Jackson Lake is low, but there's plenty of water for kayaking/Kurt Repanshek

COLTER BAY VILLAGE, Grand Teton National Park -- Early summer is an incredible season to visit Grand Teton National Park in western Wyoming. The forests, meadows, and wetlands are greening up, runoff has filled Pilgrim, Spread, and Pacific creeks, there's still a good measure of snow on the craggy Tetons, and wildlife abounds.

During a recent four-day visit to the park we stayed at Colter Bay Village in one of the charming cabins there and spent days in our sea kayaks on Jackson Lake. It was a refreshing trip, one that got us away from our offices and reminded us that spending too much time at the keyboard through the winter is no way to stay physically fit or mentally sharp.

While you can move back and forth through the park during your visit, visiting Colter Bay, Jenny Lake, Moose, and other destinations, we focused this trip on Colter Bay because of the easy water access there. Or what we thought would be easy. More on that in a bit.

Historically, at least when you're talking about 20th century history, Colter Bay was the site of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp from 1933-35. The workers were tasked with removing thousands of trees that died as water levels rose in Jackson Lake, which had started out as a glacial lake much like nearby Jenny Lake before the first dam went up in 1906.

While that work was going on, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., was also at work, quietly buying up ranches in the Jackson Hole valley that he would later donate to the federal government for the national park that grew out of Jackson Hole National Monument. As Rockefeller acquired those properties, he also came into ownership of dozens and dozens of distinctively assembled log cabins that dotted the valley. Rather than simply demolish them, Rockefeller gave them to the National Park Service, which moved 186 cabins to Colter Bay to be used by park visitors. The cabins were the first aspect of the Park Service's plans to turn Colter Bay into a hub for visitors, complete with campgrounds, visitor center, marina, stores, and restaurants.

According to the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum, "[T]he significance of Colter Bay’s participation in the Mission 66 program also sets it aside from the projects at other National Parks. Colter Bay’s [initial] construction and opening was seen as an experiment for a national-scale program. It was unusual in its private backing (the Rockefellers) but the success was significant enough for the National Park Service to embark on the official Mission 66 program nation-wide. The historic cabin village and the RV sites would be a first for a National Park campground."

Colter Bay Today

Today Colter Bay Village remains, largely, charming. The cabins, run in lines through the pine forest in a variety of sizes that can accommodate families of various sizes, are for the most part surprisingly well-kept when you consider their age. Available from late-May to late-September, they are not insulated against sub-freezing temps but are equipped with powerful little wall heaters to ward off the morning chill. The bathrooms are minimal -- toilet, sink, and shower -- but sufficient.

You also can choose a Spartan "tent cabin," which has two canvas walls, two wooden walls, and bunks. There's a woodstove to help you stay warm, a public restroom a short walk away, and no electical outlets. It's an interesting accommodation...the first time. 

There are a few options for meals at Colter Bay: the John Colter Cafe Court, where you can order pizzas and other fast food options, the John Colter Ranch House, which offers a somewhat heartier menu, and the General Store, where you can purchase prepackaged items, fresh fruits, soft drinks, and adult beverages.

Now, before diving into the details, kudos to the Grand Teton Lodge Company staff we encountered at Colter Bay. The covid pandemic continues to leave employers short of staff, but those workers we met were friendly and determined to help us make the most out of our stay.

During our stay we found the lodging accommodations [$232/night for a cabin with a full bed] suitable and well-cleaned. The bed linens looked practically new and quite comfortable, and the bathroom, though small, looked in great shape. WiFi was surprisingly strong, the result of an ongoing effort by the National Park Service and the concessionaire, the Grand Teton Lodge Company, to "wire" the park.

There was no daily housekeeping due to staffing issues, which made it necessary to go in search of TP, clean towels, and a replacement tissue box. Not a big deal. It would have been nice, though, to have additional hooks/towel racks in the bathroom, and a broom and dustpan for the cabin would have come in handy, too. 

The cabins are aged and historic, and show their age. In our cabin there were clearly visible gaps between the doors and the door frames, though GTLC works to stay on top of such problems.

"We conduct cabin chinking cyclically—a process to seal off gaps between structural logs, door frames, etc," said GTLC spokesperson Amy Allen in an email. "The particular cabin you stayed in was last chinked in 2020. However based upon your comments we will look at the door and door frame to see if there is anything we can do to reduce the gaps you mentioned. Each year we conduct significant capital projects across our facilities. At Colter Bay, we recently made improvements to flooring, bathrooms and furnishings, in addition to the ongoing chinking work."

This gap at the top of the door was least a half-inch wide, and a similar, though smaller, gap was at the bottom/Kurt Repanshek

It is expensive to keep up historic properties in the parks. At Yellowstone National Park the National Park Service and the concessionaire have spent millions of dollars on renovations over the decades on Lake Hotel. During the most recent renovation, completed in 2014, work included structural enhancements to help stabilize the hotel during earthquakes, new red oak flooring throughout the lobby area, Sun Room, and dining room; room renovations that included freshly tiled bathrooms, new fixtures, carpeting, and light fixtures; the addition of four suites through room consolidations; full ADA compliance, and; plenty of fresh paint and stain throughout. In some cases, carpenters removed century-old trim and windows where necessary to accomplish work before reinstalling them.

Whether there ever would be such a capital-intensive endeavor at Colter Bay with the cabins remains to be seen, but there's reason enough to tackle such work: Not only are these structures historically significant, but the entire village was a model for the Park Service's Mission 66 program to upgrade national park facilities for an American public anxious to get out on the open road.

"Colter Bay in particular represented pioneering, being an experiment in high concentration" park lodging, Laurance S. Rockefeller, John Rockefeller, Jr.'s son, said in 1956. When the village opened the next year, the New York Times added that, "[T]he $1,500,000 in new facilities on the lakeshore will serve as a model for modern vacationing in other national parks under the Mission 66 development."

There is an area at Colter Bay Village and the Jackson Lake Lodge that begs a little improvement: the restaurant menus. In such an incredibly beautiful setting, with the Tetons clawing at the sky and reflected in their lakes below, the menus didn't match up.

Dinner entrees at the Ranch House ranged from $17 to $34 and ran from Smoked Brisket, Smoked Half Chicken, and Smoked Pork Ribs to Steak with Chimichurri, Seared Rainbow Trout, and Jackfruit Tacos. Jackfruit, I learned, is a bread-loaf-sized tropical fruit related to figs, mulberries, and breadfruit. Our server said it has the consistency and look of pork. You also could opt for the salad bar for $20, which seemed a bit much for the offerings.

Kudos to GTLC for trying to offer vegetarian options. They do also offer tofu dishes and penne pesto, but why not replace one of the two Jackfruit dishes (the other was Pulled Jackfruit) with maybe a grilled portobello mushroom steak, pasta primevera, eggplant parmesan, or roasted broccoli dish?

And while the Red Pepper Diablo Shrimp & Pasta sounded interesting, it failed to live up to its description as "Angel hair pasta tossed with Bang Bang Sauce and topped with pan-fried Shrimp." The thin, watery sauce had no bang, and the shrimp looked to be poached, not pan fried. The sirloin steak with chimichurri sauce was good. 

The menu at the Mural Room at Jackson Lake Lodge was somewhat better, though it seemed odd that so early in the season the restaurant was out of bison strip steaks. The sides of Burgundy mushrooms and Smoked Bacon and Shallot Yukon Mashed Potato were forgettable.

Breakfast back at the Ranch House the next morning was similarly disappointing. The ubiquitous breakfast bar you find in park lodges was so-so, and the scrambled egg burrito downright blah. The tortilla was wrapped tighter than a drum with compressed innards of eggs, potatoes, and cheese, and it looked as if it had been pulled from a fridge and tossed in a microwave. The accompanying thimble of salsa was watery and lacked punch. 

For comparison, on our way home we stopped at the jam-packed Bunnery Bakery and Restaurant in Jackson, Wyoming, where I had a sumptuous omelette with cheese, diced bacon, and freshly diced tomato, with a side of hashbrowns ... to go!

Would it be too over the top for the Ranch House to scrap the breakfast bar in favor of an omelette station or crepe station? 

"Our culinary team strives to create menus that meet a wide variety of tastes and dietary restrictions while focusing on ingredients and dishes that are sustainable and local where possible," said Allen. "We generally get extremely positive reviews from visitors on the dining experiences across our properties."

Away from the Ranch House, if you're looking to quench your thirst with an adult beverage after a day out in the park, the locally brewed Jenny Lake Lager is awesome. You can find it in the General Store at Colter Bay.

Out In The Park

The drought creeping aross the West was obvious even here in the Teton Range. The need to push more water down the Snake River to ag lands in Idaho had left Jackson Lake at its lowest level since, perhaps, it was first filled in 1906. The Colter Bay Marina was devoid of both boats and water, and the cobble-covered Swim Beach required you to cover 150 or more feet of beach before reaching the water. Still, it was a relatively easy spot to launch our kayaks, and was popular with after dinner crowds for gazing at the jagged Tetons and the setting sun.

The wide stretch of exposed beach at Swim Beach didn't stop park visitors from enjoying the evening setting on the shore of Jackson Lake/Kurt Repanshek

Colter Bay: A Marina in need of water in June 2022/Kurt Repanshek

While the waterless marina no doubt disappointed more than a few powerboaters and their support services, it was nice to paddle the lake without the constant buzzing of boats. White pelicans were plentiful and graceful, and the forests we inched past were alive with bird calls.

If you're planning to put your canoe/kayak/boat into the park's waters, you'll need a permit from the park (available at visitor centers), proof that your craft has been inspected for invasive aquatic species, and an AIS sticker from the state of Wyoming. The easiest way to obtain the AIS sticker is to go online to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and fill in the blanks, including the one with your credit card, and pay the requisite fee. You will be able to download a digital version of your sticker; a real one to be affixed to your craft will be mailed to you, but the digital version will satisfy any ranger who stops you and asks if you have an AIS sticker.

What struck me at Colter Bay was that the visitor center hours ran from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Now, granted, these are typical hours for many park visitor centers, but in a park that draws you out into the wilderness to hike, paddle, or work on your photography or fishing, wouldn't it be more convenient if those hours ran from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.?

We didn't manage to get down to the Jenny Lake area, which probably was a wise decision. Another couple we met at the Signal Mountain boat launch said parking was impossible to find there. Which is understandable, as it's the most popular destination in the park, and justifiably so. Key to visiting there is either arrive shortly after sunrise, wait until sundown, or show up in fall after the families with school-aged children have left but before all the aspens lose their lustre, (though even then you're likely to encounter crowds, so get out early in the morning).

While we didn't spot any grizzlies, there were a couple sections on the park road near the Colter Bay turnoff where "Blondie" and her cubs had been making appearances. To prepare for any bear jams, park staff was ready to manage any crowds, and red stanchions let motorists know where they couldn't park.

Grand Teton is an incredible park, with jaw-dropping scenery, plenty of outdoor activities to take part in, and just as many options for enjoying nature in solitude.