Jackson, WY
 

My family will be arriving in SLC on a Saturday (in August) and my reservation for Yellowstone begins the following Monday. From my research it looks like Jackson, WY would be a fun place to spend 1-1/2 days. Is that a good place to spend our time, or is there something better between SLC and Yellowstone? Is there a reasonably priced hotel in Jackson(we don't need much, but clean and with a pool).

Depends on where you are from. We live in Colorado and went to Jackson and Yellowstone in 1999. The ski area is more reasonable than town and much more scenic. The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone park are a must, but I found Jackson to be over priced and very similar to tourist towns, such as Aspen and Vail, Colorado. Since I live in mountain country I thought the town was very overpriced, if I was coming in from the flatland i would find the scenery spectacular, everything else is just fluff. Book a cheap $100 if you can find it and enjoy the grat outdoors.

You might enjoy spending a couple of hours in Salt Lake City (Temple Square area in the center of town) and then driving north a couple of hours before stopping at a motel in someplace like Logan, Utah (depending on when your plane arrives in SLC). That would be cheaper than Jackson and get you within 3-4 hours of Jackson so you could arrive early and see what there is to see in Jackson that afternoon and evening. The next day you can make your way up to Yellowstone (another two hours or so) slowly and see the Tetons. Your entry fee covers both parks. <BR> <BR>Another choice might be to exit NE out of SLC (US89, I think it is) and go see Park City, where much of the action of the Winter Olympics will be held next year. Then you can head north on 89. There was a thread on this site not long ago detailing several routes from SLC to Jackson, discussing speed vs. scenery. Put Jackson or Tetons in the text box above and you can find it. My family will be there in August too!

Jackson is a fun place to stay before going into the parks. The wagon wheel is a large motel, fairly reasonable for Jackson, but there are many more to choose from. I prefer to be right in Jackson so you can walk around without needing to park. Many of the motels on the south end of town are a little distance from the action. The Wagon Wheel is only a couple of blocks north of the center. We have also stayed at the Antlers. <BR>If you wanted to stop in Park City it is east on I-80 from Salt Lake. Pretty good deals in the summer for lodging there. <BR>You may email me directly if yu have any other questions. <BR>Tony

Terri, we stayed at place at Jackson just outside of town past the Burger King. Very reasonable, quiet and pool was nice. Forget name. If interested send me e-mail. Our family, inlcluding two teen age gals also like Bubbas (local eattery near the Burger King). In fact we ate two nites there. Although we like Yellowstone much more due to wild life the Tetons are certainly something to behold. Depending when in August you will be there crowds may be already starting to thin out and for sure big game will be getting more interesting. <BR>Dick