Jackson, WY is a popular place for people to visit due to its proximity to two beautiful National Parks, fun downtown area, skiing in the winter and more.
We spent six days there on our 50 state road trip with an additional person. Shae’s dad joined us as visiting Yellowstone National Park was one of his bucket list items, so we flew him out from Virginia.
The three of us (and Truffles) had a wonderful time there – here’s everything that we got up to in Jackson.
Where We Stayed In Jackson
We stayed all six nights at the Homewood Suites in Jackson. This is one of Hilton’s extended stay brands and we booked our stay using points as the cash rate was so absurd (more than $750 per night).
Although it was an expensive stay points-wise too, it did at least get us a one bedroom suite which was a decent size and included a full kitchen. The living room and bedroom had a shared fireplace, breakfast is included for all guests and it’s in a great location for exploring downtown Jackson.
What We Did In & Around Jackson
Yellowstone National Park
Our primary reason for staying in Jackson was to give us a chance to visit Yellowstone National Park. It probably wouldn’t place in my personal list of top 10 National Parks, but it is one of the most unique National Parks in the country due to the abundance of geysers and hot springs throughout the park. You can read more about our visit to Yellowstone here.
Grand Teton National Park
Yellowstone National Park isn’t the only National Park near Jackson. In fact, there’s a National Park significantly closer to where we stayed – Grand Teton National Park.
It came about its name due to the size of the mountains there and provides a stunning backdrop. The drive from Jackson to Yellowstone takes you through the park, so that gave us a good chance to admire the scenery.
On our way to Jackson initially, our route took us down through the park. We happened to arrive at sunset which turned out to be a great time to visit because there are lovely sunset views behind the mountains…
…and you might have a better chance of seeing bison grazing.
Jackson Hole Aerial Tram
While I was working, Shae took her dad for a ride on the Jackson Hole Aerial Tram – here’s her account.
I took my dad up to the Jackson Hole Aerial Tram while we were staying in Jackson, WY. It takes you up to around 10,000 feet to look out over the area.
We started by grabbing a drink and relaxing. Dad was having some ongoing health challenges, especially with the altitude, so we took our time. We then grabbed our tickets and boarded the tram straight away. There’s an elevator up to the tram deck available for those who need it, but you may need to ask to use it if your accessibility needs aren’t immediately obvious.
The tram takes its time and the guide gives information on the ride up. It paused as we went up to collect an engineer, but we just paused while he jumped on since he rode the rest of the way up on top of our tram car. One of the coolest features you’ll see on the way up is the 45° ski slope off the side of the mountain.
At the top there’s information about the temperature and there are different hiking paths and lookouts you can walk to. During the winter season (we were there just before it began) it’s all skiing trails. I went up to the summit for a few extra pictures while my dad waited at the cafe. He was already struggling with the altitude in Jackson (coming from coastal Virginia), so moving up another 4,000-5,000 feet was tough on him, even with his oxygen machine. On that note – there’s a medical supply store in Jackson that I recommend checking out if you have medical needs while you’re in town – we were able to rent a car charger for dad’s machine for a really reasonable price and it was a life saver.
It was a really fun experience and I highly recommend it if you’re in the area.
Mama Mimi – Thomas Dambo Troll
We love finding Thomas Dambo’s trolls around the world, so we were pleased to discover that one of his sculptures is in Jackson. It was especially fun getting to find one there as it was the first time Shae’s dad had a chance to see one in person.
See more photos of Mama Mimi and how to find her in this post.
National Museum Of Wildlife Art
Just a few miles north of downtown Jackson is the National Museum of Wildlife Art. This is a superb gallery featuring – you guessed it – lots of wildlife art. One of my favorite pieces was Chief by Robert Bateman which was created specifically for the museum. It’s acrylic on canvas and is even more impressive in person than the photo below might suggest.
Elk Antler Arches
In the center of downtown Jackson is Jackson Town Square, a one square block park with elk antler arches at all four corners of the park where you enter.
In keeping with much of Jackson, Jackson Park sadly doesn’t allow dogs inside, so Truffles had to stay outside of it.
Where We Ate & Drank In Jackson, WY
Palate
One of the reasons we decided to visit the National Museum Of Wildlife Art was because we wanted to have lunch at Palate, a restaurant that’s on site. Palate can be paid for through the inKind app and seeing as we still had a lot of referral credits in the app, the meal was free (other than the tip that has to be paid for separately).
I started off with game stew that contained elk, bison, lentils, quinoa and greens which was very nice and didn’t taste too gamey despite its name.
For my entrée I ordered a bison gyro which came absolutely loaded with meat (very tasty) with a side of house made chips (also very tasty).
Shae meanwhile ordered their French onion grilled cheese and added steak which she thought was delicious and subbed the side of chips for a cup of the game stew.
Snake River Brewing
One afternoon while I was working, Shae took her dad to Snake River Brewing. He’d enjoyed the beer, so a couple of days later Shae and I returned so that I could check it out.
I usually like getting a beer flight at craft breweries so that I can try several of their beers. There were quite a few I was interested in at Snake River and the bartender said I could get a flight containing each one, so who was I to turn her down?! The beers were all very good, with the darker ones being my favorite (as I suspected as that’s usually the case).
One of the nice things about Snake River Brewing is that it’s one of the few pet-friendly spots in Jackson, so Truffles was able to join us and enjoyed sunning herself in their beer garden.
Corbet’s Cabin Top Of The World Waffles
When Shae and her dad traveled up the Jackson Hole Aerial Tram, they stopped in at Corbet’s Cabin and grabbed some freshly made waffles and hot cocoa. You can even make them boozy cocoas!
Wyoming Whiskey
Wyoming Whiskey has a tasting room in downtown Jackson where you can sample some of their whiskeys and buy a bottle (or more). Shae and I went there to do a tasting and loved their whiskey, but not so much the person leading the tasting as he wasn’t at all personable or welcoming.
[…] was a very interesting place to visit as it’s unlike most other National Parks. The National Museum of Wildlife Art was excellent despite the fact that I’m not normally into art galleries. It was great to […]