Elk Refuge Inn
1755 U.S. Highway 89/191
Jackson, WY
Wake up beside the National Elk Refuge.
This property is an Honorable Mention. It has been vetted and approved for our highest standards of cleanliness, safety, and operational excellence. While it is still evolving toward our full design-led designation, it is a proven, reliable anchor for any road trip. We recommend it with confidence.
About Elk Refuge Inn
The Elk Refuge Inn earns its name honestly: it sits about two miles north of Jackson's town square, pressed right up against the 25,000-acre National Elk Refuge, where one of the largest elk herds in North America winters within sight of the rooms. Longtime Jackson businesswoman Monay Olson bought the property and gave it a full remodel inside and out, replacing tired furnishings and updating every room. The result is a clean, comfortable, independently owned inn with a genuinely spectacular setting, and it became the first lodging in Jackson Hole to reach the local Business Emerald Sustainability Tier. It is not a design-led boutique property, and that is the honest gap here, but for a quiet, well-kept room with the refuge out front and Grand Teton minutes away, few places in the valley match its location or value.
What Elk Refuge Inn Is Known For
What the Elk Refuge Inn offers that almost nothing else in Jackson can is a room on the edge of the National Elk Refuge, with the herd and the open country right outside, at a price and a level of quiet the town-square hotels cannot touch. Add consistently spotless housekeeping, a full remodel under committed local ownership, and small guest-first touches like free laundry, and you have a reliable, welcoming basecamp in a famously pricey valley. Come for the refuge and the Tetons, and for the rare feeling of having a little space to yourself in Jackson Hole.
Amenities
- WiFi
- Rooms facing the National Elk Refuge
- Private patios and balconies with refuge and mountain views
- Complimentary guest laundry with detergent
- Kitchenettes in select rooms
- Minutes from Grand Teton National Park
- Quiet setting north of town
- Free on-site parking
What Guests Love
- The inn backs directly onto the 25,000-acre National Elk Refuge, so refuge-facing rooms look out over open country where one of North America's largest elk herds winters within view.
- A full interior and exterior remodel under committed local ownership shows in consistently spotless, well-kept rooms that guests single out for cleanliness.
- The location is hard to beat: about two miles from Jackson's town square and roughly five minutes from the southern entrance to Grand Teton National Park, while staying quiet and set apart from downtown.
- Complimentary guest laundry with detergent, free parking, and in-room kitchenettes in some units make it a practical basecamp for a long Jackson Hole trip.
Worth Knowing
- The rooms are clean, spacious, and comfortable but plainly furnished rather than design-led, so come for the setting and the value rather than a boutique interior.
- Refuge-facing rooms with patios are the ones to book and they go first, so request one when you reserve if the view matters to you.
- Some highway noise from US 89 carries during the day and settles at night. Guests may hear road noise; a refuge-side or quieter room request is worth making if you are a light sleeper.
- No breakfast is served, but complimentary in-room coffee is provided and Jackson's bakeries and cafes are a short drive away.
- Jackson Hole is a high-elevation mountain town with real winters, so pack layers and expect cold nights even outside of ski season.
The Room
The rooms are spacious, spotless, and comfortable, with the practical touches that matter for a Jackson Hole trip: good beds, flat-screen TVs, microwaves, refrigerators, coffee makers, and kitchenettes in some units. The ones to request face the refuge, with private patios or balconies that look out over the open land and the foothills beyond, where wildlife is a regular sight. The interiors are clean and updated rather than designed, plain and pleasant instead of styled, which is the honest reason this is an honorable mention rather than a full designation. But the beds are comfortable, the housekeeping is consistently praised, and the view from a refuge-side patio is one no amount of interior design could improve on.
The Grounds
The setting is the whole point. The inn backs directly onto the National Elk Refuge, so from the refuge-facing rooms and patios you look out over open range that fills with elk through the winter and draws pronghorn, birds, and other wildlife the rest of the year. The property is quiet, set apart from the crowds of downtown, yet only about two miles from Jackson's antler-arched town square and a five-minute drive from the southern entrance to Grand Teton National Park. Free parking sits right outside the rooms, and a complimentary guest laundry with detergent is the kind of small, practical touch travelers on long trips remember. Some highway noise from US 89 carries during the day and eases at night.
The Experience
Staying here puts you on the edge of the wild while keeping Jackson within easy reach. Mornings might start with elk grazing the refuge beyond your patio; days run into Grand Teton and Yellowstone, onto the ski slopes in winter, or down to the galleries, saloons, and restaurants around the town square; evenings come back to a quiet room away from the noise. The National Museum of Wildlife Art sits just up the road, overlooking the same refuge. In winter, sleigh rides carry visitors out among the wintering herd a short distance away. It is a basecamp for the whole of Jackson Hole, chosen for its calm, its views, and its value in one of the most expensive resort towns in the country.
Details
Jackson, WY 83001
The Boutel designation is earned, not purchased. Boutels is editorially independent and has no financial relationship with any listed property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Elk Refuge Inn pet friendly?
No, Elk Refuge Inn does not allow pets.
Does Elk Refuge Inn have EV charging?
No, Elk Refuge Inn does not have EV charging.
Does Elk Refuge Inn have WiFi?
Yes, Elk Refuge Inn has WiFi.
What is there to do near Elk Refuge Inn?
National Elk Refuge: 0.5 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk. National Museum of Wildlife Art: 1 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk. Grand Teton National Park: 4 miles, about a 10 minute drive, or you can bike there.
How far is Elk Refuge Inn from National Elk Refuge?
0.5 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk.
How far is Elk Refuge Inn from National Museum of Wildlife Art?
1 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk.
How far is Elk Refuge Inn from Grand Teton National Park?
4 miles, about a 10 minute drive, or you can bike there.
Is the Elk Refuge Inn really next to the National Elk Refuge?
Yes. The inn sits directly against the 25,000-acre National Elk Refuge about two miles north of Jackson, and many rooms have patios or balconies facing the refuge. In winter one of the largest elk herds in North America winters within view.
How far is the Elk Refuge Inn from Jackson Town Square?
About two miles, roughly a five-minute drive, so you are close to the shops, galleries, and restaurants of downtown Jackson while staying in a quieter setting away from the crowds.
How far is the Elk Refuge Inn from Grand Teton National Park?
Roughly a five-minute drive to the southern entrance of Grand Teton National Park, making the inn one of the more convenient and affordable basecamps for exploring the park and the wider Jackson Hole valley.
Does the Elk Refuge Inn serve breakfast?
No breakfast is served, but complimentary in-room coffee is provided, and Jackson has a number of well-loved bakeries and cafes a short drive away.
Does the Elk Refuge Inn have free parking and laundry?
Yes. Free on-site parking is available right outside the rooms, and the inn offers a complimentary guest laundry with detergent, a perk travelers on longer trips appreciate.
When can I see the elk at the National Elk Refuge?
The elk herd is generally present on the refuge in the winter months, roughly from late fall into early spring, when thousands move down into the valley. Winter sleigh rides carry visitors out among the herd nearby.
How can I give feedback on a property I stayed at?
If you are a guest that stayed at the property, we would love feedback about your experience. Boutels listed on this site do not pay to be included nor can they pay to be sponsored or promoted. Your feedback matters. Please .
I’m affiliated with this property and have feedback on this listing.
We’d love to learn more about your property. To provide images, simply log in as a member (it’s free), find your listing on the map, choose “Visited,” and you’ll be given the option to upload images and leave a note. You can also and we’ll be in touch, just be sure to provide us with contact information in that form. Thanks!
Things to Do Near Jackson Hole
National Elk Refuge
0.5 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk.
The 25,000-acre federal refuge the inn backs onto, winter home to one of the largest elk herds in North America. Winter sleigh rides carry visitors out among the animals, and wildlife is visible from the property year-round.
National Museum of Wildlife Art
1 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk.
A striking hillside museum overlooking the elk refuge, holding one of the country's foremost collections of wildlife art. Its architecture, built into the rock, is a draw in itself.
Grand Teton National Park
4 miles, about a 10 minute drive, or you can bike there.
The jagged Teton range, lakes, and trails begin just north of Jackson, with the southern park entrance only about five minutes from the inn. It is one of the most photographed mountain landscapes in the world.