We all agreed driving in to Jackson Hole, WY, that it’s the cutest little town. I can only imagine how beautiful it must look in the winter when the snow is covering the ground. Recently some friends of ours visited Jackson Hole and recommended a burger spot they told us we must eat at. Given they’re totally foodies, we took their advice and made it our first stop when we got to town. It did not disappoint! If you’re in Jackson Hole you must eat at Liberty Burger!! Best burger I’ve ever had!
We also made a pit stop at Moo’s Gourmet ice cream for an afternoon treat!
The best part of our trip to Jackson Hole, WY, had to have been white water rafting with Mad River Boats. Kyle and I had talked about wanting to take the kids, and with all my research, it pointed to rafting down Snake River. Mad River Boats is located right in downtown Jackson Hole. You can reserve your spot, time and date, right from their website, making it easy to plan ahead. They also have boat shoes and wetsuit rentals if you’re worried about being cold when you get wet, as well as Go Pro rentals. Life jackets and and water resistant jackets are provided for the trip. You’ll still get wet with them on, but it repels more than your clothes will.
Recommendation: wear close toe’d shoes you don’t mind getting wet, avoid cotton clothing and if you want to bring your phone, get one of these. Hats and sunglasses worn at your own risk.
The ride down the snake river is 8 miles and with the bus ride there and back, plan for 2.5 – 3 hours for this excursion. The guides are all amazing!! As you go down the river they put you at ease by reminding you all the safety tips and telling you when to paddle and when you can relax. Each guide has large oars, doing most of the guiding during your trip, which is nice because you can enjoy there ride. Our kids have never been down the rapids and in July/August the largest rapid is a class III.
The guides will even play games on the boat, tell you the history of each rapid and encourage you to hop in for a little swim during the mile in the middle where there’s not rapids. One of the games we played on our boat was having someone hop on the nose of the boat and ride the rapid as if you’re riding a bull. As you can see, Katelyn took him seriously and decided to try this one out herself. Thank goodness the smash of the rapid threw her into the boat and not out in to the water.
When you hit the Big Kahuna rapid towards the end of your trip Snake River Photo is there to capture all the fun!! They sit up on the cliff right by the rapid and capture everything from start to finish. That’s how we landed these great pictures of our trip and Katelyn “bull riding” the rapids. By the time you’re back to Mad River Boats, Snake River Photo has your pictures loaded on the site and available for purchase and download. They took a dozen pictures of our crew going on the Kahuna and they were all fantastic! I highly recommend purchasing photos to remember your trip!
Thanks to our new friends on the boat with us for this family photo with the Go Pro at the end and for video of Katelyn!
This was definitely a trip we will all remember and we can’t wait to go white water rafting again! Thanks Mad River Boats for making our first time the best time!
I had to include this picture because it was our first “big” wildlife sighting on the way to the hotel after river rafting.
Hotel Accommodations in Jackson Hole, WY: Snake River Lodge and Spa, Teton Village
xo, Alissa
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