To experience Wyoming’s Grand Tetons in the grandest style, head to the Jackson Lake Lodge, a National Historic Landmark resort that will raise your appreciation of nature’s beauty to mountainous levels.
Located in Grand Teton National Park, the lodge is the premier spot to admire the famed range. Panoramic mural windows — soaring 60 feet high and showcasing breathtaking views of Jackson Lake and the northern Teton Range — provide an illusion that the mountains are almost in the same “grand room” lobby room with you.
Perched on a bluff, the full-service resort hotel includes an oversized patio and lush lawn outside the stunning, cavernous lobby, allowing visitors to stroll and gaze down at the iconic Willow Flats. Pocked with willows and other brush, as well as ponds and streams, the large expanse of Willow Flats leads all the way to the pristine Jackson Lake and the towering Tetons, including the 12,605-foot majestic centerpiece, Mount Moran.
Elk and moose, and sometimes bears, can be spotted in Willow Flats from the headland, which includes benches and a trail.
With 385 guest rooms and cottages, the 60-year-old lodge is rich with history. How rich? Rockefeller rich.
When John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated 35,000 acres in 1950 to enlarge the Grand Teton National Park from its original 1929 designation, visitors flocked to the area, overcrowding existing facilities. That caused Rockefeller to build the resort in 1955. He would often hike to the nearby hill with a picnic lunch, gazing at the valley overlook with a sea of willows and the mountain range backdrop. The hill is now called Lunch Tree Hill, and a one-quarter-mile trail along the ridgeline leads to it, complete with historical plaques.
Jackson Lake Lodge is located in Moran, Wyo., 36 miles north of Jackson, Wyo., and about the same distance south of Yellowstone National Park. Besides the impressive main building, the grounds include hundreds of cottages of varying sizes, all within a short walking distance of the central building.
Dining in the main hub is divine. Panoramic picture windows provide incredible views of the mountains while dining in the Mural Dining Room, right off the grand-room lobby. We enjoyed an exceptional breakfast buffet, complete with moose-imprinted waffles (a la carte breakfast is available). At lunch and in the evening, the Mural Dining Room offers fine Rocky Mountain cuisine.
The casual Pioneer Grill provides counter service and a traditional soda fountain, and the huge Blue Heron Lounge features a fireplace, sofa and chairs to enjoy libations and nontraditional bar food, all within viewing distance of the towering mural windows.
The main building also includes gift shops, a business center, and an activities desk to purchase lake cruises, bus tours, river float and raft trips.
The resort gain National Historic Landmark status in 2003 because of its breakthrough design. When it was built in 1955, the lodge broke free from the rustic (or “parkitecture”) style used by all previous National Park Service buildings. The lodge also incorporated modern elements of international style, setting the stage for contemporary park service centers that followed.
Historic guided or self-guided tours of the lodge reveal not only this type of trendsetting architecture, but also Native American artifacts and Western art.
Away from the main premises but still on the property, the Jackson Lake Lodge offers horseback riding. Also, a swimming pool attracts youngsters. During summer sunsets at the pool, big-sky western barbecues with an all-you-can eat buffet and live entertainment attract big crowds.
Jackson Lake Lodge is located near the Oxbow Bend Turnout on Highway 89/287, the most photographed spot in the Tetons due to Mount Moran’s reflection onto the Snake River. Just down the road, on Highway 89, beckons the Snake River Overlook, a view made famous by photographer Ansel Adams.
These photo opportunities shouldn’t be missed. Neither should the opportunity to stay at the historic, amazing Jackson Lake Lodge.