How To Visit Expensive Jackson Hole On A Budget

Our family in front of the Grand Tetons, Wyoming

         This past summer, we spent a week visiting the National Parks in Montana and Wyoming. Think Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons. Absolutely beautiful. But wow, expensive. And Jackson Hole, Wyoming has been named the most unaffordable place to live in the entire US. 
         So what's a family of five supposed to do? I checked the chains in the area to see if we could use award points, all sold out. Argh. If you get lucky, there is a Hampton Inn and Suites, Super 8, Motel 6 and another Hilton in Jackson. The area is divided into Jackson Hole and Teton Village. The better ski area according to the locals is at Teton Village, but the town is in Jackson Hole. Teton Village feels very much like a small resort at the bottom of the ski run. 
I checked airbnb.com, but the rates were outrageous. So then I searched hostels and bam, I found The Hostel in Teton Village. 
Now, I stayed at plenty of hostels back in my 20's when I backpacked across Europe. But I never thought about staying at a hostel with my family. 
But guess what, we loved it. 

The Hostel at Teton Village, Wyoming

The Hostel is located right at the bottom of the ski run next to the Four Seasons. Yep, right next door. But we paid $130 per night for a room for five people. I am pretty sure you would not be able to stay in the closet at the Four Seasons for that price. 
The Hostel had FREE coffee, tea, and hot chocolate plus a pool table, access to a shared refrigerator, laundry facilities and a lounge. There were also barbecues available. They stated that they had kitchen facilities as well, but all we saw was a camping stove. 
The room was small, but we had a private bathroom and fresh linens. 
It felt safe. There were lots of families and kids. In the winter, they had places to store your skis, snowboards, and boots. The rooms did not have air conditioning, but do have heat. 
We picked up breakfast items, sandwich items at the Albertsons in Jackson and a pizza to go for dinner. 

Best part was seeing moose on our hike at Jenni Lake

Activities we enjoyed included river rafting with Lewis and Clark down the Snake River. We paid $450 for this tour, but erased it with our Capital One Venture card points. 

Plus we took the boat across Jenni Lake (no reservations needed, boats depart every 15 minutes) and hiked a few miles to Inspiration Point and saw moose! Definitely a highlight of the trip. 

River Rafting on the Snake River

The Virginia Diner had a great Wyoming breakfast with fresh biscuits for $10 per person. 

We liked The Hostel so much that we are going to try staying at another one in Patagonia, Chile next year. 

Stay tuned! 

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