Jackson Hole Summer Travel And Whitewater Information

It’s hard to beat views of the Teton’s from the beautiful Snake River!  The eagles were out in full force today perched for perfect photo opportunities! 

May 4th and who would have thought it but the clouds cleared and todays raft trip brought stunning views of the Teton Range. We had the river to ourselves today with views of eagles, ospreys, even a lone moose! Dave and his family must have brought some sunshine from North Carolina, it was borderline t-shirt weather on the river.  We can only hope the blue skies and sunshine continue into next week so we can get out on the river more!

The Rustic Inn at Jackson Hole (formerly known as the Wagon Wheel Village) has always been a very popular place to stay during family visits to the Jackson Hole area.  But after a long winter of remodeling, improvements and upgrades to their rooms and the whole property, it has become one of the best places to stay for your summer vacation.  Located right next door to our office and only about four blocks from the town square, The Rustic Inn is also very convenient if you are doing a river trip with us in the early morning.  Most importantly, if you tell the Rustic Inn that you heard about their property from us, you will get 10% off your room.  Check out their website at http://rusticinnatjh.com//

Not Even temperatures in the 40’s could keep the Wilson family and friends from floating the Snake today.  It was a gorgeous day full of eagles, pelicans, ospreys and some elk.  This is an especially great time of year to spot nests in the trees and animals that are bedded down along the river because a lot of the cottonwoods and willows have not started to grow their leaves yet.  The Wilsons’ said that the snow had been following them throughout their whole trip, but we were very happy that they did not let it stop them from coming down the river with us today.  We also hope that the snow follows them back to Alabama ;-).  Here are some pictures of their trip taken by Mr. Wilson’s own camera…

Despite the winter like conditions of the spring season so far, we did our first trip of the year on April 30.  We had 14 Brits join us for a beatiful scenic float were we saw 12 eagles,  probably close to a 100 Pelicans, and, most importantly, a Moose.  We also saw an acrobatic dual between an eagle and an osprey over a fishing hole.  With all the snow that we got this season (just over 600 inches at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort), the mountains in the valley are absolutely stunning and it was a great way to start off the season. 

Matt competed in a 24 hour ride after the season was over.  He trained for it all last summer and competed in the event for the first time this past fall.   Matt will be back again for another season although he is also going to be pursuing his teachers degree.  That is right, Matt has the perfect life laid out…teaching during the winter and rafting the Snake River with Dave Hansen Whitewater during the summer. 

Many of you who came down the river with us last year might remember Molly from either driving your bus to guiding you down the river.   Molly is one of our stellar guides and is spending her winter working in Nicaragua with a program called Soccer without Borders (http://www.soccerwithoutborders.org/Home%20.html).   She just sent us an update from her blog with some great pictures about her program and I know some of you who got to know Molly last year will enjoy seeing what she is doing…don’t worry she has already promised to be back in Jackson Hole by May 1 for another season(http://swbnicaragua.blogspot.com/).

Well, this is up for debate, so we are going to have to suggest two places.  The first is Billy’s Burgers.  They are located right inside the Cadillac Restaurant and you can either sit at the diner like counter or inside the Cadillac Bar.  The burgers are solid half pounders and come with a basket of fries…all for $5.50.  Definitely a local favorite.

 Then you got the Buffalo Burger at the Wort.  There are all sorts of way to order this (plain, bacon, chili) and they are all great.  Definitely try the sweet potato fries too.  Not quite the deal that Billy’s is, but still a great meal 

The is the most authentic chuckwagon dinner that is offered in Jackson.  The crowds are small, usually about 30-40 people compared to other outfitts feeding over 200 people.  The steaks are big and extremely tasty…they stop taking reservations at 12 pm for that nights ride so that they can cut the rib eye that you are eating that night.  The scenery is beautiful and drive there and back allows you the opportunity to see elk, moose, deer and antelope in the fields and meadows.  This one of the best activities to do in Jackson.

The Wagon Wheel is a great place to stay and is right next door to where the trips for Dave Hansen Whitewater depart from.  It is located only about four blocks from the town square so it great to be able to walk to where all the shops and restaurants are without having to worry about parking.  The property has a western feel to it to go along Jackson Hole/Yellowstone theme and there is a wide range of rooms from families looking to save a little to nice cabins along Flat Creek.