GTNP: weighing lodging options in vs. out of park
 

Hello all,

I am planning to see the Grand Tetons (and Yellowstone) in mid September, travelling with my husband and my parents. I am a bit stumped about where to reserve a room.

The plan so far is:
Day 1: arrive in Jackson Hole, stay the night;
Day 2: take the JH Aerial Tram, then drive to GTNP and stay for 2 nights
Day 3: float trip (possibly and early-morning one); plus other sightseeing.

I have heard great things about Jackson Lake Lodge and Signal Mtn Lodge, but they are a little PRICEY and there were complaints about MICE and such on trip advisor.

And this sounds very silly, but I was a bit shocked that there is no TV, radio or A/C (they had all of the above in the Grand Canyon lodges) in the park. I am sure I will survive, but after a long day of hiking, my husband and I are used to kicking back in the room and watching a movie....

...and having a nice dinner, which is more likely to happen in JH rather than in the park.

We just went to the Grand Canyon, and we stayed in the park (Yavapai Lodge); and to be honest, I didn't think there would be a significant problem if we had stayed in town.

From what I've read so far, the difference between in and outside of GTNP seems bigger, at least distance-wise---am i correct?

Will we regret staying all three nights in JH?

Teton Village is a group of condos renting out by the night right at base of tram and less than a mile from entrance to GTNP. Perfect for your size group - we had a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo (family with 2 teenagers) for far less than cost of 2 hotel rooms. About 10 minutes outside town of Jackson, so close enough to see things there as well.

I do not remember exact website - I think it is tetonvillageresortlodging - if you can't find it by doing a google search, search on this board, let me know and I will search thru my stuff. (We stayed there last summer - saw huge moose eating landscaping - closest we came entire trip to a moose)

Jackson Hole is the name of the valley; the town is Jackson. I presume you mean you will stay your first night in the town of Jackson. It's only a few miles to the park, so why would you change to a new hotel? Stay all three nights in the same place. If you want atmosphere, stay in the park. If you want convenience to restaurants and shops and hotel rooms with TV, stay in town or at Teton Village, which is the condo/ski resort area about ten miles (?) outside of town.

You said you were also going to Yellowstone. Do you have park reservations? If not, you'll probably want to stay in West Yellowstone. You could stay in Jackson but it's about 75 miles to Yellowstone, so staying in West makes more sense, although I stayed in Jackson two weeks ago and did both parks.

SammyCat:

We just returned from a trip out there, and stayed in the Trapper's Inn, right on the main street of Jackson. It IS a motel, but it was very nice, reasonable (at least then), and you could walk around Jackson (very picturesque place) from there.

By the way, the National Museum of Wildlife Art is just outside Jackson (to the north) and I highly recommend a visit. There is also a nice snackbar in there for lunch.

The Tetons are amazing. Enjoy!

Vermonter

On our last trip to the Teton, we decided to stay in Jackson for the six days we were there and did not mind the drive back and forth to the park. No, it's not as good as staying inside the park, but we didn't find it that much of a handicap. At the same time, however, I will add that we had stayed in the park on previous visits...and that option is certainly better. Then, again, it was cheaper staying in a motel in Jackson.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that if you want to save money, staying in Jackson is a viable option!