The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Jackson, Wyoming is truly beautiful year round and offers an abundance of things to do. There are countless activities and excursions that you can participate in near the Jackson area. Additionally, it has an incredible food and drink scene with countless amazing restaurants to dine at. It truly is one of our favorite places we have been to in the United States and recommend it to any couple looking for a getaway. 

Where do you fly into?

Jackson has a small airport that you can fly into! Plus, it’s only about 10-15 minutes away from the town’s center. 

How do you get around?

We highly recommend renting a car. Jackson Hole has so much to offer from National Parks to excursions to dining. We recommend renting a car so that you can easily hop in your own vehicle and explore where it is that you want to go without having to schedule things out in advance or waiting for a ride. However, there are quite a few public transportation options and you could bike around some in the summer months!

When is the best time to visit?

You honestly can’t go wrong with visiting Jackson Hole any time of the year. However, our favorite time to visit is in the fall. There is nothing like seeing moose roam around, the fall foliage changing, the temperatures are perfect, and many restaurants and excursions are still open. 

Winter- Jackson is a great place to visit in the winter, especially, if you are into winter sports. There is an abundance of sports you can participate in including skiing, tubing, snowshoeing, and the list goes on. It’s important to note though that many restaurants close during the winter season.

Spring- This is a great time to visit Jackson and see all of its wildlife. The colder temperatures are slowly easing away and animals are starting to come out. However, it’s not uncommon for Jackson to receive snow storms in the spring months.

Summer- Jackson is a great place to visit in the summer months due to all of the outdoor activities and excursions available. Some activities include hiking, biking, kayaking, fishing, horseback riding, and the list goes on and on. Summer in Jackson is definitely the busiest time of year though so be prepared for crowds and book reservations for dining and excursions ahead of time. 

Fall- As I said above, fall is our absolute favorite time to visit Jackson. The crowds have cleared out for the most part, the temperatures are moderate, many excursions (such as horseback riding, ATV’s, etc.) are still available, and many of the restaurants are still open. It’s a great time to visit the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park as well. It’s important to check and make sure that what you want to do is still open though… we traveled to Jackson Hole in the middle/to late September and many restaurants and excursions were closing the very next week. 

Where to stay?

There are countless options to choose from when picking where to stay in Jackson Hole. We stayed in the Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa and absolutely loved it. We loved being right beside the mountains and their pool on the rooftop that overlooks the ski resort. However, we ate most of our meals in the town’s center so we constantly had to drive back and forth. BUT we loved the drive back to the Lodge. On our drives back to our hotel we would see endless animals and were able to take in the Wyoming scenery and talk about our day. However, if you want somewhere easy to stay within walking distance of countless shops and restaurants then we highly recommend staying anywhere within the town’s square. 

Here’s a short list of some of our favorites:

• Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa

• Hotel Jackson

• Rustic Inn Creekside Resort & Spa

• The Wort Hotel

Where to eat?

We created a whole list of our favorite places to eat in Jackson Hole, here. Honestly, we never tried a single bad restaurant when we visited though! It’s important to note that you need to book reservations WELL in advance. Many places book up several weeks ahead of time because of their popularity. 

What to do?

This really depends on what time of year that you travel to Jackson Hole. However, here is a list of some of our favorites below!

• Horseback Riding- All of our friends and family that had visited Jackson Hole before us said that we MUST go horseback riding when we visit so that’s one of the very first things we booked. We loved horseback riding because it was an awesome opportunity to spend time with such beautiful animals. Additionally, our excursion included riding the horses around and up on top of the mountains. It was a beautiful experience and Sam absolutely LOVED it.

• Visit Yellowstone National Park- We spent a whole day at Yellowstone exploring the different sites, looking at wildlife, and walking around the different trails.

• Hiking in the Grand Tetons- We spent a morning hiking in the Grand Tetons and it was stunning. 

• Rent ATVs- We rented an ATV for an afternoon and took it all around Jackson and on different trails that the shop told us about. I was pretty skeptical about this one but Sam really wanted to do it. I am happy to report back that we both loved the experience. It was so much fun doing something outdoorsy and winding through the different roads looking at the mountains and wildlife on an ATV.

• Eat and Drink- Jackson Hole had some of the most delicious food that we’ve ever had in our lives. It has such cute restaurants and unique bars that you must see and experience. 

• Activities on the water- Obviously this depends on what time of year that you visit but if you go in the warmer months, there are endless options to do around the water. You can kayak, fish, whitewater raft, swim, and so on.

• Activities in the snow- Again this depends if you visit during the snowy months but you can ski, snowshoe, snowmobile, and so forth. 

What to wear?

This definitely depends on what time of year that you are visiting Jackson. Some essentials that you HAVE to bring are a jacket, sunglasses, hiking shoes, and comfortable shoes to walk in. Make sure you check the weather before you depart for your trip to Wyoming and plan accordingly. 

Final Thoughts:

Overall, Jackson Hole remains one of our favorite places that we have visited in the United States. It has the perfect combination of things to do, places to eat, and romantic vibes. We loved our time in Wyoming and think everyone needs to visit Jackson Hole at least once in their lives!