Location, location, location. This collection of cabins and lakefront units is right on the eastern shore of Jackson Lake (the only such resort in the park, as they point out to you). We spent 1 night here at the end of our Grand Teton Visit in an upper-level lakefront retreat.

For $210, our room (one of four in the building, two on each level) had a narrow but nice balcony along the front with two chairs and a magnificent view of Jackson Lake and its stony shoreline. The living area had a sleeper sofa and the bedroom had two queen-size beds. The small kitchenette could have used some updated pots and pans but did include a coffeemaker and coffee. There's a variety of other rooms here, too, including rustic cabins.

Our room was spacious and comfortable and gave the five of us than more than enough room to unwind. The central lodge has some other nice areas, as well as a small grocery store. The lodge is in the middle of the park, roughly equidistant from Colter Bay and Jenny Lake. If you wanted to spend a while in Grand Teton, this would be a good base. Several of the families we met do that every summer, coming here for a week of boating, relaxing, hiking, and sightseeing.

We wanted to spend at least 1 night in the park, which we knew might be hard to come by when we made our plans in April—but there was one spot left! It was exactly what we were hoping for: a comfortable place to relax and watch the sun go down on the Tetons in the evening, and to watch it rise again the next morning.



The sunrise was gorgeous, and my wife and I had coffee (provided in the room) on the balcony and watched the whole spectacle unfold. We left Grand Teton with the sunlight streaming over Jackson Lake and onto those goregous mountains.


You can learn more about the lodge at their website, but they only take reservations over the phone. Like most in-park lodges, a reservation requires a deposit of the first night's charges.)