August 16-21, 2025
I have always had an interest in visiting Grand Teton National Park, we just never made it happen. It’s not a cheap place to visit. Other places took precedence. Since we got the America the Beautiful annual pass to the national parks this year I decided it was finally time.
>>Getting Around
Flying – we flew directly into Jackson, which is the only airport location within a national park. I originally though we’d come in from Idaho Falls and make the (scenic) drive in but I got a deal on these flights that I couldn’t pass up. Both are small airports. The Teton range is pretty much an airport feature in Jackson, which was an awesome way to begin our trip.
Driving – as much as this area asks you to take shuttles/buses you really need a rental. We snagged ours directly from the airport. It wasn’t cheap, so unless you want to piddle around town the whole time splurging a bit a car is the way to go. There are guided tours that can be booked & I’m sure those would pick you up in town. Jackson has a few free parking lots/garages, you just have to find them, park, and walk everywhere.
>>Stay
Sassy Moose Bed & Breakfast – the location was PERFECT for us! We were on Moose Wilson near shops and restaurants sandwiched between a short ride southeast into Jackson town itself or north into the park toward Moose. Natallia is the sweetest host who cooks a hearty (included) breakfast daily and serves it at 8am. We were able to enjoy this amenity every other day because we like to beat the crowds to the trails. Our room was cozy and very clean. The bed & pillows were comfortable. We had a wood burning fireplace that was never used and there’s no air conditioning – it was cold enough at night to open the window and sleep without issue. A ceiling fan would go a long way. Luckily we brought our little portable fans with us. Each room also had a mini fridge. Natallia loaned us bear spray and has great knowledge of the area and numerous different hikes.
>>Hike/Play
First and foremost, National Parks require a park pass to enter. We purchased the America the Beautiful annual pass (online, arrived in 5-7 days). There is no entry reservation required for this park. Passes can be purchased at the entry gate.
Delta Lake from Lupine Meadows parking lot – logged 7.8miles & 2476ft ascent; some foresty shaded areas of gradual incline until switchbacks that aren’t too steep (views overlook Taggart & Bradley Lakes), in one switchback you take log stairs off the maintained trail to some boulder fields; staying RIGHT across the boulders keeps you moving across instead of climbing up to come back down (which is what staying left would do); there is a short steep climb and suddenly you are at the lake
Jenny Lake Loop via String Lake parking lot – logged 9.14miles & 1015ft ascent (if you stay on the lake trail it is way less); included Inspiration Point & first Moose Pond; lots of shady walking until you reach the ferry areas; saw mom & baby moose near Surprise Falls but no other major wildlife
Snake River White Water Rafting – Mad River Boat Trips: Small Boats… Big Adventure! School bus shuttles everyone to the launch point for an 8 mile stretch of rapids (level 2 & 3 at most); river ride was an hour and half as the season is winding down; so much fun for our first white water experience!
Drive the 42 Mile Scenic Loop – spend as much or as little time at viewpoints as you go; makes for a fun, more relaxing day; we went a little further north than Leek’s Marina & decided we didn’t want to add Yellowstone into an already long day; GuideAlong App was nifty but not necessary; went to Elk Flats twice to watch the bison and ended the day at Schwabacher’s Landing; highly recommend for scenery and wildlife
Laurance Rockefeller Center to Phelp’s Lake Loop – via Lake Creek Loop & Woodland Trail logged 3.52miles & 425ft ascent; tackled this as a sunrise hike (to be back for 8am breakfast) and had the whole place to ourselves until the last quarter mile of our return; had a magical moment with a big bull elk and 2 mule deer fawns still wearing spots; nice and peaceful
Raptor Discovery at Teton Raptor Center – neat birds of prey rehad facility; masters of the sky hour is what we attended in a gorgeous revamped old barn; saw 3 of their ambassador birds up close and learned lots about them; also learned a lot about what all the facility does
Mill Iron Ranch 2 hr Trail Ride – letting a horse climb 2000ft for you? yes please; scenery was great, views of Tetons in distance, horses are full of personality and well loved, trail was dry and dusty but very much worth it; property of the ranch is a great little spot
These activities were in the order we did them. Other things on my to-do list that time or weather did not permit were: Snow King Mountain Snow King Lite Evening passes (coaster, slide, mini golf, maze, gondola), Aerial Tram at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Astoria Hot Springs, via Ferrata, hikes: Phelp’s Lake Loop, Taggart Lake to Bradley Lake, Grand View Point, Lake of the Crags, Heron Pond to Swan Lake
>>Eat
Grabbed hiking snacks at the little Target Grocery between airport and our b&b. Gotta admit we had no bad food on this trip!
Cutty’s – variety of Philly cheesesteaks and sweet potato tots, pizza on another table didn’t look as yummy as our food, service isn’t fast but they were friendly
Persephone (West) – good coffee and pastries, didn’t make it back to try breakfast or more baked goods but so much looked amazing; super cute space
Mangy Moose – had hearty tacos to the left then some cold draft beers at the saloon; nachos looked huge and good at both spots; there’s a dessert I wanted in the saloon but we never made it back
Snake River Brewing – food was good but beer was better, they were slammed but it was rainy and a local concert on Snow King was sold out that night
StillWest Brewery – this place was also slammed inside and out, got spots at the bar downstairs after awhile, beer was hit or miss but it passed the time during the rain
Picnic – fancy sandwiches, cute spot
Roadhouse Taproom – good beer and extremely friendly people, it was trivia night; there is a full restaurant more in town as well
Sidewinders (on MooseWilson) – rolled in super late, we ate appetizers (wings and fancy pan dumplings) and dessert (skillet cookie with icecream) while sitting at the bar and it was all surprisingly super delicious
Blue Heron Lounge (at Jackson Lake Lodge) – views are incredible, had the best grilled cheese of my life, Jason’s burger was good, fun variety of cocktails
Dornan’s Pizza & Pasta – more gorgeous views; grabbed a pitcher of beer and a pizza that was worth the price tag; ended up with high dollar icecream from the bbq place across the parking lot too
Cafe Genevieve – drinks were okay; thought I would want brunch but the waitress talked me into a pimento hot honey chicken sandwich that was pretty good
The Local – highly recommend a happy hour reservation! All drinks & apps $15 & under were half off; this place was poppin!; drinks were great; truffle fries were okay but I did love the 2 dipping sauce options; tried out bison tartare and we ate it all
Blue Lion – easily our favorite meal of the entire trip; Jason had a drink and the lamb (the waiter chose for him between that and the elk) and I had elk bolognase, we shared dessert, there were zero crumbs left from any of the dishes; I wanted to try so much more of their food!
The Bird – this is south of Jackson so we caught it after leaving Mill Iron on the way back up; worth the few minutes drive and more awesome views; huge draft beers and most delicious burgers made from brisket (wasn’t ready for my bun to be an english muffin); wings looks amazing on another table
Breauxs Geaux 