Join the experts for a memorable adventure in the Jackson Hole region.

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to join Jackson Hole Eco Tour Adventures on their Sunrise Wildlife Tour and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.  I’ve been living in Jackson Hole for three years now and I can’t even believe the things I didn’t yet know about my own home.  

We started our experience at 6 AM where I met my group in the parking lot of the visitors center.  You do have the option of having them pick you up as well which many of the passengers opted for. I was greeted with warm smiles all around and I could tell from the start that our guide Arielle was going to be awesome.  We climbed into our “safari” vans and as promised, everyone got a window seat and a pair of binoculars. My favorite part of the van was the detachable roof doors above each row that you could unlatch and stick your head out of.  We were all introduced to each other and given a rundown of how the trip would go. There’s a standard route with many wildlife viewing options along the way. Each trip is a little different depending on the wildlife patterns of the week and what everyone is most excited about.  We were warned to bring our park passes beforehand or to be prepared to buy one at the park entrance, but we never actually ended up going through the actual gates so we didn’t have to worry about that part.  

We headed out of the parking lot and ventured North as Arielle began telling us the story of Jackson Hole.  A gifted raconteur, she managed to captivate our attention for the entire duration of our journey with fascinating facts and tales of this beautiful place from a different time.  Our first stop was along the Gros Ventre River where we scoured the banks for wildlife as Ariel prepared thermoses of fresh coffee and breakfast snacks. (Available to us were granola bars, muffins, dried fruit, beef jerky, tea, coffee, orange juice, seltzer, and water.) We then made our way to Mormon Row where we saw hundreds of adorable ground squirrels and a herd of majestic Pronghorn Antelope.  (Did you know that the Pronghorn Antelope is the second fastest animal in the world after the Cheetah!? I definitely did not.) We got our photos taken in front of the iconic barn in front of the Tetons before carrying on to our next location. (Pit toilet available at this location.)  

Our first official bathroom stop was about 2 hours in at the Teton National Park Visitors Center.  We carried on along the scenic stretch of road that connects Teton Village to Teton National Park and saw 2 Moose and a Kingfisher!  Further North, we saw herds of Bison, Elk, and Pronghorn all within a mile of each other. A telescope and camera were set up at each location to be used at our leisure so anyone had the ability to take professional-level photographs anytime we saw something we wished to document (airdropped or emailed to us at end of the trip).  As our time came to an end, all of us passengers giggled amongst each other and shared our own travel stories and wildlife encounters.  Bonded by this experience, we wished each other well at the parking lot before carrying on with our days.  

I highly recommend this trip to visitors and locals alike!  Perfect for curious older kids and any adult. The sunrise trip was a magical way to start my day and since it ended by 10 AM, I still had the whole day ahead of me to fit in more daytime activities.  If you want a more full-on experience, they do full-day trips out to Yellowstone, birding trips, snowshoeing, photography, multiday, cross country skiing, etc. Would make a great day one activity to add context to your entire JH experience.