Jackson Hole---the valley just east of the Teton Range in northwestern Wyoming, sliced by the Snake River---enjoys a tremendously scenic setting, and summer is a great time to soak in the ambience. The season may bring the region's biggest crowds, but it also means expanded access to the high country, balmy temperatures, and urbane pleasures. A few highlights follow.
The Park
Take advantage of the pleasant weather in Grand Teton National Park, which features the 13,000-foot-plus horns of the high Tetons, rugged conifer forests, crisp lakes, and sagebrush flats---not to mention plenty of bison, moose, elk, coyotes, pronghorn, black bears, and the occasional grizzly and gray wolf. Take a horseback trek, raft the Snake River, climb one of the iconic Cathedral Group peaks---summer opens the park from glacier to river-bottom.
Rendezvous
Accompany your mountain rambling, river fishing, and buffalo scouting with the appropriately anachronistic Jackson Hole Rendezvous, part of the annual Old West Days festival and celebrating the valley's mountain man and fur trapper heritage. Take in the period dress and competitions while soaking up the scenery---as splendid today as in the 19th century.
Music Under the Tetons
Head over to Teton Village in July and August for the lauded Grand Teton Music Festival, held since 1962. Musicians from around the country constitute the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, which performs a variety of compositions in a variety of configurations throughout the concert season. Many of the shows take place in the Walk Festival Hall, the official concert facility for the festival.
Grand Teton Music Festival
4015 W. Lake Creek Drive, #1
Wilson, Wyoming 83014
(307) 733-3050
Six O' Clock Shootout
Stroll over to the Town Square in Jackson at 6 p.m. sharp Monday through Saturday between Memorial Day and Labor Day for the Jackson Hole Shootout, advertised by the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce as the "longest, continuously running shootout in the country." Observing the Old West action is free.
Bagpipes and Caber-Tossing
Attend the Wyoming Highlanders' Jackson Hole Scottish Festival on the third weekend of August to get a taste of another aspect of Teton history. The event features Highland music, athletics (typically involving the hefting of heavy objects), dancing and refreshments, all honoring the Scottish and Celtic heritage in the Jackson Hole country.
About The Author
Ethan Schowalter-Hay is a writer and naturalist living in Oregon, although he originally hails from the prairies and brushy woods of Wisconsin. He has written for the "Observer," the Bureau of Land Management and online publishers. He holds a Bachelor of Science in wildlife ecology and a graduate certificate in geographic information systems from the University of Wisconsin.
