I am of two minds about Jackson Hole since I read "Bears Without Fear" by Kevin Van Tighem. Van Tighem was the long time Superintendent of Banff and correctly points out that national park management bound by political boundaries sometimes makes it hard to manage when habitat is bounded by ecology. As we make parks more accessible but regulated, you find the growth of "edge" towns exploding, offering tourism services. You also find foothills and range land outside the parks being gobbled up for real estate purposes. Sorting through the conflicting priorities and goals of political, economic, and conservation is hard. Certainly the explosion in development in Canmore in Alberta is a prime example, and I think Jackson Hole just south of the Tetons is another.
From a tourist point of view Jackson Hole is great. It has endured a lot of development since our last visit especially to the south. It is trendy and upscale. There are still the $10 tee shirt shops, but there certainly are lots of high end clothing, art, and jewelry stores. It is close enough to the south end of the Tetons to make a trip into town for dinner an easy trip from Jenny Lake Campground and I have already written about how nice it was to experience the multi-use bike path from town up to Jenny lake and to see the work being done to extend it there and to see the start of the bike path going up the east side of the Snake River. In town, in the older section there are dedicated bike lanes where possible and in the southern end of town construction on a segregated bike lane in the newer commercial district.
You can't go into town without checking out the historic cowboy statue and the antler arches on the town green. I also love places that celebrate public art. Lots of that and great food in Jackson Hole.
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