So many honeymooners overlook the treasures that are right here in our own backyard — beaches, cities, mountains, and more — in favor of more far-flung destinations around the world. I always find it refreshing when a couple wants to honeymoon right here in the U.S.A. , and I had a great time planning this “Wild West” itinerary for Sarah and James:
Hi Ann,
Everything was amazing!! Here’s my breakdown on the trip:
Denver– the Curtis Hotel is cutesy but rooms are small, no tub – only a stand up shower – but it’s 1 block from an amazing diner featured on food network that we went to twice and it was sooo amazing, called Sam’s #3 and it’s 2 blocks from the 16th Street Open Mall, which is so much fun to go shopping, enjoy the nightlife, go on a horse carriage ride…
We also went to the Denver Zoo which was about 5 miles away, a $15 cab ride one way, and it was easily the best zoo I’ve been to. And of course the game was amazing!
West Yellowstone– is a tiny little tourist town. The Holiday Inn we stayed at was pretty nice. The room was really big and it had the spa tub which was cool. The West Yellowstone entrance is a nice start into the park and you can easily make your way to everything in the park if you have enough time. We went into the park 4 days and saw everything and more.
We upgraded our car rental to a Jeep Wrangler and it was the best decision we could have made! You really want something bigger and safer on those crazy winding roads.
We used Yellowstone Safari Company one day for a private tour and it was amazing. I could have never learned or saw as much as we did in that one day even if we had a week ourselves. They have binoculars, and long range scopes, and they bring all the refreshments and lunch. We ended up seeing all the big animals, grizzlies and wolves, coyotes, antelope, elk, buffalo, moose…all because of our guide’s knowledge of where to look for them and the scopes.
Back to the town, its sooo small and there’s not many good dining choices; it’s a more pizza & beer kind of town. The restaurant attached to our Holiday Inn was by far the worst dining experience we had the whole trip. Oh, and most things in town close down early. The best part of West Yellowstone was the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. It’s only $10 for a 2 day pass and you can see saved grizzlies and wolves so close up, it’s really incredible, we loved it and went both days probably for 3 hours each day.
What I didn’t know to expect, and which you could tell someone, is the amount of driving we did. We drove 1,000 miles in 6 days. You’re literally driving around all day in the park, as most of the big sites are 15-20 miles apart from each other.
I feel like going to Yellowstone is seriously life altering- it’s like you never knew any of this kind of stuff still existed and to see it being kept safe is amazing.
Jackson– We stayed at Spring Creek Ranch, which is totally awesome. To get to the main reception building, you go up a two and a half mile driveway, all the way up the mountains, so when you get to your private cabin and walk out onto the deck, the view is incredible. The cabin was small, cozy and perfect.
They have stables on the ranch and we did a 1 hr horseback ride in the mountains which was amazing. We also had hot stone massages at the spa there which were incredible, definitely a great splurge.
Jackson City is more populated and more like a little city and has a lot of great fine dining choices. During our time there, they were having their art gallery festivals so we got to see a lot of awesome artwork while walking around the shopping district. Some cool places to visit are the Wort Hotel & Silver Dollar Bar and The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar.
Two of our favorite places we ate here were two totally different restaurants: The Bird, which is a small local pub, which serves the most amazing burgers ever. And the Rendezvous Bistro, which was fine dining with a fun menu. We went to Teton Village but it’s mostly for sporting people or if you want to ride the tram up the top of the mountain, but it was pricy and not worth it as it was smokey that day from all the fires.
Thank you so much!
Sarah
