clean and charming. The downside is that you could hear the cars drive by and the walls were thin so we could hear other guests talking.
There are so many gorgeous houses in Jackson Hole and I totally recommend renting if you’re here for a while. Here are other hotels recommended:
- Four Seasons
- Amangani
- Mountain Modern Motel
- Rustic Inn
- Hotel Terra
- Springhill Suites
As far as the area goes, the main places to stay are downtown or Teton Village. We stayed about a mile away from downtown close to Snow King, and the location was perfect! Teton Village is great as well and super popular during the ski season, it’s about 18 miles away from downtown.
WEATHER
Jackson Hole is popular year round and probably most known for skiing, which the season starts at the end of November and it gets super cold. I think September is probably one of the best times to go. We came in October and a little past that but the weather was perfect! We got to experience fall and winter during our stay which was exciting. For the most part it was in the 60s and 70s during the day and 40s at night. We also experienced light snow one of the days.
We are all about eating good food and most of the time our trips are planned around that. This time I didn’t make any reservations so that was poor planning on my part. I highly recommend making reservations ahead of time, especially with COVID and limited seating.
RESTAURANTS
Jackson Hole (the city of Jackson, WY in particular) has so may great restaurants and I’m sad we didn’t get to try all the ones on our list. Here are the ones we went to that I loved as well as others that were recommended to us.
Persephone Bakery– my absolute fave! Best for breakfast and lunch. Everything was amazing here. I got the Herbed Omelette twice and I got the basil lemongrass tea daily. I also tried the prosciutto truffle sandwich and the baked potato soup- YUM! The pastries are also a must, I loved the blueberry muffin!
Hand Fire Pizza– We ordered takeout from here and the pizza was delicious! If you order the 16 inch you can do half and half of ingredients.
Local– This was highly recommended and I was so excited to go! I wanted so many things from the menu so we went for lunch and dinner! I highly recommend getting some sort of meat. My husband got the Filet and I got the Buffalo Wellington. I recommend the fresh onion soup, truffle fries, bone marrow and their sandwiches at lunch time are fab.
Pearl Street Bagels– They have two locations and perfect for on the go breakfast.
Glorietta Trattoria– This was at the top of my list. I definitely recommend a reservation ahead of time. We were’t able to get one but they do offer takeout so we did that on our extra night in Jackson Hole. Highly recommend Ricotta Cavatelli and the Elk Bolognese.
Others we didn’t get to:
- Bin 22
- Snake River
- Gather
- Hatch
- Glorietta
- The Bunnery (breakfast)
- Liberty Burger
THINGS TO DO / SEE
There’s so much to do in Jackson Hole no matter what time of the year you go! Obviously if you go in the Winter, skiing is a must 🙂
Grand Teton National Park
Probably our favorite from the trip! It was only 20 mins away from downtown and a super easy drive. We got the Annual National Parks pass for $80 but you can get the weekly one for $35 I believe. Definitely recommend you go early because it starts getting busy and super crowded. Recommended hikes– Delta Lake (9 mile roundtrip pretty difficult hike), Jenny Lake (easy to moderate hike, during the summer you can get on a boat to cross through), Hidden Falls, Phelps Lake (Very easy hike, about 3 miles roundtrip).
Mormon Row
This is part of GTNP but I wanted to dedicate its own section. Here is where you can find the iconic photo spot of the barn with the gorgeous mountain range background. It was quiet when we went and truly picture perfect!
Yellowstone
We knew we had to check this out, but I didn’t really do my research on what to expect. To get to the park from downtown Jackson it’s about 55 miles and an hour and a half (because of the roads and speed limit). The park is HUGE and takes about 4 days to fully see the whole thing. They also have hotels there if you’re interested. I would recommend getting there VERY early if you want to make most use of your time and probably spend at least the whole day there. You can also book a tour and have a guide take you through. Some of the things to see (besides wildlife)- Old Faithful, Geysers, Grand Prismatic Spring, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I’m not going to lie it was a lot for me and very overwhelming. Especially with a toddler, but definitely worth checking out. I also didn’t see many food options available but they did have some.
Teton Village
This is the well known Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ski area in the winter. Probably 20 minutes away from downtown. There are lots of shops and restaurants but nothing was really open this time of year. It was pretty to check out though! People also recommended the Gondola rides but sadly they were closed due to COVID.
National Elk Refuge
Located right next to Jackson and its about a 10-15 minute drive through the refuge, you pretty much just drive around and look for wildlife. We were able to see some pronghorn during our drive. They also have sleigh rides in the winter, which I would LOVE to do!
Downtown Jackson, Wyoming
The square is where you see the iconic antler arches. It’s super lively with lots of restaurants and shops. This is where we spent most of our time. We casually saw a moose walk by our car our first day there which was a great start to the trip! The video is saved on my Instagram Highlights.
There’s definitely so much to do for a town of only 10,000 people and you will never get bored between the town and its proximity to all the sites nearby! I would recommend staying at least 4 nights, but my husband would’ve loved to stay the full week. If you have any questions, send me a message! Thanks for reading!
I enjoyed the pictures. Hoping to visit this summer