Grand Teton National Park Review

Grand Tetons National Park (GTNP) was the first stop in a 10-day tour of the National Parks in the West that we did with our granddaughter in July.

We almost passed up the Grand Tetons to head straight to Yellowstone. Fortunately, we didn't. We found the Grand Tetons serene and beautiful, with plenty of wildlife and stunning vistas at every turn in the road.

We stayed in a cabin at Colter Bay Village. It was our choice because three of us were traveling together and the rates told us that it was the best value. It also was the northern-most accommodations in GTNP, which promised the shortest trip into Yellowstone when our GTNP stay was over.

We stayed at Colter Bay for two nights. We had dinner at the restaurant there shortly after checking in. The staff was very helpful, allowing us to sit with a glass of wine while waiting for the restaurant to open for dinner.

We found the pleasantness of the National Park staff, made up of summer interns and retired people, to be generally exceptional.

We signed up for three activities at the Colter Bay activity booth. One was a coach tour of GTNP. It was about four hours in length and was fairly comprehensive. The tour condensed the highlights of the park in way that was entertaining, enlightening and well worth both the time and expense. Leaving in the early morning from Jackson Lake Lodge, we were back around 1:00 PM, in time for a late lunch.

We ate in the cafe, which is configured with lunch counter and stools. Obviously, it is the less costly of two restaurants in the Jackson Lake Lodge. The other is the Mural Room, with windows overlooking the lake. Equally great views of the lake, and the Willows, an area where wildlife often is seen, exist in the Lodge lounge.

Our second activity was a cruise on the Lake. Our mistake was assuming that it departed from Jackson Lake Lodge. In fact, it was from the marina at Colter Bay. So we almost missed it. But when we learned at the last minute that we were in the wrong place, the Jackson Lake Lodge staff called the marina and the crew held the cruise departure for a few minutes so we could get there before departure.

The cruise was informative, as the First Mate explained the characteristics of the lake and the mountains that abut it. The lake was a little choppy, however. We would have been better off to go out on a calmer day.

Our third activity was a coach tour of southern Yellowstone National Park. It also left at 8:00 AM with a scheduled return at 4:30 PM. We would have been better off to take the Yellowstone tour first and the GTNP tour second. The timing would have allowed more time for us to get to our Mammoth Hot Springs Lodging in northern Yellowstone, since this was the day that we checked out of GTNP.

Unfortunately, that tours were not offered in reverse order. I will cover the Yellowstone coach tour in a review of Yellowstone National Park.

We were very pleased that we visited Grand Teton National Park. We recommend it to anyone considering a visit to Yellowstone.