Coming to Star Valley (Jackson, Lander: rentals, homes, homeschool)

[jbear182]

My wife, two daughters (7 & 5) and I are going to be spending 6 days in Star Valley later this summer. Other than the obvious (Yellowstone) are there any attractions we should not miss? One daughter loves horseback riding, the other wants to visit a true western ghost town. FYI - we are flying into Salt Lake and will drive from there. What is the best route - hwy 89 via Logan and Montpelier or interstate 80 and 16/89? We are leaning to the first option - seems much more scenic. We are laid back and a quite happy just enjoying the mountains, having picnics, hiking and spending time together as a family.

[WyoNewk]

I took my kids on a trail ride somewhere a bit south of Yellowstone when they were 11 & 14, but I can't remember the name of the place. That was 25 years ago! We had a nice time. My daughter had been wanting to take a trail ride for years, but her mom wasn't into that kind of thing so we took a little week-long trip ourselves.

I can't think of any ghost towns until you get around Lander. Hopefully someone else has some ideas....

[jbear182]

Originally Posted by WyoNewk

I took my kids on a trail ride somewhere a bit south of Yellowstone when they were 11 & 14, but I can't remember the name of the place. That was 25 years ago! We had a nice time. My daughter had been wanting to take a trail ride for years, but her mom wasn't into that kind of thing so we took a little week-long trip ourselves.

I can't think of any ghost towns until you get around Lander. Hopefully someone else has some ideas....

Thanks WyoNewk. There are planty of places to do the horseback riding - i've already checked that out.

[SkunkApe]

Ghost towns:

Ghost Towns of Wyoming

Miner's Delight is interesting - maybe too far away, though.

[WyoNewk]

Originally Posted by SkunkApe

Ghost towns:

Ghost Towns of Wyoming

Miner's Delight is interesting - maybe too far away, though.

Miner's Delight is one of those close to Lander that I was thinking of. There's also South Pass City just a few miles from Miner's Delight. South Pass has been "fixed up" quite a bit, and I'm not sure, but it might have had some buildings added to the town for the sake of tourism. The only thing done to Miners Delight has been the addition of some cabling, etc. to keep the buildings from falling down and rapidly deteriorating. I've previously posted some pictures of Miners Delight taken 14 years ago, but I'll add links to them here as well.

Miners Delight1
Miners Delight2
Miners Delight3

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by jbear182

.. we are flying into Salt Lake and will drive from there. What is the best route - hwy 89 via Logan and Montpelier ..

Take this route, possible a side trip to Lava Hot Springs, ID (enroute via SLC would be best). It is a nice scenic trip (Soda Springs to Freedom, WY via ID SR 34.)

The 'morning' pancake breakfast / trail ride at Jenny Lake Lodge sounded good on National Park PBS show. The Tetons are REALLY best in the early morning, tho nice most of the time. (potential rain showers in afternoon + the mosquitoes can be a pest in the afternoon and evening). Take a float trip if possible, it is a good way to sneak up on wildlife. There are 'slow trips' near the Tetons, and fast trips near Hoback Jct. Do one of each ! It is really nice if you have your own raft or Kayaks to run between Jackson Dam and Moose.

[paintersspouse]

I don't know if you have a place to stay yet. This link is to a place just below us on the Salt River. Our Vets husband runs the trail rides from this location. I have heard it is a nice home base for a stay here.

Rockin' M Ranch - Alpine Wyoming Cabin Rentals, Guest Ranch, Snowmobile Rentals, Boat Rentals

[jody_wy]

There a fresh water geyser, or intermitting spring a short hike up Swift creek in Afton. There is a old rock church in Auburn, with a play on the weekend during the summer, Then up Tygee on the Idaho side there old salt works (but on private land), there a Fish Hatchery up there also.
If you travel the first way go to soda spring then to Wayan, there a old Gold Camp up on Caribou Mountain (Caribou city)Then drive down Tin cup to freedom and Star Valley.

[jbear182]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Take this route, possible a side trip to Lava Hot Springs, ID (enroute via SLC would be best). It is a nice scenic trip (Soda Springs to Freedom, WY via ID SR 34.)

The 'morning' pancake breakfast / trail ride at Jenny Lake Lodge sounded good on National Park PBS show. The Tetons are REALLY best in the early morning, tho nice most of the time. (potential rain showers in afternoon + the mosquitoes can be a pest in the afternoon and evening). Take a float trip if possible, it is a good way to sneak up on wildlife. There are 'slow trips' near the Tetons, and fast trips near Hoback Jct. Do one of each ! It is really nice if you have your own raft or Kayaks to run between Jackson Dam and Moose.

Thanks StealthRabbit for the float trip idea. That is something we had not yet considered! Do you think this would be something a 5 and 7 year old could handle? Also does anyone know what the age rules are for individual horseback or double riding in WY?

[StealthRabbit]

For a 5 & 7 yr old I would take a short raft trip. (2 hrs or less). I would check with the rafting companies for restrictions, there are slow and gentle portions, but they are very scenic and possibly with wildlife in early morning and late afternoon. In other portions the 'rapids' were not too rough, but there is a section that may frighten your kids. Don't do that, just make the trip fun, not stressful. There are several different routes, and some are very mellow.

I don't know of riding restrictions, and they may vary by location and terrain. I think if you were staying at a 'dude ranch' type lodging, that they would be the most amiable and have adequate time for your kids to 'warm-up' to the ride and the animals. (That is another benefit of staying in private guest homes.) When our kids were ~ age 10 we were traveling via a homeschool guesthome directory, and in Maine for fall colors. We stayed at a dairy farm, and they had 5 girls who loved to ride horses, and they were wintering about 20 horse for a riding stable. We ended up staying several extra days helping on the farm and riding horse in the colorful forests. (Bonus! for our econo lodging). We still stay in touch with this family 15 yrs later.