Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1545388
insider's guide JACK SON HOLE, WYOMING Warm-Weather Wonders Much like Aspen, this is another mountain hideaway that's easily misunderstood: Jackson Hole's visitor tally every summer far outstrips ski season—and for good reason, as David Kaplan explains. He's the award-hogging bartender behind classics like Death & Company and grew up in the town. "Summer is my favorite time of year to bring folks back to Jackson, because there's something for everyone to do," he explains; during ski season, varying skill levels on the sole sport make it harder to hang together in the same way as when the hills are snow-free. Grand Teton National Park—Kaplan just calls it the park, as all his childhood pals would—is "capital-E Endless" once you get inside and much more of a "locals' playground" than Yellowstone, which has more rules and permits required to explore. "The best hikes have both water and a peak—passing a glacial lake and summiting a little peak," he says, such as Jackson Peak or Curtis Canyon. Pro-level adventurers should keep going to the Wind and Ice Caves at Darby Canyon on the west side, just beyond the park's Idaho boundaries. "There's a massive limestone cave, with a waterfall flowing out from the entrance, always makes a trip there every time he's back for "warm and cozy" food, as well as booking a table at Kampai, an upscale Japanese sushi joint that opened to cater to the newly moneyed crowd which helped make 83025 a zip code on par with 10021 or 90210. Otherwise, the Mangy Moose in Teton Village is a perennial that he loves so much he tried to convince family friends to buy it when it was up for sale. "It feels exactly what you want in a ski town, and when Justin Timberlake was hiding out in Jackson [after his DWI arrest], he performed there once or twice, randomly," says Kaplan. Save room for a shot or two at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, a high-low saloon where Moncler-leaning millionaires will rub elbows with bikers on their way to the Sturgis rally. "It's changed ownership and is now a bit more cleaned up, but it's still an icon." but most people don't know it's a horseshoe cave system, so you can enter into the Ice Cave and exit out the Wind Cave," he says. "Be careful, though, as it's easy to get lost in it." Rent a standup paddleboard to go down Oxbow Bend, he says, and "Beg, borrow, or steal to go wake-surfing on the lake at the base of the Teton mountains, which is epic. The water is cold, but it's well worth it." If you're booking a guide, Kaplan recommends Exum as ideal for "hardcore outdoor adventurers both in summer and winter." Stay at one of the two- to four-bedroom suites at Caldera House, as they're big enough to act as de facto private rentals, which you can roster with a chef if you wish. It's a shame not to explore the restaurants in town, though, according to Kaplan: The Anvil received a hipster motel makeover, adding on an Italian joint known as Glorietta behind it. Kaplan Jackson Hole's visitor tally every summer far outstrips sk i season— and for good reason. C O U R T E S Y O F JAC K S O N H O L E M O U N TA I N R E S O R T; C A L D E R A H O U S E FROM ABOVE Jackson Hole proudly claims it has more miles of hiking trails than hours of sunlight in the summer; Caldera House's four-bedroom Newberry Suite BALHAR B O U RSH O P S .CO M