Lena and Zan are having a Wedding
Monday, July 28 - Friday, August 1
The fun starts at Tent City in Wilson, WY
Cocktail hour Monday-Thursday 5-8
6125 Burcher Road, Wilson, WY 83014
Friday, August 1: 4 - 8 pm
Picnic dinner and field games
Old Wilson School and Owen Burcher Park
5655 Main St., Wilson, WY 83014
Saturday, August 2
Wedding Ceremony: 5 pm
6155 West Hwy. 22, Wilson, WY 83014
Toasts
Dance Party
Sunday, August 3
Capture the Flag
Farewells
Monday, August 4
Go out and explore Wyoming if you're still here
The fun starts at Tent City in Wilson, WY
Cocktail hour Monday-Thursday 5-8
6125 Burcher Road, Wilson, WY 83014
Friday, August 1: 4 - 8 pm
Picnic dinner and field games
Old Wilson School and Owen Burcher Park
5655 Main St., Wilson, WY 83014
Saturday, August 2
Wedding Ceremony: 5 pm
6155 West Hwy. 22, Wilson, WY 83014
- costumes encouraged
- shorts and t-shirts entirely acceptable
Toasts
Dance Party
Sunday, August 3
Capture the Flag
Farewells
Monday, August 4
Go out and explore Wyoming if you're still here
Friday Night Picnic
Coop Dinner
Coop Dinner
Old Wilson School
and Owen Burcher Park
and Owen Burcher Park
Saturday Wedding Celebration
Huidekoper Ranch
(Fullers' Field)
(Fullers' Field)
Short Explorations: (1-3 hours)
A. Burcher Road Overlook
A. Burcher Road Overlook
- Straight up the road from Tent City, then cut left on a path through the woods, up to a clearing overlooking the valley
- Flat wandering trails in Snake riverbed
- Decent chance of seeing beavers, especially at dawn or dusk
- In Oxbow Bend wildlife refuge just below Jackson Lake Dam
- Has really excellent canoeing too, especially at dawn when the wildlife are out
- North and east from Jackson, past Kelly Warmsprings (a vaguely warm pond)
- Self-guided walk with bits of history about the landslide
- Great for swimming and canoeing, right in the heart of the park
- Usually very crowded, but still fun
- May also have tons of huckleberries, but it might be too early in the season
- Just down in Moose, this is a little history walk right by the river
- With lots of old photos about the development of Jackson
- Just past Moose to the south is a trail along the river
- Used to be (might still be) a popular moose hangout
- There is a trail all the way around the base of Jenny Lake (and String Lake for that matter), which provides great swimming and easy exploring without any commitment. You can also see about horsebackriding, if so inclined. Recommended parking (and good swimming) is in the little lot by the boat launch – in the Lupine Meadows entrance, not the main Jenny Lake entrance.
Half Day Hikes (3-5 hours)
I. Goodwin Lake
I. Goodwin Lake
- Drive up a really crazy pitted road behind the Elk Refuge into Curtis Canyon and to the road’s end, then hike up three miles to Goodwin Lake. Jump in, scream, nap and snack in the sun, go back down. 5-6 hours counting the drive and everything.
- Up Teton Pass past Wilson, this is a lovely afternoon hike where you're likely to encounter joggers with dogs, but not too many. The lake is lovely and the wildflowers are usually very good. This is also on the way down from Glory Bowl. To the lake and back is about 2-3 hours.
- This is a great hike to get up very high fast, but you have to drive to the top of Teton Pass, and then hike straight upwards for 45 minutes. After that, you find yourself in high meadows with really incredible flowers, overlooking the entire southern part of the valley, and you stroll across the top and then down into the canyon, past Ski Lake and out. Whole thing is probably a 3-4 hour walk.
- Two lakes at a friendly low elevation with lovely wandering trails through meadows. This can also be on the crowded side, but is also a shorter drive and very accessible, and always delightful. 2 miles to Taggart and another 2-3 to Bradley.
- This is at the bottom of Death Canyon, which can take you way up behind the Teton peaks. On the way up the canyon, about 2 or 2.5 miles in is Phelps Lake, a big, cold, beauty with a giant boulder to jump off, if you are so inclined. You can also reach the lake from the other side, an area marked as the Lawrence Rckefeller Preserve. You can also go north from the canyon trail and across the valley's edge to Bradley and Taggart lakes, too.
- This is kind of a neat spot in the north of the park and the 'Grand View' part is reputedly incredible. There are short and long trails available.
- This is a hill in the middle of the valley which would have lovely panoramic views. We think there's a trail to the top that's about 5 miles total. There's also a huge rock that's a popular climbing spot, down near the bottom.
Full Day Hikes (7-9 hours)
P. Sleeping Indian
Very Long Hikes (more than 16 miles) - 1 long day or overnight
T. Hurricane Pass
P. Sleeping Indian
- Possibly Lena’s favorite hike, this is a big mountain on the east side of the valley. From the top you can see 360° with the entire Teton Valley to the west and the Gros Ventre range to the east and south. It's a trek, climbing more than 4000 feet in 6-7 miles, but not too crazy of a trail and immensely satisfying. It's also not well known nor marked in guidebooks and you might get the whole mountain to yourself. Be careful to note where you come out at the top clearing, because it can be a little tricky to find the top of the trail again from the summit.
- Next most beautiful option, this starts at the very popular Jenny Lake/Cascade Canyon trail, and for the first mile or so is quite crowded. After that, the families and kids fade out and you wind almost flat through the most beautiful canyon in the park, eventually curving north and climbing up to the lake, which is in a basin just north of Teewinot Mountain. It's 16 miles round trip, so quite a substantial hike, but a good half of it is pretty easy going, and the whole way is really gorgeous.
- If you keep going from Goodwin Lake instead of a half day hike you can climb right up to Jackson Peak. This has a spectacular view like Sleeping Indian, but is a much easier hike because you climb a lot in the car before you start. Also you can jump in the lake on the way up and down, so that’s superior.
- This takes some adventuresome spirit because there's no trail the last two miles, and some creative rock scrambling too. But you're basically just walking up an open ridge toward the peak, so it's easy to figure out. It starts in Wilson by Ski Lake and goes past the lake and up to Phillips Pass.
Very Long Hikes (more than 16 miles) - 1 long day or overnight
T. Hurricane Pass
- Right smack behind (as in west of) the Grand Teton, this is the ridge of the mountains and you can see down into Idaho, as well as the spine of the Tetons going north and south. It's just cool. There are a number of ways to get here, but all of them are 8-10 miles from the valley. The nicest and easiest way is probably up the south fork of Cascade Canyon.
- This is a loop going up/down Cascade Canyon past Solitude Lake and up/down Paintbrush Canyon past Holly Lake. It’s probably 20 miles though. Lena once did it in a day and it was long, but fabulous. Includes jumped in four lakes in one day (Jenny, Solitude, Holly, and String). It's north of the main Tetons and you basically go up to the ridge and down the next canyon.
- The pass is 9 miles up Death Canyon, the big and dramatic canyon just south of the main Tetons. Like Cascade Canyon, it has an initial climb and then a long flat-ish stretch winding back into the mountains, then climbs again. From Fox Creek Pass you can go out onto Death Canyon Shelf, the vast wall at the back of the canyon, and from there north toward Alaska Basin and Hurricane Pass. It's just incredible up there, but it's definitely an overnight trip or a couple nights.
- A fantastic basin on the west/Idaho side of mountains, accessible from Teton Canyon on the Idaho side, or from the crest trail that follows the ridge of the mountains. It has amazing wildflowers and little lakes and very alpine features. It could be a day-hike if you start from Idaho (a 2 hour drive from the cabin).
- The Teton Crest trail runs along the back of the Tetons, and basically you can pick any canyon to go up and any one to come out. This will pass by most or all of the points mentioned above.
The Graber-Stine Teton Valley Exploration Guide
Other Fun Activities
Yellowstone!
Yellowstone!
- Yellowstone National Park is a geological wonderland just about two hours north. It makes a great day trip from Jackson. Main walks around geysers tend to be paved or wooden walkways, but there’s also remote wilderness hiking to be done. Don’t forget a camera in the event of bison-related traffic jams.
- Be prepared for more driving and more crowds than in the Tetons.
- Canoes can be rented for I think $50 per day, and they often have a rack to put on your car too.
- We recommend lake canoeing as serious leisure fun.
- Granite Hotsprings is a retreat tucked into the mountains south of Jackson. A bit of a drive, but takes you to wonderful picknicking and a natural hotsprings and swimming pool. Very family friendly.
- There's big rocks everywhere. You can hire guides or just go. Or we can hook you up with local climbers.
- The important thing to know is that there’s little or no sport climbing, so lots of gear is involved.
- There are lots of companies that will take you down the canyon through the rapids, which is pretty fun, especially if the boat is all you and your friends.
- Definitely available if you're into that kind of thing.
- Possibly an option next door to Tent City.
- Yee-haw. There's a rodeo every Wednesday and Saturday night. We don't particularly recommend it, but if you're interested, go for it.
- There's also a 'shoot-out' downtown at 6 pm every day. A little old west street theater for you.
- Paint Your Wagon is playing at the Jackson Hole Playhouse this summer. It is a very funny old theater run by a Mormon family, and it is the oldest building in Jackson. Don’t go if you are claustrophobic.
- Colter Bay museum is toward the north of the park, with lots of Indian stuff and history of the area.
- The National Museum of Wildlife Art is kind of cool. Lena used to go there and write about art in Spanish for high school Spanish class.