The Tetons
When planning our trip to the two glorious parks that abut one another in Wyoming, I wondered whether we should see Grand Teton before Yellowstone lest the former be something of a letdown after the glories of our oldest park. I shouldn’t have worried—the Tetons are spectacular. Though contiguous, the two parks are very different in character. GTNP is more vertical, capped by the jagged peaks that explain its name—the three titties! The rugged mountains are dotted with lakes, providing many hiking trails that do not involve extreme elevation changes, though there are plenty of those as well.
The park runs north/south as does the Snake River that winds through it on its eastern flank. We found it easy to navigate here. The jagged, snow-covered peaks of the Tetons form a wall on the western side of the forests and grazing lands of the valley. While Jackson Lake is larger and Jenny Lake more famous, we greatly enjoyed our hikes around Leigh and Spring Lakes. The trails were mostly flat, well-marked and fairly easy despite frequent snow and ice fields that had to be traversed.
In Grand Teton we saw two large animals we had missed in Yellowstone, brown bear and moose. We were lucky to come upon three cubs playing while their mother kept watch. At first we were the only humans enjoying this sight, but a long queue had formed by the time we had taken dozens of photos and pulled away.
Staying in the town of Jackson meant we would not have to endure the dining indignities we had suffered in Yellowstone. We stayed at the Alpine House, a comfortable, charming inn within easy walking distance of everything. Just down the street, in the newly opened and gorgeous Hotel Jackson, we enjoyed the best meal of our time in Wyoming. The restaurant there is Figs. It is Lebanese, of all things to find in the Rockies, and our experience there was fantastic: the food, the wine and the service.
We roamed the town of Jackson like programmed tourists, taking photos in the square and having a drink in the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Many people have lamented that Jackson is becoming a mini-Aspen. As someone who always enjoys Aspen, that’s not the worst that could be said of Jackson. Yes, the town is growing and is already bougie, but with the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ski area and the Grand Teton National so close by, its popularity is only going to continue to grow. When the Jackson Hole Airport reopens this summer, it will have a spanking new runway that will doubtless attract more nonstop service from cities around the country. Better to get there while you can still afford it!
