Jackson Lake Lodge – The Advantages and Challenges – Grand Teton National Park

Updated: April 28, 2024

Jackson Lake Lodge – A Grand Teton National Park Lodging Option

Jackson Lake Lodge is a full-service, historic lodge with 385 rooms comprising of suites, main lodge hotel rooms, and cottage rooms.

Jackson Lake Lodge – – photo credit: Acroterion

Jackson Lake Lodge offers:

• Four dining options (from pool side to fine dining)
• A Coffee Cart
• Four retail shops
• Event space and meeting rooms
• A large, upstairs lobby complete with floor to ceiling picture window of the Tetons
• A large, outdoor deck
• An outdoor pool
• Horseback rides
• Scenic river rafting

Jackson Lake Lodge Rooms

There are eight different types of rooms to accommodate 2-5 people.

All rooms include:

• Free Wifi
• USB Charging Station
• Coffeemaker
• Shampoo, Conditioner, & Body Wash
• Hair Dryer
• Phone
• Iron and Ironing Board

Rooms do not include:

• Air Conditioning
• TV (park rule)
• Microwave
• Radio

Note: All rooms are non-smoking. Extra cleaning fees will apply for smoking in rooms.

Note: The Classic Cottage is the only room that allows pets. There is an additional fee of $20 per night. 

Rooms at Jackson Lake Lodge are available to rent in 2024 from May 17th through October 6th.

Reservations can be made online or by phone: 307-543-3100.

Reservations are available on a 12-month rolling basis.

Staying at the Jackson Lake Lodge – Advantages and Challenges

There are advantages and challenges for all lodging choices in Grand Teton National Park, here are Jackson Lake Lodge’s.

Please know: When I point out the advantages and/or challenges, I’m not doing so to persuade you to stay or dissuade you from staying at one of the rooms at Jackson Lake Lodge, but to tell you up front what the cottages and rooms are and are not so you can:

• go in with accurate expectations
• be happy with your choice of lodging
• avoid surprises

Full Disclosure: I have only stayed once at Jackson Lake Lodge in their Moose Pond Mountain View Cottage for one night. I will include my personal experience when helpful.

Advantage: Central Location in Park

Jackson Lake Lodge has the advantage of being centrally located in the park.

This means shorter driving times to most places and activities in the park, compared to:

• Lodging outside the park
• Colter Bay, which is farther north
• Headwaters Lodge at Flagg Ranch, as it is on the northern boundary of Grand Teton (technically in between Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks)
• Jackson, WY – outside the southern border of GTNP

Important Note: While Jackson Lake Lodge has the word “Lake” in it’s title, it is not on Jackson Lake, nor within walking distance of the lake. You can see the lake in the distance.

Jackson Lake Lodge on the map – larger map

Advantage: Views

Ok. This is probably their biggest advantage.

If you get a room with a mountain view, the views are spectacular!

You can see the entire Teton Range, and see a great view of Mt. Moran.

Family at Jackson Lake Lodge looking at Tetons — Photo credit: Richard Lee

Honestly, what other mountain looks like this one? And with it shooting up directly from the lake? It is stunning.

If you don’t get a room with a mountain view, Jackson Lake Lodge has their main, upstairs lobby that has a floor to ceiling picture window that frames Mt. Moran perfectly. Plus you can see the entire Teton range from here too.

And speaking of their upstairs lobby:

Advantage: Large Main Lobby

This is a lobby you are going to want to hang out in.

The upstairs lobby has several couches, benches, and chairs set up to comfortably gaze out the window at the Tetons. As mentioned previously, the floor to ceiling picture window frames Mt. Moran perfectly.

Large, upstairs lobby with stunning views of Mt. Moran — photo credit: Joe Robba

And there is free wifi throughout the lodge!

Pro Tip: Jackson Lake Lodge’s upstairs lobby is a great place to ride out rainy, socked in days. Also a great place to cool off on hot, sunny days.

The lobby is a great place in the morning to watch the sunrise (if you don’t want to be outdoors or you have sleeping teenagers). Stake out a couch and watch the sunrise while drinking a cup of coffee.

Speaking of coffee…

Advantage: You Can Buy Coffee at 6:30 am

The Coffee Cart at Jackson Lake Lodge opens at 6:30 am.

This is the earliest you can purchase coffee in Grand Teton National Park!

Get your coffee and pastries to go, starting at 6:30 am

A good thing to know if you are someone that likes to get out and about early.

Advantage: The Blue Heron Lounge

Jackson Lake Lodge has four eating establishments on site, plus the Coffee Cart. The eateries range from the Poolside Catina to fine dining at the Mural Room.

The Blue Heron Lounge is the best of all worlds. They serve a small selection of upscale food and drinks, which is a little more variety than the pool, and not at the prices of the Mural Room. The food is good and the menu is diverse, including dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegetarian options.

photo: Michael Poundstone

At the Blue Heron you get fantastic Teton views whether you eat outside on the deck or inside the lounge. They have large picture windows that face the Tetons; something the onsite Pioneer Grill does not, and again, you are getting them at less expensive prices than the Mural Room.

Note, even though it is a lounge, kids under 21 are welcome with their adults, both outside on the deck and inside the lounge. There isn’t a kid’s menu posted, but ask your server for kid options.

Outdoor seating at Blue Heron Lounge at Jackson Lake Lodge

Pro Tip: If you eat out on the deck, have your sunglasses, hat, and sunscreen with you. The deck gets full sun and there won’t be any umbrellas for shade. Bug spray will be helpful too as you are close to the willows below the deck.

Advantage: Free Wifi in Rooms

You don’t have to share this advantage with your kids, but I’m pretty sure they will figure it out….

All the rooms at Jackson Lake Lodge have free wifi.

Wifi in every room

Advantage: Increased Chance of Cell Service

Cell service is spotty at best in Grand Teton National Park. It can be difficult to find and harder to use consistently.

I have found Jackson Lake Lodge to have the best cell service available in the park. (Disclaimer: I use AT&T (not an affiliate) on an iPhone.)

In fact, I often suggest in my other posts and articles to come to Jackson Lake Lodge if wanting to use cell service.

Good cell service at Jackson Lake Lodge

Pro Tip: Willow Flats Overlook, the first pullout to the south of Jackson Lake Lodge, also has strong cell service.

Challenges of Jackson Lake Lodge

No lodging is perfect for everyone, especially inside National Parks.

What is acceptable to some, may not be to others, and that is ok!

Following are some challenges of staying at the Jackson Lake Lodge.

The challenges listed here are ones that were most often mentioned when I studied posted visitor reviews.

Please note that the challenges listed are not mentioned to dissuade you from staying at Jackson Lake Lodge.

In fact, solutions are provided for each challenge when available.

Also, I have added notes, when applicable, from my own experience of staying at Jackson Lake Lodge.

Challenges are listed to help you determine if Jackson Lake Lodge is the right lodging for you and to go in with accurate expectations.

Challenge: Rooms Are Not On or Close to the Lake

Not sure this is a “challenge”, but it should be made clear that Jackson Lake Lodge, despite having “lake” in its name, is not on or close to the lake. It is not within walking distance either like Colter Bay and Signal Mountain Lodge.

You can see the lake in the distance.

View of Tetons from Jackson Lake Lodge – – Photo Credit: Gary Windust @ Flickr

Solutions

If it is important to you to stay at a place where you can be within walking distance of Jackson Lake and a marina to access boating activities, consider staying at Signal Mountain Lodge or Colter Bay.

If you stay at Jackson Lake Lodge, you are a short driving distance from two marinas.

Signal Mountain Lodge has a marina that you can drive to in less than 15 minutes. There you can walk down to the marina to rent boats, kayaks, and canoes or go a little south of their boat ramp to swim (swim area is rocky, use water shoes).

Colter Bay is also a short car drive away (< 20 min) and is owned by the same parent company as Jackson Lake Lodge. Colter Bay has a marina where you can rent boats, kayaks, and canoes and sign up to go on scenic lake cruises. Go to Jackson Lake Lodge’s front desk to make reservations. There is also a large swimming beach there (beach is rocky, not sandy, bring water shoes).

Challenge: No Air Conditioning

This challenge isn’t exclusive to Jackson Lake Lodge, as most of the lodging inside the park does not have air conditioning.

It is worth noting here that in scrubbing previous visitor reviews, lack of air conditioning was mentioned a fair amount during the hotter months of summer. It may have been mentioned frequently because many of the rooms don’t have the tree cover to provide shade like other park lodging does, making the rooms more exposed to direct sun.

Fans help cool things off

Solutions

Most rooms come with a fan found in the closet. If you don’t find one there, go to the front desk and request one.

While this next solution doesn’t help if the room is warm at night while trying to sleep (temps do cool down quite a bit at night), you can go to the main lobby and relax where it is cooler and take in the breathtaking view through the floor to ceiling picture window. In fact, I often encourage people who aren’t staying at Jackson Lake Lodge to visit the upstairs lobby as a place to cool off and enjoy the view.

My Experience

I stayed in one of the Moose Pond Mountain Cottage rooms in mid July, it faced the Tetons and it didn’t have any tree cover for shade. The room was warm, but not unbearably so. I didn’t know to look in the closet for a fan or I would have. I opened all the windows, there are large ones on the west side of the room, and small ones on the east side of the room. It didn’t give much of a cross breeze, but I slept with them open all night and was not uncomfortable. My only complaint was when I opened the windows I could hear my loud next door neighbors clear as day.

Challenge: The Cottage Rooms Are Not Stand Alone Cottages

None of the rooms offered at Jackson Lake Lodge are stand alone structures.

Jackson Lake Lodge Cottage Rooms – – photo credit: Creative Commonons

The “Classic Cottage”, “King Patio Cottage”, “Mountain View Cottage”, “Moose Pond Mountain View Cottage”, and the “Moose Pond Mountain View Cottage Suite” are all housed in multiple unit buildings. You will share walls with other units like a motel. All cottage rooms do have their own private outdoor entrance.

For cottages that have a balcony, there are out door wooden dividers between yours and your neighbor’s.

Solutions

This challenge is another one that is more of a clarification than a challenge. It is called out and clarified so you know what to expect and that there aren’t any surprises when you find out they are not stand alone cottages.

If you prefer a stand alone cabin/cottage you could try requesting one at Colter Bay Cabins. Do know that Colter Bay Cabins are very rustic and basic cabins with no extras or frills; and know that even if you get a stand alone cabin, it may be mere inches away from another stand alone cabin.

Jenny Lake Lodge does have individual, stand alone cabins. Do note they are a bump up in price.

Challenge: Housekeeping

Like most other lodging around Grand Teton National Park in these Covid times, there is no housekeeping services for multiple night stays.

No housekeeping during multi-night stay

Solutions

You can call housekeeping and request needed items: towels, sheets, blankets etc…I would maybe be even more proactive and find out where housekeeping is and walk over and get needed items. That way you aren’t waiting on them to drop off your requested items.

Be even more proactive by bringing any needed cleaning supplies you think you’ll need. (Since Covid, who doesn’t travel with disinfectant/cleaning supplies?) 

Challenge: “Seems Expensive for What You Get.”

This is a challenge mentioned frequently for most lodging inside Grand Teton National Park.

To accurately set expectations, most of Jackson Lake Lodge’s rooms equate to three star rooms for luxury prices. 

I know, that is tough to hear.

When you pay luxury prices you expect luxury rooms.

Unfortunately, this is not so in Grand Teton National Park.

If you are an experienced National Park traveler, this may not be a surprise to you.

If you are new to National Parks, this may not only be a surprise, but an unwelcome one at best.

Jackson Lake Lodge is a historic lodge built in 1955 and is on the list of National Historic Landmarks. It’s a large, grand lodge, with a picture window giving the lodge a majestic air. So when visitors enter their rooms, it can sometimes be a shock to see their room is similar to a motel room. A motel room with aging furniture and furnishings. With no rooms having AC or a microwave, and only a few with fridges, the room can feel minimal and stark. Not luxurious.

Solutions

First solution that comes to mind is setting expectations, which I hope this article is doing. By knowing what to expect, what a place entails – what it has and what it doesn’t, you can make a decision on what is right for you, what you can put up with and what you can’t.

Also, you can enjoy the advantages of the Jackson Lake Lodge listed on this page without lodging here. You can stay elsewhere and still come and eat at the restaurants, shop the stores, do the hikes, do the horse rides, sign up for boating at Colter Bay and on the Snake River, use the wifi, get a cell signal, look for animals, relax in the upstairs lobby, and of course, enjoy the view, both inside and outside.

Tips When Making a Reservation

To make a reservation, call: 307-543-3100 or book online. Add special requests by telling the reservation agent on the phone, or add them to the “notes” box on the online form.

• Definitely book directly through the Grand Teton Lodge Company either by calling 307-543-3100 or online. (3rd party vendors often charge more and have more restrictive cancellation policies).
• Reservations are available on a 12-month rolling basis.
• If staying at a Mountain View Cottage, Moose Pond View Room or Suite, request a top floor (bottom floors can hear movements of top floors). They can’t guarantee a top floor, but it helps to ask for one.
• If bringing your dog, request the Classic Cottage. Only Classic Cottages allow pets, $20 per night.
• Rollaway Beds are $12 a night.
• No rooms have microwaves, some have fridges, keep that in mind about leftovers.
• If possible, book your activities when booking your room. This includes horse rides, scenic river raft rides, and eating at the Mural Room. It is difficult to sign up for these when arriving as they fill quickly. If activities aren’t available to book when you make your reservation, do ask the reservation agent what the first day for sign up is and mark it on your calendar to call back!

Tips to Enhance Your Stay

Here are some additional tips while staying at Jackson Lake Lodge:

• Have a good map and directions to get to Jackson Lake Lodge. Cell service is spotty throughout the park and you may not always be able to pull up directions on your phone.
• Upon entering your room, make sure your windows open if you think you’ll need to open them at any time to cool off – better to know right away and call maintenance then find out in evening.
• Know you can get an uber to Jackson Lake Lodge from the airport, but it is very difficult to get one from the lodge back to the airport.
• Bring binoculars – you are right over a prime animal area – the willows, look for animals off the back deck of the lodge.
• Make all activity reservations early and before you arrive if possible, as they fill up quickly and may be full if you try to sign up when you arrive at the lodge.
• Just in case, bring any cleaning supplies you think you may need.
• If you want to eat at the Mural room, make reservations through OpenTable. If possible, make reservations before arriving at the lodge.

Reservations and Cancellation Policies

The following reservations and cancellation policies information is taken directly from the Grand Teton Lodge Company web site. So where you see “we” mentioned, it is Grand Teton Lodge Company.

• Check-in is at 4:00 PM MST, check-out is 11:00 AM MST.
• All rooms are non-smoking and cooking is not permitted.
• Special room requests are not guaranteed. We will make every effort to accommodate special requests.
• Accessible accommodations are available on a limited basis and may be reserved by contacting our reservations office at 307-543-3100.
• Televisions and air conditioning are not available in our accommodations. Some room types have ceiling fans and floor fans are available upon request.
• Rollaway beds are available for most locations and room types at an additional fee. Only one permitted per room. Please advise us if you will need a rollaway when you make your reservation.
• Pack and Play cribs are available for all room types at no extra charge. Please advise us if you will need a crib when you make your reservation.
• Children under 11 stay free, there is a surcharge for extra persons in the room (12 years and older).
• Park entrance fees are not included in your reservation and payable upon arrival at the park entrance. Please call the National Park Service at 307-739-3399 for more information or visit online.
• Deposit Policy – At the time of booking, a 2 night deposit is required per room plus tax, except for stays of one night only, in which case only 1 night’s deposit will be charged. The balance of your stay is due upon arrival.
• Credit cards that expire prior to your stay will not be accepted online but can be accepted via phone. You will receive a confirmation email with your stay details by the end of the next business day.
• Cancellation Policy – From booking date until 7 days prior to the scheduled arrival date, the deposit will be refunded less a $30.00 administrative fee per room.  Cancellations or reduction in length of stay received within 7 days of arrival will result in forfeiture of deposit. All changes or cancellations due to inclement weather or changes in flight schedules are subject to the penalties stated above. A no-show on confirmed date of arrival will be considered a cancellation of entire stay and forfeiture of deposit.
• Reservation Changes – Date changes or reduction/addition of nights made 7 days prior to your arrival day can be made free of charge, based on availability.  Reductions in stay within 7 days of your arrival day will result in a forfeit of your deposit.
• No-Shows – A no-show on confirmed date of arrival will be considered a cancellation of entire stay and forfeiture of deposit.
• Early Departures – Upon check-in, you will be responsible for paying for all nights of your stay.  If you choose to check out earlier than your originally scheduled departure day, you will still be responsible for any nights remaining on your stay.
• Refunds for reservations will be issued in the same payment form as tendered at the time of purchase. If payment was made by credit card, we will credit the same account. Please allow 7-10 days for a credit to appear on your credit card statement.
• Pet Policies: If you plan to travel with a pet, please familiarize yourself with the National Park Pet Regulations and our pet friendly accommodations.

Now You Know

Hopefully the information provided here will help you in your lodging and accommodations search. If you have additional questions, feel free to post them in the comments or contact me directly.

Good luck on your Grand Teton National Park Lodging search, and when you get here, to Grand Teton National Park, keep your eye peeled for a moose!

Keep Your Eye Peeled for a Moose!

Jenn Cunningham
Founder, Explore GTNP