Going Places with Lucy & Leo

June 27

Two years ago we stopped in Jackson Hole for a few days on our way to Yellowstone and we loved it so much that we decided that the next time we passed close to this area we would make a point of staying for at least a week to enjoy all this town, the surrounding valleys and national parks have to offer. The difference this time is that we arrived  in our motor home which in itself is a totally different experience.

Our campground, The Virginian, is right in town so we could walk or bike (which we did most of the time) to the center of town for lunch or shopping. The entire town is biker friendly with almost every street offering bike lanes, making it safe and easy for you. The shopping and eating in Jackson is incredible, they have every kind of restaurant you can think of and delicious bistros and bakeries. As far as shopping there are art galleries galore and small boutiques with all kinds of cute stuff to buy. There are also the ubiquitous run of the mill touristy gift shops but even those are cute when placed around a town square with Elk Antlers Arches at each corner, and the whole town then surrounded by spectacular mountains all of which somehow makes everything so much nicer in my book.

The weather during our week’s stay was nothing short of Chamber of Commerce spectacular so we decided to put away our hiking boots and take out the bikes as we did not get to do any biking on our first visit here. I’ll just pause here to say that the town of Jackson is a cycling mecca. The Valley of Jackson Hole has over 56 mikes of paved pathways that link to the Teton Village and to The Grand Teton National Park. All these (we didn’t do 56 miles) we found to be scenic to say the least.

One of our favorite ride is through the National Elk Preserve which is a 5 mile ride one way from the entrance of town to the entrance of the Teton National Park. We did this ride by parking at the town visitor center which connects directly with the bike path. You can ( if you are that fit) continue into Grand Teton and bike over 100 miles of breadth taking trails many of them paved and some for hard core mountain bikers. We stuck to the paved ones.

We also biked another beautiful paved bike path that takes you from Jackson Hole up to the Teton Village. The path parallels the Moose-Wilson road. Once at the Teton Village, we had a tasty lunch at the Alpenhof Lodge before returning back to Jackson. A wonderful 15+ mile ride that more than took care of the lunch calories we consumed.

Tomorrow we ride again, off to Glacier National Park. We said goodbye to Jackson with a nice bottle of wine and some good eats at The Wort Hotel’s Siver Dollar Bar and Grill. This hotel is  somewhat historical as it was the first luxury style hotel built in Jackson with great location right downtown. The building is brick Tudor style and the interior rooms have a western theme and decor. The bar spills into the street for great outdoor seating and we had been eyeing it all week and decided to try it. They have a bar menu and a restaurant menu both available outside but we went for the bar menu. The portions are big so we shared ( I’m  trying to cut back) . Sharing is caring after all 🍷