Jackson Hole Isn't Just for Billionaires

Taking a train around the entirety of Switzerland and stopping in most of their major cities along the way. Some of the standouts include sliding down an alpine slide, swimming in Lake Geneva, watching the World Cup projected onto a stone wall in a town square in Lugano and going to the top of Little Matterhorn. I shoot 35 mm film with my mom’s camera from the 80s (Canon AE-1) on vacation and I love when I can bring that camera back to places she brought it to over 30 years ago. Switzerland was one of those places.

Brooklyn, NY.

I fly a lot for work and my preferred airline is Delta. My Dad also worked for Northwest Airlines, which then turned into Delta until he retired so I am super dedicated to the cause. I’ve flown a lot of standby in my lifetime… I’ll usually try and prioritize booking flights through there to nurture my miles and status. Once you get reeled into the game, it’s hard to get out! Plus, there really is no rush greater than a free upgrade or traveling with someone and allowing your status to upgrade them too. 

My boyfriend (Mike) and I normally take two larger trips a year. We alternate between who chooses the destination. Once we select a place, we’ll usually make at least two big stops per trip. It’s hard for us to stay in one place, unless we’re only going away for a long weekend. Our strategy is, if we’re flying all the way to one part of the world, we might as well try and see all that we can see. I am the logistics pre-planner and Mike will put together the most beautiful detailed itinerary you’ve ever seen with a breakdown of options to do each day. Unless something needs to be booked in advance, we travel in a very relaxed and loose way. We decide to do things that feel easy to fold into our day, without overloading our trip to the point of exhaustion.

If I am going on vacation I want to feel fully enveloped in the place. I prefer cities to resort vacations. I could walk for hours around a new place to get a feel for the streets, restaurants and stores. I like to see what makes the culture of each place. I went on my first multi-day tour in the Scottish Highlands last year and it felt so nice to relinquish control and be brought around to see places of Scotland that only the locals would know. We built the 3 day tour into our 10 day trip, so it wasn’t the whole trip and we could still pick and choose how we wanted to spend most of our vacation. Shout out to Timberbush Tours. I would recommend their Isle of Skye tour to anyone.

Jackson Hole is a picturesque, western town on the outskirts of two, large majestic national parks. It’s the best intro for a city slicker to cowboy culture. The presence of the Grand Tetons are unmissable. They’re massive, craggy and the first thing you see when you fly into Jackson Hole Airport. Everyone should see Yellowstone National Park at least once in their life. It’s unbelievable that you can see Old Faithful, the Grand Prismatic Spring and their sweeping valleys in person.

You can drive all of Yellowstone in a day and do Jackson Hole + Grand Tetons in a long weekend. You’ll need to budget more time for hikes and excursions, but it’s totally doable to see these parts of Wyoming if you have limited time. Be sure to make your Jackson Hole dinner reservations in advance! Even in the off season, we had trouble snagging last minute spots for dinner.

Million Dollar Cowboy Bar is a little overhyped. I am not saying don’t stop by, but this place will likely be the most crowded place in Jackson Hole. There is usually a cover fee most nights too. It’s best for drinks and vibes, but not dinner.

The national parks are stunning. They will always be worth the hype and we need to make sure that we’re protecting them. I could drive around for days looking out the window and spotting animals. We saw 2 grizzlies, 3 moose, unlimited bison, and elk. Just make sure before you enter the park, you have everything you need downloaded, such as maps and a really long playlist. The lack of service makes you feel off the grid.

John D. Rockefeller is responsible for preserving the valleys of Grand Teton. Rockefeller, starting in 1927, secretly purchased most of the land around the Grand Tetons to preserve the wildlife and scenery. Most of the local population strongly opposed the land turning into a national park, since it would restrict their grazing rights as ranchers and they were concerned that the commercialization of the area would not preserve the cowboy culture they all loved. Rockefeller had trouble donating the land to the National Park Service, until 1943, when he gave FDR an ultimatum to accept the land or he would begin selling. FDR used the Antiquities Act to turn the land into a national monument, angering many of the locals, who fought to overturn this decision. The Antiquities Act allowed FDR to turn the land into a protected national monument without any congressional consent. In 1950, the government merged the land at the national monument and the rest of the existing Grand Teton National park, which consisted of the mountain range and glacial lakes. Afterwards, Congress amended the Antiquities Act to limit the power of the president to preserve land through a national monument.

Yellowstone National Park has more than 10,000 geothermal features (geysers, hot springs, mudpots, and steam vents) in the park, which is half the geothermal features in the world. It is also on top of a supervolcano, which last erupted 640,000 years ago.

Jackson Hole airport is also the only commercial airport inside a National Park. When you fly into Jackson Hole, you’re actually already in the Grand Tetons.

I can’t speak to it, but my Tiktok algorithm started showing me videos on beef between Colorado and Wyoming. Both states seem to think they are the better driver!!

For a day of driving and walking through nature, the best outfit is leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. Bonus points if the sweatshirt was just bought in the Old Faithful gift shop. Then to keep warm, I wore a barn coat with lots of pockets, a hat and sunglasses for sun protection. I will often choose comfort over style when traveling in nature.

Persephone Bakery’s steak sandwich (which is not currently on their seasonal menu, but I ate this sandwich twice!) The baked goods are exceptional there too. Picnic, which is their sister restaurant, had an herbed egg sandwich, which I think about all the time. The egg is served as an egg souffle. It was so silky smooth. I haven’t had anything like it since.

Nature!

Jackson Hole is broken down into two major neighborhoods. Downtown (Town of Jackson) includes the town square and shopping area. This is best for anyone who wants the whole Stars Hollow vibe with shops and restaurants. Teton Village is closer to the national park and ski resorts in the area. It’s at the base of the aerial tram, which takes you to the top of one of the peaks, where you can get alpine waffles.

I’m sure if I booked further in advance it would’ve been cheaper. We booked 2 months in advance and the flights were $517. The hotel was the biggest spend but we booked through Airbnb because it was cheaper. For 3 nights and 2 people plus taxes, it was $1449.11. Mike booked the car rental with his credit card points. We went in September which is the start of the off-season but there was an art festival which may have affected pricing.

Also, it’s important to know, many people go to the Tetons and camp and it’s soooo affordable. Camping in the Tetons costs about $26-$50 per night. You can be near Jackson Hole and not be swept up by all the money madness of a certain crowd. It’s definitely one of those places you’re like I could live here and then you’re like actually no I can’t at all!

Book in advance, in the off seasons and consider camping!