Unlock with our anniversary: four digits, month then day.
Not quite. Think August.
A field guide to one week in the Tetons: four mountain days, one rodeo, and an anniversary at 6,300 feet.
Home base is Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa in Teton Village, at the foot of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. The tram, the gondola, the spa, and three of our five dinners are all within a five-minute walk of the room. No rental car, and no need for one.
Out · Sun Aug 2
Delta 464 / 417 via Salt Lake City
Boston 11:15 AM → Jackson 5:00 PM
Home · Fri Aug 7
United 2032 / 1693 via Chicago
Jackson 7:30 AM → Boston 5:31 PM
Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa
3385 Cody Lane, Teton Village, WY
Sundance Jr Suite · king
Check-in Sun 4:00 PM · Check-out Fri 11:00 AM
Front desk 307-201-6066
Weather · showing typical early-August conditions for now; the live forecast fills in automatically as the trip comes into range.
Thursday. The outfitter turns you away without the right feet.
Wednesday morning. The ranch checks before you mount up.
"Jackson Hole" is the whole valley; "Jackson" is the town. We sleep in Teton Village, 12 miles northwest of town. Every place on this trip is pinned below: tap a pin or a row, then "Open in Google Maps" hands it to your phone for directions.
Terrain shows the mountains, satellite shows what it actually looks like. Zoom in and every pin picks up its name.
These are the same places saved to our shared "Jackson" list in Google Maps. Tiles need a signal; the pins, names, and links work either way.
Open the full list in Google Maps
The resort and chamber maps worth having on the phone: the village, the trails off the tram, the pathway to Jenny Lake, and Thursday's bike park. Tap one to view full size; pinch to zoom.
No Uber worth trusting, so these are the numbers that get us home. Tap to call.
| Jackson town square | 12 mi · 25 min |
| Moose / Dornan's | ~25 to 30 min by taxi |
| Airport (JAC) | ~35 min |
| Mill Iron Ranch | ~35 to 40 min, south of town |
| Rodeo fairgrounds | in town, near Snow King |
| Raft check-in, 945 W Broadway | in town |
The Moose-Wilson Road, the short way from the village into the park, is under construction with a pilot-car escort this summer. Cars can queue through; bikes shouldn't. That is why Tuesday goes around by taxi to Moose instead of pedaling from the front door.
Everything here works without a signal. Which matters, because for a good chunk of this week we won't have one.
Nobody's phone is broken. Plan to be out of touch Tuesday midday and Thursday morning.
Duxbury is at sea level. Teton Village is 6,300 feet and Monday morning we're standing at 10,450. That gap is why people feel flat on day two.
Sunset comes late out here, which is why a 6:30 dinner still has real evening after it. Golden hour is the last 40 minutes before the sun goes.
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset | Dark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Aug 2 | 6:13 AM | 8:04 PM | 8:44 PM | 9:17 PM |
| Mon Aug 3 | 6:15 AM | 8:03 PM | 8:43 PM | 9:16 PM |
| Tue Aug 4 | 6:16 AM | 8:02 PM | 8:42 PM | 9:14 PM |
| Wed Aug 5 | 6:17 AM | 8:00 PM | 8:41 PM | 9:13 PM |
| Thu Aug 6 | 6:18 AM | 7:59 PM | 8:39 PM | 9:11 PM |
| Fri Aug 7 | 6:19 AM | 7:58 PM | 8:38 PM | 9:10 PM |
The morning-of checklist, so nothing gets discovered at the trailhead.
| When | Wear | Bring |
|---|---|---|
| Mon, the tram | Layers. It's about 20 degrees colder at 10,450 feet than at the base, and windy | Sunscreen, hat, water. The UV at that elevation is punishing |
| Tue, yoga | Something you can move in, plus a layer for the gondola at 9:00 | Mats are loaners, so just water. Barcode is in Matt's email |
| Tue, the bike ride | Padded shorts if we have them, sunglasses | Water, sunscreen, a card for park entry (about $20 each by bike), a light shell for afternoon storms |
| Wed, horseback | Long pants, closed-toe shoes or boots. No shorts, the stirrups will find your ankles | $86 cash, sunscreen, sunglasses. Check-in is 8:45 |
| Wed, dinner and rodeo | Dressed up for Glorietta, then a real layer for the bleachers. It drops fast after dark at 6,200 feet | Rodeo tickets already in Apple Wallet, cash for the fairgrounds |
| Thu, rafting | Swimsuit under quick-dry layers. Nothing cotton. Shoes that strap on and can get soaked | Dry clothes for after, sunscreen, cash for the guide. Leave phones and anything loose in the room |
| Fri, 5:15 AM | Travel comfortable, one warm layer for the plane | Everything. See the sweep list below |
Five things we decide in the moment. Prices so nothing is a surprise.
| What | When | Cost | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerial tram tickets | Mon morning | ~$65 each | Base of the tram. Coupon at jacksonholetraveler.com, no lodge discount |
| E-bikes (reserved, pay at pickup) | Tue 12:00 | ~$90/bike | Dornan's Adventure Sports at Moose · 307-733-3307 |
| Park entry by bike | Tue | ~$20 each | Moose gate. No timed entry |
| Jenny Lake boat shuttle | Tue, optional | ~$20 each RT | South boat dock. Skip it if the sky is building |
| Mountain bike, half day | Thu afternoon | ~$60-100 | Hoback Sports, 520 W Broadway. Walk-in only for half days; one-way START pass included, drop at Teton Village Sports |
| Bear spray | Thu | ~$50 buy, ~$10 rent | Same shop. Solo ride in bear country, carry it on the hip |
| Bike park, if the ride is off | Thu afternoon | $52 lift / ~$150 with rental | JH Sports at the base · 307-739-2687. Lifts run 10 to 5 |
Thursday is deliberately unbooked and Sunday is a walk-in. If either goes sideways, call one of these instead of standing in a lobby googling.
The front desk will book any of these for us: 307-201-6066
Rafting ends at noon and the afternoon runs long in two directions, so dinner is deliberately a wing-it. Easiest good version: Spur, because it's an elevator ride away and we'll be tired.
The valley's classic spots, and which ones are near where we already are.
Pickup is at 5:15 for a 7:30 flight and nobody thinks clearly at that hour. Pack Thursday night, then check:
Coffee that early is room-brewed. Nothing in the village is open, so don't count on a stop.
The descent into Jackson is one of the best approaches in American aviation: the runway sits inside the national park, and the Tetons fill the window on the left side of the plane. Sit on the left.
Numbered in the order we do them, so the dashed line is the shape of the day. Tap a pin for details and Google Maps directions.
Nothing is scheduled. Arrive, eat something good, sleep with the window cracked.
The aerial tram climbs 4,139 feet in twelve minutes and sets us down at 10,450 feet on Rendezvous Mountain. We earn nothing and get everything: waffles at the summit, a ridgeline walk, and the whole valley at our feet.
Numbered in the order we do them, so the dashed line is the shape of the day. Tap a pin for details and Google Maps directions.
The plan had waffles first and the easy Top of the World loop after. It went the other way: the strenuous Rock Springs side first on fresh legs, the waffle as the reward at the top, then the Cirque Trail down. Better order, and the weather held for all of it.
The tram does the 4,139 feet of climbing, and then you give some of it back on purpose. Off the summit down into the Rock Springs bowl, back up the ridge to Corbet's Cabin for the waffle, then down the Cirque Trail to the gondola. 3.97 miles, 1,096 feet up and 1,657 feet down, 9:31 AM to 1:43 PM.
The real GPS track and the real elevation profile. The whole day is one shape: give away 700 feet, climb it back, eat a waffle, then hand back 1,360 more.
Second day off the plane and the first real effort above 10,000 feet. The Rock Springs side is the strenuous option and it went first, on fresh legs and in the clear part of the morning, which is exactly the right order in a place where the sky stacks up after two.
The hike started at the tram deck, but the watch didn't come on until 9:31, by which point we were already two thirds of a mile down and 640 feet below the summit. The dashed leg on the map is that first stretch drawn back in, not measured. Add it and the day is closer to 4.5 miles; everything from 9:31 onward is real data.
Sun salutations at 9,095 feet, then a paved pathway that runs eight miles from Moose to Jenny Lake with the entire Teton range shoulder-to-shoulder on the left. On e-bikes it is pure pleasure: self-paced, quiet, and about as far from a tour bus as travel gets.
Numbered in the order we do them, so the dashed line is the shape of the day. Tap a pin for details and Google Maps directions.
The bike track stops at the east boat dock at 1:41 and the walking track starts at 2:38 already up at the mouth of Cascade Canyon, on the far side of the lake and 200 feet above it. The watch was off for the middle. Reading between the two files, that hour is the sandwiches on the shore, the shuttle boat across, and the climb up past Hidden Falls. The walk back around the south shore is the part that got recorded.
August 5, 2016 to August 5, 2026. The whole day is a celebration: horses in the morning, the spa in the afternoon, dinner in town at golden hour, and a small-town rodeo under the lights to top it off. Happy anniversary, Cara.
Numbered in the order we do them, so the dashed line is the shape of the day. Tap a pin for details and Google Maps directions.
Horses in the morning beat the heat, the spa lands between trail dust and dinner, and the 5:00 table means we walk out of Glorietta with time to claim good rodeo seats three blocks away.
They're Ticketmaster mobile tickets and the confirmation email is not valid for entry. Service at the fairgrounds is bad, so load both tickets into Apple Wallet before we leave for dinner, not at the gate.
Last full day, biggest adrenaline. The small boat is the one to take: an eight-person paddle raft through the Snake River Canyon where everyone works and everyone gets wet. Class III water, canyon walls, ospreys overhead.
Numbered in the order we do them, so the dashed line is the shape of the day. Tap a pin for details and Google Maps directions.
The 3:00 HydraFacial came off the books. Cara spent the afternoon in downtown Jackson instead and took her time getting back to the village; Matt rode the long way home. Everyone back at Teton Village by late afternoon, nothing on the calendar after that.
Off the river, lunch at Jackson Drug, then a mountain bike from Hoback Sports and out of Jackson at 2:04. The Game Creek saddle was the plan; a two o'clock start made the turnaround rule the right call. Up the singletrack above Cache Creek to 6,838 feet, turn at the four-and-a-half mile mark, back down the creek road into town, and 14 miles of pathway west and north to Teton Village. 22.35 miles, 1,880 feet of climbing, 2 hours 24 minutes door to door.
The real GPS track off the ride file, not a schematic. Every wiggle in the red is what the trail actually did.
The plan was 30 to 32 miles over the Game Creek saddle and down the back side, rolling at 12:15. The ride started at 2:04 instead, so the saddle came off the table and the out-and-back up Cache Creek went in: 22.35 miles instead of 32, 1,880 feet of climbing instead of 1,031. Shorter route, more vertical, home in time to shower before dinner.
"Not over the saddle by 2:30, turn around." At 2:30 the high point of the day was 6,838 feet with 600 more to climb and the descent still ahead, so it turned at 2:52 and came back down the creek. The one-way START pass in the rental was never needed: the pathway got it home under its own power.
An early alpenglow send-off. If the sky cooperates, the Tetons turn pink right around wheels-up.
Numbered in the order we do them, so the dashed line is the shape of the day. Tap a pin for details and Google Maps directions.
Every time, place, and phone number for the week, laid out flat. For a hard copy, print this tab; it comes out clean, and "Save as PDF" in the print dialog makes a shareable file.
Jackson Hole · Matt & Cara · Ten Years · August 2-7, 2026
| Out · Sun 8/2 | Delta, Boston to Jackson via Salt Lake City, 7h 45m: DL 464 departs BOS 11:15 AM (A321neo), 1h 35m connection in SLC, DL 417 (A319) lands JAC 5:00 PM. Delta Comfort. |
| Home · Fri 8/7 | United, Jackson to Boston via Chicago: UA 2032 departs JAC 7:30 AM, 2h 15m connection at ORD, UA 1693 lands BOS 5:31 PM. |
| Lodge | Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa, 3385 Cody Lane, Teton Village. Sundance Jr Suite. Check-in Sun 4 PM, check-out Fri 11 AM. Front desk 307-201-6066. |
| Getting around | No rental car. Walk everything in Teton Village; START bus to Jackson $3; taxis ~$50; airport transfers and fixed-time morning rides pre-arranged through the lodge concierge. |
| 11:15 AM | DL 464 departs Boston; connect in Salt Lake City (1h 35m) to DL 417 |
| 5:00 PM | Land JAC; pre-booked transfer to Teton Village (~35 min) |
| ~6:00 PM | Check in at Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa |
| ~7:30 PM | Dinner at the Mangy Moose (walk-in, casual, live music) |
| 9:00 AM | Aerial Tram to 10,450 ft (tickets day-of, ~$65/pp, ask for lodge guest rate) |
| 9:31-11:01 AM | Hiked the Rock Springs side first: down off the summit to 9,741 ft, then back up the ridge to 10,456 ft |
| 11:06 AM | Waffles at Corbet's Cabin, 10,450 ft (an hour and a half up top) |
| 12:31-1:43 PM | Down the Cirque Trail to the top of the Bridger Gondola, 9,094 ft. 3.97 mi recorded on the day |
| ~2:00 PM | Gondola down, lunch in the village |
| 2-5 PM | Deliberately unscheduled: pools, hot tub, village |
| 6:30 PM | Dinner at Piste Mountain Bistro, 9,095 ft (BOOKED; gondola ride included with the reservation) |
| 9:00 AM | Bridger Gondola loads (grab gondola pass at Mountain Sports School desk first) |
| 9:30 AM | Yoga on the Deck at 9,095 ft (BOOKED; loaner mats; rain location Rendezvous Lodge) |
| 11:30 AM | Taxi to Dornan's at Moose (~25-30 min; bikes can't use Moose-Wilson Rd, construction) |
| 12:00 PM | Two e-bikes AND sandwiches from Dornan's (deli lunch packed to go); park entry ~$20/pp at the Moose gate |
| 12:32-1:41 PM | Rode the pathway north to Jenny Lake, 12.09 mi, avg 14 mph |
| 1:41 PM | Ate the sandwiches at Jenny Lake |
| 2:38-4:51 PM | On foot: Hidden Falls and the mouth of Cascade Canyon, back around the south shore, 3.81 mi |
| 5:00-5:25 PM | Rode back to Dornan's, 7.64 mi in 24 min (shop closes 6, not 5) |
| ~5:45 PM | Beer on the Dornan's deck, then cab to Teton Village |
| 6:30 PM | Dinner at Il Villaggio Osteria (BOOKED; short walk from the lodge) |
| 8:00 AM | Pre-booked ride south to Mill Iron Ranch (~35-40 min) |
| 8:45 AM | Check in at the corral office, 2953 E Horse Creek Rd |
| 9:30-11:30 | Two-hour couples trail ride (BOOKED; cash tip in pocket) |
| ~12:15 PM | Back at the lodge; shower off the trail dust |
| 1:30 PM | High Altitude Renewal for two, 75 min, SpaTerre downstairs (BOOKED) |
| 3:30 PM | Ride into Jackson, early on purpose |
| 5:00 PM | Anniversary dinner at Glorietta Trattoria, 242 N Glenwood (BOOKED, table for 2) |
| ~6:30 PM | Custom hat at Encounter Hat Co, 125 N Cache St on the town square (open to 8) |
| ~7:15 PM | Walk to the fairgrounds (gates 6:30; bring a warm layer and something to sit on) |
| 8:00 PM | Jackson Hole Rodeo, until ~10 (mobile tickets on Matt's phone) |
| ~10:00 PM | Taxi back to Teton Village whenever we're ready (~20 min notice) |
| 7:30 AM | Pre-booked ride into Jackson |
| 8:00 AM | Check in at Jackson Hole Whitewater, 945 W Broadway (next to Sidewinders) |
| 8:30-12:00 | Small-boat whitewater, Snake River Canyon (BOOKED, waivers signed; swimsuits + strapped shoes) |
| ~12:30 PM | Lunch at Jackson Drug, 15 E Deloney on the town square (1919 soda fountain) |
| 2:04-4:28 PM | Matt: rented at Hoback Sports (520 W Broadway), rode up Cache Creek to 6,838 ft, turned around at 4.5 mi (Game Creek saddle skipped, too late a start), back down into town and the pathway west and north to Teton Village. 22.35 mi, 1,880 ft, bike dropped at Teton Village Sports |
| Afternoon | Cara: downtown Jackson on foot (Town Square, Broadway shops and galleries), then back to Teton Village. The 3:00 SpaTerre HydraFacial was CANCELLED |
| Evening | Quiet night in Teton Village: dinner in the village, packing, early bed |
| 5:15 AM | Pre-booked pickup at the lodge |
| 7:30 AM | UA 2032 departs Jackson; connect at O'Hare (2h 15m) to UA 1693 |
| 5:31 PM | Land Boston |
Live guide with maps: jackson-hole-app.vercel.app · code 0805