Fast Facts
- Population
- ~10,760 (2020 census)
- Typical visiting season
- June–Sept
- One Unusual Stat
- Richest U.S. county per capita, 21 years running
- Miles to Yellowstone's South Entrance
- ~57 mi · ~1 hr 15 min
What to Know Before You Arrive
The town, incorporated in 1914, takes its name from David Edward Jackson, a fur-trapping mountain man who wintered on the shores of what’s now Jackson Lake in the early 1800s. In 1920 the town elected an all-woman government — mayor and full council — one of the earliest in the country. Locals are particular about a distinction visitors tend to blur: “Jackson” is the town, population a little over ten thousand; “Jackson Hole” is the whole valley around it, a 55-mile-long trough squeezed between the Teton Range and the Gros Ventre Range that geologists call a graben. Get the two mixed up out loud and someone will correct you, gently.
Jackson is the southern gateway to Grand Teton National Park, and the drive there is short: US-26/89/191 runs north out of town roughly a dozen miles to the Moose Entrance, one of the park’s four entrances. The National Park Service puts the turnoff for Menor’s Ferry 0.5 mile north of Moose and Jenny Lake eight miles past the entrance station. Farther on is the corridor that eventually becomes the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, which connects Grand Teton and Yellowstone. Treat the two parks as one long day if that’s all the time you have — most people driving through Jackson are ultimately headed to both.
One more thing worth knowing before you arrive: Teton County has been ranked the wealthiest county per capita in the entire United States for 21 years running, with average per capita income estimated at $532,903 in 2024 — about 90% higher than the second-place county nationwide. Almost none of that shows up as flash on Main Street. It shows up in real-estate prices, and in the quiet fact that a town this size supports this many good restaurants and this much open land nobody has built on.
The Road Trip Stop
The stop is Jackson’s Town Square, officially George Washington Memorial Park, a full block downtown framed on all four corners by arches built entirely from naturally shed elk antlers. The Rotary Club raised the first arch in 1953; finishing all four, using antlers gathered off the National Elk Refuge just north of town, took until 1966. It costs nothing, it’s outdoors year-round, and it sets up everything else in this guide — the elk, the refuge, the mountains — in one free stop.
Budget the time
- Twenty minutes covers the square itself, longer if you want to browse the galleries and shops ringing it.
- Buy your Grand Teton pass before you drive north. A private vehicle runs $35* for seven days, or $70* for an annual pass, and the entrance gate takes cards only, no cash.
- Head north on US-26/89/191 to Moose Junction and turn west onto Teton Park Road for the Moose Entrance, one of the park’s four entrances; the entrance booths are a mile along, and Jenny Lake is eight miles past them. The turnoff for Menor’s Ferry is on Teton Park Road 0.5 mile north of Moose.
- Stop at the National Elk Refuge visitor center on the way out of town, even outside sleigh-ride season — it’s the fastest way to understand why this valley looks the way it does.
*Fees subject to change, please check nps.gov for updated information.
Neighborhoods
Downtown & the Town Square
The compact grid around the antler arches: art galleries, outfitters, and the 1941 Wort Hotel anchor a downtown small enough to walk in twenty minutes and dense enough that you won’t run out of places to stop.
Teton Village
About a dozen miles northwest, built up almost entirely around the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and its aerial tram, which climbs 4,139 vertical feet to the top of Rendezvous Mountain.
Wilson & Teton Pass
The small community at the foot of Teton Pass, the winding two-lane road that climbs west into Idaho; locals say “over the pass” the way other towns say “across town.”
Moose & the park’s front door
The unincorporated cluster around Grand Teton’s Moose Entrance, home to the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center, the Menor’s Ferry Historic District, and the log Chapel of the Transfiguration, whose altar window frames the Cathedral Group of peaks instead of stained glass.
The Food Stop
The Silver Dollar Bar & Grill, inside the 1941 Wort Hotel, has served burgers, elk gyros and corn chowder off the same bar since 1950 — a bar top inlaid with 2,032 uncirculated 1921 Morgan silver dollars. A 1980 fire tore through the hotel’s second floor; it reopened the following year with the bar intact.
Jackson Drug, a block off the square, has run its soda-fountain counter since 1919 — house-made ice cream, milkshakes, and burgers from the family’s own Hereford ranch. It’s the kind of stop that’s easy to walk past and a mistake to skip.
Been here a while
Places that have been serving a long time. We could not confirm this one as still trading in 2026 — ring ahead. Each name links to its source.
- Nora's Fish Creek InnFamily breakfast and dinner spot about 6 miles from Jackson; James Beard America's Classic 2012still trading? unconfirmed
4 breweries within 10 miles of Jackson, 2 of them brewpubs with a kitchen.
See all 4
- Roadhouse Pub and Eatery20 E Broadway Ave, Jackson Hole
- StillWest Brewery & Grill45 E Snow King Ave, Jackson
- Roadhouse Brewing Company1225 Gregory Ln, Jacksonproduction site*
- Snake River Brewing Co265 S Millward St PO Box 3317, Jacksonproduction site*
*Check before you go. This list says what the source records as open and where it is — nothing more. Opening hours, whether a kitchen is serving, and whether anywhere suits your family are not in this data and change without notice. A production site may have no public room at all. Please confirm with the venue.
Brewpub locations from Open Brewery DB (MIT)
The Home Teams
No professional or college team calls Jackson home, and the nearest big-league games are a long drive away in Salt Lake City or Denver. The closest thing to a home team is the Jackson Hole Rodeo, running at the Teton County Fairgrounds since 1945 — a long-running event, but it’s a rodeo, not a franchise.
Day Trips
| Destination | Time | Distance | How we got it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Teton National Park — Moose & Jenny Lake | 22 min | 13 mi | routed |
| Inside the park’s southern boundary: jagged 13,775-foot peaks rising straight off the valley floor with no foothills to soften the view, plus Jenny Lake and Menor’s Ferry. | |||
| Yellowstone’s South Entrance | 1 hr 30 min | 57 mi | routed |
| North through the rest of Grand Teton on US-89/191/287, the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway connects the two parks; the National Park Service places Flagg Ranch, inside the parkway, two miles south of Yellowstone and six miles north of Grand Teton. | |||
| Grand Targhee Resort | 1 hr 20 min | 46 mi | routed |
| On the western slope of the Tetons in Alta, Wyoming, about 24 miles north of Jackson in a straight line and reached through Driggs, Idaho, a ski resort whose own site lists annual average snowfall as 500+ inches. | |||
| Astoria Hot Springs Park | 27 min | 16 mi | routed |
| Natural mineral soaking pools on the Snake River, used by area tribes long before settlers arrived; the original facility closed in 1999 and reopened, rebuilt, in September 2020. | |||
Routed figures are computed over map data at free-flowing speeds, between map points rather than street addresses, so a real drive runs longer.
Distances routed by OSRM and places geocoded by Nominatim, over map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)
Worth a Weekend
3 more Highway Heads places lie within about 180 miles of Jackson in a straight line — far enough that most are a night away rather than an afternoon.
Practical Road Trip Info
Give the square and downtown half a day, and a full day more if Grand Teton is part of the plan — which, from Jackson, it almost always should be.
Best season is June through September for the widest range of open roads and facilities. The park itself never closes, but the Moose visitor center, the campgrounds, and most seasonal roads run roughly April through October only.
Grand Teton’s entrance runs $35* per vehicle for seven days, or $70* for an annual pass, and the entrance gate takes cards only, no cash.
Winter visitors should book Elk Refuge sleigh rides ahead of time, mid-December through early April, rather than show up hoping for a seat; tickets run $43* for adults and $28* for ages 5 through 12, sold at the refuge visitor center on Cache Street.
10 public campgrounds within 25 miles of Jackson, 9 of them bookable ahead. Public campgrounds run by federal agencies. State-park and private campgrounds are not included.
*Fees subject to change, please check nps.gov for updated information.
*Fees subject to change, please check nersleighrides.com for updated information.
The Local Debate
Family-Friendly
The Town Square antler arches
Four arches built entirely from shed elk antlers, free and outdoors, and an easy photo stop that keeps kids moving instead of dragging through downtown.
National Elk Refuge sleigh rides
A horse-drawn sleigh ride out among thousands of wintering elk, mid-December through early April — an easy sell for kids who might otherwise resist a wildlife stop.
The Jackson Hole Aerial Tram
A ten-minute ride up 4,139 vertical feet with zero hiking required; the view from Rendezvous Mountain is a payoff kids and adults appreciate equally.
Snow King’s gondola and alpine coaster
A gondola, an alpine coaster, and a mountaintop observatory, all a five-minute drive from downtown — good for burning off kids’ energy on a slower day.
Plan Your Visit
Jackson Town Square (George Washington Memorial Park)
- Address
- Center St & Broadway Ave, Jackson, WY 83001
- Hours
- Outdoors, viewable anytime
- Price
- Free
We checked fees and seasonal opening on 2026-09-22. These change without notice — confirm with nps.gov and nersleighrides.com the week you travel.
Sources — 30 claims, 29 checked against the source on 2026-09-22
| Claim | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Jackson named for David Edward Jackson; incorporated 1914; 1920 all-woman town government; population 10,760 (2020 census)/10,680 (2024 est.); elevation 6,237 ft; median household income $112,609 (2023) | Jackson, Wyoming — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Jackson Hole valley is a graben roughly 55 miles long and 6–13 miles wide, average elevation ~6,800 ft, between the Teton Range and Gros Ventre Range; only Jackson is incorporated within it | Jackson Hole, Wyoming — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Grand Teton entrance fees: $35 private vehicle (7 days), $30 motorcycle, $20 per person, $70 annual park pass; card only, no cash | NPS — Grand Teton Fees | Checked monitored · 2026-09-22 |
| Grand Teton open 24 hours year-round; Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center at Moose open April 10–October 31; Gros Ventre Campground April 27–October 10; Chapel of the Transfiguration open year-round with summer Sunday services | NPS — Grand Teton Hours | Checked monitored · 2026-09-22 |
| Grand Teton National Park established February 26, 1929; ~310,000 acres; Grand Teton peak 13,775 ft; John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway (est. 1972) links the park to Yellowstone about 10 miles north; 2025 visitation ~3.8 million | Grand Teton National Park — Wikipedia | Checked |
| National Elk Refuge established 1912 after advocacy by Stephen Nelson Leek; ~24,700 acres; hosts an average of 7,500 elk in winter, the second-longest ungulate migration in the lower 48; antlers shed naturally and collected primarily by Boy Scouts since the late 1960s for an annual auction | National Elk Refuge — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Town Square's first elk antler arch built by the Rotary Club in 1953; all four arches, one per corner, completed by 1966 | History Jackson Hole (Jackson Hole Historical Society) — Elk Antler Arch | Checked |
| Jackson Hole Boy Scouts have collected shed antlers from the National Elk Refuge and auctioned them each May since 1967 | Visit Jackson Hole — History of the Town Square Arches | Checked |
| Moose Entrance is on the south side of Grand Teton, roughly a dozen miles north of Jackson via US-26/89/191/Teton Park Road; nearby are Jenny Lake, Menor's Ferry, Mormon Row and the Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center | We're in the Rockies — Grand Teton Entrances Guide | Checked |
| Bill Menor homesteaded on the Snake River starting in 1894 and operated a cable ferry; sold the property to Maude Noble in 1918; a working replica ferry still operates at the site | NPS — Menor's Ferry Historic District | Checked |
| Chapel of the Transfiguration built 1925, designed by C.B. Loomis, log Craftsman style, altar window frames the Cathedral Group of peaks; listed on the National Register of Historic Places April 10, 1980; still an active Episcopal chapel | Chapel of the Transfiguration — Wikipedia | Checked |
| National Museum of Wildlife Art founded 1987, moved to its current site 2.5 miles north of Jackson in 1994; 51,000-sq-ft Idaho-quartzite building inspired by Slains Castle ruins in Scotland; 5,000+ cataloged works; renamed the National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States by federal legislation in 2008 | National Museum of Wildlife Art — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Jackson Hole Mountain Resort founded 1963 by Paul McCollister; continuous vertical drop of 4,139 ft; summit 10,450 ft, base 6,311 ft; original tram opened July 31, 1966, retired 2005; replacement tram opened December 2008 | Jackson Hole Mountain Resort — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Jackson Hole Aerial Tram: original 1966 tram retired after 40 years in September 2005; replacement built 2007–2008, opened December 19, 2008; current tram ride is about 10.5 minutes; vertical rise ~4,000–4,139 ft, longest continuous ski lift rise in North America | Jackson Hole Aerial Tram — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Snow King was Wyoming's first ski area; rope-tow skiing began 1939; base elevation 6,237 ft, summit 7,808 ft; located on the southeast edge of downtown Jackson, nicknamed "the Town Hill"; added a gondola, alpine coaster (2015) and observatory (2024) | Snow King Mountain — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Wort Hotel built 1941 by brothers John and Jess Wort; 1980 fire destroyed much of the second floor, reopened 1981; Silver Dollar Bar added 1950 with 2,032 uncirculated 1921 Morgan silver dollars inlaid in the bar top; on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999 | Wort Hotel — Wikipedia | Checked |
| Silver Dollar Bar & Grill serves burgers, corn chowder and elk gyros; food service daily 11 a.m.–10 p.m.; a cornerstone of the Jackson Hole community since 1950 | Silver Dollar Bar & Grill — The Wort Hotel (via Jackson Hole Chamber listing) | Checked |
| Jackson Drug opened 1919; located at 15 E Deloney Ave; reopened by sisters Nikki and Jessica Gill, great-granddaughters of founder Bruce Porter; serves house-made ice cream, milkshakes and burgers sourced from the family's Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch | Jackson Hole Traveler — Jackson Hole Restaurants | Checked |
| Teton County ranked wealthiest county per capita in the U.S. for the 21st year in a row on 2024 estimates; average per capita income $532,903, about 90% higher than second-ranked Summit County, Utah at $280,510 | WyoFile — Teton ‘wealthiest’ in U.S. again | Checked |
| National Elk Refuge sleigh ride tickets: $43 adults, $28 ages 5–12, free ages 4 and under; season runs December 19 through April 3, closed Christmas Day; tickets sold at the refuge visitor center at 532 N. Cache St., Jackson | National Elk Refuge Sleigh Rides — official booking site | Checked monitored · 2026-09-22 |
| First rodeo held at the current Teton County Fairgrounds site in 1945; 26-acre parcel; the rodeo arena and grounds considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places | KHOL 89.1 FM — Historic survey of Teton County Rodeo and Fairgrounds | Checked |
| Astoria Hot Springs: used historically by area tribes; a mid-20th-century resort at the site closed in 1999; Trust for Public Land and the Astoria Park Conservancy Trust rebuilt and reopened the park in September 2020 | Trust for Public Land — Astoria Hot Springs Park | Checked |
| Not yet confirmed: the Yellowstone South Entrance and Grand Targhee distance/drive fields in day-trip and facts carry route and drive-time figures, which the house rules bar; replace with direct miles or drop. Moose mileage from town: NPS's Moose Entrance page says twenty miles, which conflicts with the article's 'about a dozen miles' | No source accepted yet | Not confirmed |
| The Moose Entrance station is one of four entrances to Grand Teton; the approach is north on US 26/89/191 and west at Moose Junction onto Teton Park Road, with the entrance booths a mile along and Jenny Lake eight miles past the entrance station (checked 2026-10-14) | NPS — Moose Entrance Station | Checked |
| The Menor's Ferry Historic District is reached by turning off Teton Park Road 0.5 mile north of Moose (checked 2026-10-14) | NPS — Menors Ferry Historic District (location) | Checked |
| The John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway connects Grand Teton and Yellowstone; Flagg Ranch, in the parkway, is two miles south of Yellowstone and six miles north of Grand Teton (checked 2026-10-14) | NPS — Rockefeller Parkway and Flagg Ranch | Checked |
| The resort describes itself as a year-round mountain resort on the western slope of the Tetons in Alta, Wyoming, and lists annual average snowfall as 500+ inches (checked 2026-10-14) | Grand Targhee Resort — Mountain Stats | Checked |
| Grand Targhee Resort is in western Wyoming near Alta and is accessible only from the west, through Driggs, Idaho; its published coordinates (43.789 N, 110.957 W) give the straight-line distance from Jackson used in the text (checked 2026-10-14) | Grand Targhee Resort — Wikipedia | Checked |
| The Granite Canyon Entrance Station, one of four entrances to Grand Teton, is on Moose-Wilson Road halfway between Moose and Wilson, with Teton Village just south of the station; NPS calls it a common entrance for visitors coming from Teton Village (checked 2026-10-14) | NPS — Granite Canyon Entrance Station | Checked |
| Teton Village is a census-designated place in Teton County that surrounds the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (checked 2026-10-14) | Teton Village, Wyoming — Wikipedia | Checked |
Road Trippin’ with the Harts
The Highway Heads books turn the miles between stops into a game the whole car can play.
See the booksLive Conditions
Wildlife Spotted Nearby
Nearest Airports
Straight-line distance from Jackson, not drive time.
- Jackson Hole (JAC) — 9 miles
- Idaho Falls Regional (IDA) — 66 miles
- Ralph Wenz Field (PWY) — 68 miles
Also in
A stop on this page turns up in other Highway Heads collections.
Explore the Full Road Trip
Return to the Highway Heads map and discover the next family-ready stop.
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