5 Must Do Things in Jackson, Wyoming and Grand Teton
There are certainly more, but I wanted to cover the 5 must do things visiting Jackson, WY and Grand Teton National Park. The first thing we realized about Jackson is that the weather can turn on a dime! When we landed, it was a flawless 70 degrees and sunny which was perfect for eating lunch outside. After wandering around town for the afternoon, we went to dinner wearing light jackets only to come out to sideways snow! Pack layers, no matter what time of year.
We did this as part of a larger trip that included Yellowstone. You can read about the Yellowstone portion in 5 Outstanding Days in Yellowstone National Park. The Glacier National Park part of the trip can be found here.
Arrival Day Musts
Once you’ve checked into your hotel, settle in, and spend some time exploring the city. If you get in around lunch, I recommend stopping at Picnic and grabbing their fresh made soups, salads, or sandwiches before you check in. Once you’ve checked in, be sure to ask the front desk about bear spray if you plan to do any hiking. After that, just spend some time walking around the Jackson Town Square. There are lots of shops and places to have drinks if that’s your fancy.
For dinner on the first night, we kept it kind of simple as we were a bit tired with all the travel. We decided on Snake River Brewing Co. for some low-key brewery food and great beer. If it’s nice out, they have a great outdoor area. The food is a couple steps above your average brew pub fare with things like Elk Bolognese and short ribs on the menu.
Must Do’s
One
After getting the lay of the land on our arrival day, we opted to hike to the top of Snow King Mountain. We took the Summit Trail which is about 2 miles to the top. If it has snowed the day before, be sure to have some good hiking shoes or boots. We did not, and I was on my hands and knees on some parts due to the ice. One thing not to do is opt for the ski lift back down if you’re not properly clothed and the weather has turned cold and windy. We froze our you know whats off, and it felt like the ride down took an hour but was about 5 minutes.
Two
Get out of town now that you got your feet wet with some hiking on Snow King. String and Leigh Lakes makes for a good warm-up hike of 1.8 miles and takes about 1-2 hours. It’s a flat, easy trail that’s great for all and has some great photo opportunities.
Three
Hike into Cascade Canyon. You can hike the entire canyon trail and then keep going on either the North Fork Cascade or South Fork Cascade. One tip is not to park in the Jenny Lake parking area. Pass that and park at String Lake, a tip our cousin Leslie told us about since she lived in Jackson. From here you can hike 1.4 miles until you hit the Cascade Canyon Trail. You’ll also avoid needing to take the ferry to that side of Jenny Lake or hike the 2.4 miles to Cascade Canyon from there. It’s also usually very packed and hard to find parking at Jenny Lake. The entire hike we did that day was just over 8 miles.
Four
After a long day of hiking, we found the perfect little spot called Bin 22 for some light bites and a bottle of wine. We did not have a full dinner there, but we will when we go back!
Five
See the National Elk Refuge! You can stop off the side of the road at several observation points to see the elk. During the winter they actually have sleigh rides through the refuge. They run December 17th through early April depending on conditions.
One last thing, is to have dinner at the Gun Barrel Steak & Game House. It’s an old school wild game serving steak house. I went with the Bison Ribs, and they were great! If you have another heavy meat monger or two with you, go for the Mixed Game Grill for $72.
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