Jackson Lake Lodge, Grand Teton's grandest

We arrived at Jackson Lake Lodge on a perfect Wyoming day, and pulled under the portico. I jumped out and entered the lower level lobby. Nice. Tasteful, but no wow!  factor. A little patience was needed. I checked in, then too impatient to wait for the publicist to accompany me, I walked up the stairway. Wham! To say that the massive windows frame one of the nature's most expansive canvases is an understatement.  I literally gasped, and I am not alone.
For some, the Gilbert Stanley Underwood designed International style, concrete and glass structure doesn't fit the "lodge" criteria.

Set on a bluff back from the edge of Jackson Lake, it is a 1950s interpretation of the national park lodge that only Underwood and JD Rockefeller, Jr. (who paid for it as a "gift" to the American people) could have come up with. And it works on many levels. This is not about the building as is the case with Old Faithful Inn (Yellowstone) or even The Ahwahee (Yosemite); it is about capturing the view. And it has always been that way.
The lodge features more than the grand hall. There are two restaurants, the lovely and fairly expensive Mural Room (and yes, there are exquisite murals along with the views) and the fun and funky Pioneer Grill where families can be more than comfortable, well fed and have lots of fun.
There is a huge conference center attached that most visitors won't even notice along with the Blue Heron cocktail lounge that was added in 1989. Two balconies above the grand hall are great vantage points to check out the lower hall and, of course, the view. Step outside, and a terrace runs the expanse of the lodge. Park rangers are on hand as guests check out the wildlife lurking just yards away. A quick hike up Lunch Tree Hill (where the whole idea of park expansion and the lodge was hatched with the Rockefellers), and you have the lodge in a nutshell.
There are rooms in the lodge, but the motor court units will spark memories of childhood park visits by any Baby Boomer lucky enough to have taken car trips in the family station wagon. Each unit has a little porch with Adirondack chairs. There's a pool, a corral where you can set up chuck wagon outings or horseback treks. And then there is the park. Need I say more?

My Tips:

• Stay in the lodge's one story motor court rooms (try to get one closest to the main lodge) unless you want something fancier; then stay in the lodge itself.
• Pop for at least one dinner in the Mural Dining Room then try Pioneer Grill. There are other restaurants in the park and in Moose and Jackson Hole.
• The chuck wagon breakfast is great for kids.
• Remember that there are wild animals...I mean, don't be foolish. I still see people running up to bears (honest!). You will see the most incredible array of wildlife especially if you're there in June when lots of baby animals abound. 
• If you can, take the guided tour about lodge art and murals.
• I'm not a big fan of gift shops, but this one has some lovely items.
• Combine your Grand Teton trip with Yellowstone National Park. The drive alone is worth it...and then there is Yellowstone!
• Learn more about the Jackson Lake Lodge history, Mission 66 plus fabulous photography in Great Lodges of the National Parks, Volume Two.  Dignitaries visited many of our great lodges, but this was the site of the 1989 historic US-Soviet talks (check out the table at the top of the stairway); JFK visited two months prior to his assassination.
• There are lots of housing options at Grand Teton NP. The cheapest cabins (both tent and historic log) in the park are at Colter Bay Village. I was just talking with Kay Scott, author of The Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges, and she suggests Dornan's Spur Ranch Cabins, a complex of 12 modern log cabins near the south entrance of the park... she says they're especially nice for grandparents with grandkids. On the other end of the price spectrum is Jenny Lake Lodge. More on that in a new book????? But for me, it's Jackson Lake Lodge.
• Visit the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center not only to get park information, but to see the award-winning architecture of the building.

This copyright photo was taken by David M.Morris and appears in Great Lodges of the National Parks, Volume Two