Dornan’s Spur Ranch Cabins

Very comfortable cabins at the entrance to Teton National Park. All the basics are provided — sheets, towels, blankets — and we had use of a small kitchen. From the description online I thought the cabins would be a little more private and have direct views of the Tetons, but we still enjoyed our stay.

We love Dornan’s…have been staying there for the last 13 years… cabins are comfy… great views… see lots of wildlife… couldn’t ask for more!

Wish we could have spent more time here! The cabins were awesome — room to eat, hang out, and sleep. The views are spectacular and there is good food/​drink just 200 feet away.

I can’t say enough about how wonderful exploring the Teton (and Yellowstone) National Parks are for anyone, and Dornan’s Cabins happened to be a particularly good accommodation find for our trip in late August 2013. The location was great (close to Jackson Hole, but in the park itself), and we were very happy to have access to all the same amenities that we would have been paying 600+ dollars a night for (seriously, plus the rooms are smaller) at any of the big lodges in the Tetons at a ¼ of that price.
If you are thinking about Dornan’s you should book far ahead though, because they only have a couple dozen (if that) cabins total. Even though I booked almost 10 months in advance, I reserved the last one-​bedroom & one of the last of all for that time in August. Also, be aware that Dornan’s is on the southern Edge of the park, so some of the Northern attractions were a bit of a trek, especially in the afternoon-​evening. Since our trip worked out that our path was from North (Yellowstone) to South (back to the airport in Jackson Hole, as it is for most people), Dornan’s was actually a BETTER location for us than the big lodges would have been, and so doubly worth it. Just know that Dornan’s in Moose, WY is closer to Jackson Hole & the airport than it is to Yellowstone and the northern parts of Jackson Lake/​Teton Park if you’re planning your time.
Also, there were a few cons. First, there’s a three-​night minimum stay (and equivalent full deposit at booking time) for any of their cabins, and I don’t think that any reason under the sun would convince them you deserve a refund if you change plans/​can’t make it for some reason. I mention this because It would have been worrisome for us if something unavoidable came up (ten months later), because anywhere with a roof in the Tetons is expensive as far as I can tell. I mention it too because everywhere else we stayed over our two weeks had a much more flexible and reasonable cancellation policies.
Also, please don’t delude yourself into looking for any helpfulness (or even common courtesy, in our experience) upon your arrival. For us it worked, though– we didn’t need to be shown anything other than where our room was because we already knew what we were doing, and there were other friendly and helpful folks all around to help us find anything we were looking for or wondering about (a wonderful and apparently lucky occurrence).
The town of Moose itself was also (despite the remoteness implied by the name) a bursting metropolis in comparison with our surroundings most of the trip, and we were able to pick up some last minute souvenirs there (avoiding the jackson hole trap), mail our postcards, and find some things we had been going without since yellowstone (like access to a washing machine, a replacement pair of headphones for the plane etc.)
If you are in the beginning planning stage of your trip, I’d recommend buying or borrowing «Moon Yellowstone and Grand Teton» (moon handbooks) to find lots of cabins/​off the beaten track accommodations like this, also a better list of markets, restaurants and night life, cool activities owned by smaller companies, and detailed maps of the bigger areas. If I did it again, I’d copy some of the pages (don’t neglect the pages for the phone numbers of where you are staying, which I think they purposely make hard to find while there, but which we needed serval times). I definitely couldn’t have found 90% of the good deals and fun things we did without that book, but in all honestly, Lonely Planet was better for listing trails, a comprehensive list of attractions, overall planning, background etc. that we wanted to have with us while we were there.
Please excuse my book review tangent. it’s just a lot to see/​a big trip for most of us, and this particular tidbit would have been welcome to me while I was researching Dornans for the first time =) Hope you have fun if and when you go !

Starting show its age after 15 years however close to the park and wilderness quiet with major exception warning: Dornans bills itself as a resort however its more like a very small town and just when you want to enjoy the sound of river and birds they host weddings and major dancing until about 10pm. The noise is deafening and last weekend they actually closed the only restaurant there for a private party causing our mountain climbers to miss dinner out after grueling hike/​climb. They also require upfront pre payment for reservations and you lose $ 50 even if you cancel one month in advance. Nevertheless will continue staying there in summer due to cleanliness, amenities and natural settings. Beware. It’s a destination for at least one bus load for the outdoor breakfast.