Tips on Visiting Wyoming

We had such a great time visiting the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming this past summer (2011) that my kids are still asking if we can go back *every summer.* Several friends asked me the scoop on planning a vacation there, so I detailed our experience below. My Mom researched our activities and lodging, so she gets all the credit. I am breaking it down into three categories: Transportation, Lodging, and Activities.

First, Transportation. You’ll need to decide if you want to fly or drive there. Definite pros and cons to both. It was a big family trip for us, with my parents and both of my sisters and their families, and we all opted to drive (from northern CA, Chicago, and Michigan). The reason we chose to drive is that my husband LOVES road trips, and there are lots of great sights to see along the way. Also, air fare to Jackson Hole is very pricey to their tiny airport. I was told it averages $600 a ticket. We left on a Wednesday after work from Chicago, drove 6-7 hours and made it to Fairmont, MN where we stopped for our first night. Thursday was another 7ish hours of driving. We made it to the Badlands (in South Dakota) by mid afternoon. We took a 1 hour drive through this scenic wonder, stopping at a few spots along the way. It was very hot there in July and we could not stand to be out of the air conditioned car for very long but you can enjoy a lot of the beauty from the car. The famous Wall Drug is near the Badlands, so we checked that out, met up with our family for dinner, and then went to see Mount Rushmore. We stayed near Mount Rushmore at a nice “rustic” place in the mountains (there is a cheesy touristy area near here you’ll probably want to avoid), the K Bar S Lodge (in Keystone). Friday was a long 9 hours of driving but I will tell you that it was breathtaking and amazing, truly a highlight in my life, never to be forgotten. Driving through billion year old rock formations inspired my soul. We saw snow, waterfalls, and lots of mountains. We arrived at Jackson Lake Lodge in the Grand Teton National Park around 7 that night. It was very exciting to see the “Watch out for Bear and her Cubs” signs along the road. Between the three days of driving to get there, we clocked in about 23 hours of driving.

On our way home we drove the quicker route through Nebraska and Iowa. We made it in two days, 10 hours per day of *boring* driving. The most interesting part was driving though Wyoming (different road than the way there), driving hours without seeing any houses, buildings, or signs of life anywhere. There were two times as we traveled along the two lane highway, where one lane was shut down and we had to wait about 20 minutes while the oncoming traffic used our lane. This is when I started saying “This would never fly in Chicago!” We also saw a beautiful lightning storm (no rain) at night in Nebraska.

On to Lodging. We stayed at the Jackson Lake Lodge, which is the largest hotel in the Grand Teton National Park. It is closed in the winter and you really have to plan ahead to get reservations here during July - August. My mom said there was a pre wait list that she got on in the fall, 1.5 years in advance. Then she had to call again a few months later to get on the real waitlist (she had to reserve many rooms for our large group). We stayed in the lodge with the Mountain View, full view of the Grand Tetons and wildlife frolicking about. My sister stayed in a cabin. Although this would sound preferable, the Cabin was the same size as a hotel room and the view was of a parking lot. There may be cabins with a mountain view though (just avoid the parking lot view!). This hotel is in the center of the park, perfect for hiking, and also has a pool and $5 pony rides. There was a diner in the hotel that we ate at frequently. You are really getting “away from it all” as there is no TV and no A/C. There is more traditional lodging in the touristy town of Jackson Hole 45 minutes away (and fancy places like Four Seasons or Rustic Lodge Inn). Jackson Lake Lodge is just 1 hour to Yellowstone. Jackson Hole is 45 minutes in the other direction, so from Jackson Hole to Yellowstone it takes about 1 hr 45 mins. Our favorite restaurant close by was Leek’s Pizzeria at Leek’s Marina. I have no input about camping or renting a home there other than that it would be nice to have a kitchen. And I hear the campgrounds book up quickly far in advance too. When deciding where to stay it’s really a question if you want to be surrounded by wildlife and hiking trails, then stay in the park. If you want restaurants and shops, stay in Jackson Hole.

The hotels and contact info of where we stayed:

Hampton Inn, Fairmont, MN 507-235-2626

K Bar S Lodge, Keystone, SD 605-666-4545

Jackson Lake Lodge, Moran, WY 307-543-2811 http://www.gtlc.com/lodging/jackson-lake-lodge-overview.aspx

Days Inn, ?, NE (we tried several places that were booked up, we learned that even in NE you need to make reservations in advance during the busy summer travel season)

And finally, the most fun topic, Activities. We stayed for one week and did the following: horseback riding, white water rafting, Yellowstone, gondola ride, calm dinner river float, hiking, fishing, shopping, and a Covered Wagon Dinner show.

1. Horseback Riding- For many of my family members this was their first time riding and a highlight of their trip (including my husband). My kids could not go, as children had to be at least 6 years old. (they enjoyed the pony rides back at the hotel.) The horseback riding was booked through Yellowstone Outfitters.

2. White Water Rafting- The Snake River was especially high in the summer of 2011 due to lots of snow the prior winter. This made our trip wild and we actually flipped our boat. It was very scary and I was glad our kids weren’t there. Different companies have different regulations based on the intensity of the river. Our trip was through Barker-Ewing, a very safe and highly respected company, and I believe they only let teenagers and older on their white water boats the week we were there. Another family we met booked their rafting trip through Lewis & Clark, and they were allowed to bring their 7 year old daughter on the trip. Our boat trip included stopping for breakfast along the river bank. The pancakes were delish.

3. Yellowstone- We left early in the day to avoid the crowds getting into the park. It was just one hour from Jackson Lake Lodge, so we had a full day to enjoy at the park. The geysers were beautiful and lots of fun. There are many spread out, so you drive, park, walk to the geyser, walk back to your car, then drive to the next site, park, walk a ways to the next point of interest, then walk back to your car. So if your kids are very young they may get tired of the walking (under 6). We ran into this problem. I recommend seeing Old Faithful and the surrounding geysers first while they have their energy. I also recommend getting your kids their National Park Stamp books if they don’t already have them. We got many stamps on this trip! One note about bears- a man was killed at Yellowstone by a bear the day after we were there. He got between the mom and her cubs. You can buy bear deterrent. It was $70 at our hotel but we saw it at Kmart for $50.

4. Gondola Ride- We went to Teton Village in Jackson Hole (where all the skiing is) and took a Gondola up to the top of the mountain for spectacular views. In the summer there is Mountain Biking on the skiing hills.

5. Calm Dinner River Float- This is similar to white water rafting but without all the white water. The whole family (including young kids) was able to go on this scenic relaxing tour down the Snake River. This was again booked through Barker-Ewing and included a tasty riverside dinner.

6. Hiking- there are many hikes at all skill levels in the Grand Teton park. I went on a hike around Jenny Lake with my parents and sister. This was a highlight for me. Our kids were not old enough to handle this type of hiking but hiking is the reason I would love to go back. My other sister and brother-in-law went up the steep intense hiking trails. We also saw mountain climbers. I was hiking ahead by myself for a while and very nervous about running into moose or bear.

7. Fishing- the men in the group went fishing at Coulter Bay. You need to buy a license and you can rent a boat there. They did not have much luck.

8. Shopping- the ladies and kids went shopping in Jackson Hole while the men went fishing. Lots of great boutiques and cute lunch spots. I bought a cowboy hat and my sister got cowboy boots.

9. Covered Wagon Dinner Show- We went to the Bar T-5 Covered Wagon Cookout and Show in Jackson Hole. Everyone had a great time with the cowboys and Indians riding around the wagons on horseback. My husband even got picked to be in the dinner show! Bart5.com

My only other notes are to bring lots of suntan lotion (due to the high altitude even my lips got sun burnt), and lots of layers of clothing. It’s warm to hot during the day and very cool at night. A few of us got nose bleeds from the high altitude and I did have shortness of breath (you have to be careful when hiking). Email me or comment with any Qs!