Grand Tetons trip costThe next De Anza Outdoor Club trip to Grand Teton National Park is planned for September, 2012. See Grand Tetons for details.
If all goes as planned, the ten De Anza owned tandem (two or one person) kayaks, paddles and life jackets will be transported to the park. Beginners please note that the kayaks De Anza owns are not the kind you get your legs stuck in, they are more like user friendly small canoes.
(2011 canoe rentals: one place quotes $248 a week, $48 a day or $40 each day for multiple days, another $70 per day, another says "full day (8 hours): $85", Jenny Lake or Signal Mtn rentals are $15/$17 an hour.)
If we only kayak part of our trip we can save $200 to $300 per boat.
photos below used with permission from Ron Niebrugge: http://www.wildnatureimages.com/
   
We will have four or five or ... official kayaking days suitable for beginners. If we get a huge group, since only 20 can kayak at a time, each person will get fewer kayaking experiences. We plan to do a short to quite long (your choice of distance, with or without a Ranger Naturalist), hike into Cascade Canyon, the premier Grand Teton National Park hike, and people usually do many other hikes together if they are on the trip for enough time. People usually sightsee and have meals (cookout or restaurant) together. We know the best places to look for elk early in the morning, where to find and watch a beaver colony and where a pair of bald eagles usually nest (and when we bring people to these locations we make certain they don't disturb the animals). More details of things to do are at: Grand Tetons.
The official days of the trip will probably be late August or Sept. 1 or 2 to 11. Participants can stay for a shorter, longer or much longer trip. Usually people go to Yellowstone National Park, just north of Grand Teton, as well.
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Compare our trip costs below to a few local outfitters who offer (2010 / 2011 prices)
a 1/2 day kayak trip for $95, a one day kayak tour for two people $250 per person or four people $160 per person,
a 1 day/1 night kayak trip for $273.
1 day of sightseeing for $450 for four people. 1/2 day $375 for four people. Four hours $125 per person. (Plus the park entrance fee.) Another tour cost $775 a day. Another eight hour tour was $180.
one evening canoe tour $60 per person a four hour sunrise driving tour $115
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The 2012 trip cost will be announced here closer to the trip. But previously money paid to the club has been a little over $100, and was spent on:
One ride on the hiker shuttle boat across Jenny Lake for the all day Cascade Canyon hike on a day picked by the group. ($10 per adult 2011). (The boat shuttle takes four miles off the round trip, allowing people to hike farther into the mountains.) No refunds if you do not hike with us that day.
For the Grand Teton park permits ($10 to $20 depending on lenght of use) and Wyoming annual Aquatic Invasive Species decals ($15 each for non-motorized boats owned by non-residents) for the kayaks. (No refunds if you do not kayak with us, but if you won't kayak with us, why are you going on this trip?)
We fully expect to be able to bring all the kayaks, BUT if the club can't transport the De Anza owned kayaks, $50 will go toward rental of canoes. We can expect canoe rental prices of at least $48 to $82 for 24 hours ($248 a week), so the trip fee won't cover a lot of water adventures, and certainly not the wilderness overnight, if the De Anza owned kayaks can't be transported.
If they can be transported, the club will provide: kayaks, paddles, drybags, and lifejackets (which must be worn and strapped securely). Again, all this is if the De Anza-owned kayaks can be transported, if not, we will rent canoes in the park. AND please note that if we have a really big group, the first signed up and paid will have priority for boat use, others will need to rent craft.
There is also a kayak cleaning/loading/unloading fee. We need to clean/bleach all the kayaks between uses so we don't risk spreading zebra mussels, etc. Everyone who kayaks will pay a $25 fee. If you help with these chores you will get at least a $25 credit towards a club event within one year. If you don't, your share will go for a larger credit for someone else to do the work.
NO REFUNDS for no-shows.
Trip participants are responsible for all other arrangements and costs, including, but not limited to: food, park entrance fees, campsite, cabin or hotel cost, gas and other transportation costs, sleeping and eating gear and other personal gear. (The local outfitters mentioned above also do not cover any of this, except perhaps meals on overnights.)
People should plan for two breakfast buffets after very early morning sightseeing or kayaking on days picked by the group. 2011: $12.75 per adult (plus tax).
Before you sign up the advisor must see and approve of your rain jacket/pants, tent, sleeping bag, NON-COTTON fleece jacket/pants and long johns. If you don't have a proper rain jacket/pants, fleece jacket/pants and long johns during the trip you will not go kayaking.
 
TOTAL COST???
Since different people will have different budgets:
drive or fly; some may camp, some may get a hotel room / suite, (most usually share a cheap cabin),
... the trip cost will vary.
Below you can find:
The cheap trip,
The not-so cheap trip
The slightly more costly trip, but less driving time also known as the I-can't-get-much-time-off-work trip
and The Expensive Trip
Below, trumpeter swans and young moose photos courtesy of NPS:
 
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The cheap trip
See trip cost paid to the Outdoor Club, (above), and add:
Stuff six or more people into a car and split the gas, $143 or less each(?)
The Grand Tetons road trip drive can be as much as 3,000 miles round trip with lots of driving in the park. (The trip odometer for one vehicle ran up 1000.2 miles between the home driveway and the town limits of Jackson, Wyoming.) A van/SUV full of people with a current tune-up could be expected to get at least 15 miles per gallon. 3,000 miles divided by 15 = 200 gallons. At $4 per gallon, this equals $800.
(Remember that gas is often cheaper outside of our area; in July, 2011, gas in Jackson was as low as $3.55, Pocatello (Idaho) $3.50 and Salt Lake as low as $3.35.) These are ESTIMATIONS! Prices change.
If no van/truck is available, we might go with the example of the 2000 trip. One rental car transported two kayaks and three people. At 28 mpg this came to 107 gallons or (if $4 per gallon) $428 divided by three people= $143 each.
We have the equipment to help you secure a kayak on top of most cars, (even on a Prius ... for a really cheap trip).
(Depending on trip size, we might be able to transport some camping gear on the kayak trailer or in the gear hauler trailer, but the club, drivers, officers, advisor, etc. can't be responsible for your gear.)
Grand Tetons trip transportation has driving distances and guesses at gas cost (often much lower out of state), and driving notes for the Tetons trip to SAVE MONEY ON GAS AND TIME ON THE ROAD by not taking the obvious exit to drive slowly through towns you don't need to.
Split the park vehicle entrance fee, (2011 $25 for seven days) or better yet, find someone to carpool with who already has a National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands annual pass ($80 for a year). (If you go on the club winter Yosemite trip it could be wise to get a year long pass.)
Don't exceed the speed limit. According to the FTC, "The faster you drive, the more fuel you use. For example, driving at 65 miles per hour (mph), rather than 55 mph, increases fuel consumption by 20 percent. Driving at 75 mph, rather than 65 mph, increases fuel consumption by another 25 percent...If you anticipate traffic conditions and don't tailgate, you can avoid unnecessary braking and acceleration, and improve your fuel economy by 5 to 10 percent."
Another article said that when gas prices are at $4.50, "you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an extra 30 cents per gallon for gas."
Properly inflate your tires and get up to 3% higher mileage (and a safer ride). Regular tuneups can save 10 to 20 percent.
Eat food from home or the local grocery, including peanut butter/bananna sandwiches.
Get a Colter Bay campsite instead of a cabin: (2011) $20 per night (6 people, 2 vehicles, 2 tents max.) = $3.34 per person each night, ($10 with a Golden Age Passport). map of Colter Bay campground Grand Teton National park
Your club advisor knows where there are eight campsites (not at all near Colter Bay) with no potable water, that are free.
If there are less than 3 people who want to camp the hikers/cyclists walk-in site at Colter Bay is (2011) $8 per person per night and would be cheaper than a campsite for one or two people. This walk-in site would work for people who don't have a vehicle or can park it (if it will fit) with the rest of the group at the cabins.
If we have a big group of campers they should probably get family campsites, since group campsites are much more expensive, and depending on group size, allow fewer vehicles per the number of people (as per as phone conversation in April 2010; no details were available at either the park or the concessioneer webpages). At Colter Bay, for example, there are 11 group campsites that will hold 10 to as many as 100 (but the reservations agent could not tell me how many of each kind). One she did find could hold minimum 10 to 25 people, and 5 vehicles. It cost a non-refundable $25 fee and $5 per person per night. For one night of camping for 12 people this equals $85. For two family campsites for the same 12 people it would be $40.
If we have a big group and everyone wanted to have dinner together, it would not be fair to nearby campers for everyone camping to meet and cook/dine at one of the family campsites, as it is impossible to control noise even with courteous people. We can still have the group campsite experience, as just down the road from the campground there is a beach with a much better view than the campsites have, parking, picnic tables, fire rings and restrooms.
(On our fall trips, the campground has never filled.)
Club members can rent tents, insulated sleeping pads, dining canopies, stoves, lanterns, etc. with fully refundable cleaning and late fees.
Bring your own bike and/or fishing gear.
Budget for ice to refill ice chests, unexpected emergencies, unexpected souvenir shopping.
Budget $3.75 per shower at the Colter Bay shower house/launderette (2010 price).
The not-so cheap trip
See trip cost paid to the Outdoor Club, (above), and add:
Split the cost of a rental car and gas.
Split the park vehicle entrance fee, or better yet, find someone to carpool with who already has a National Parks pass.
Make your own food but eat out a few meals besides that, including possibly
one really nice dinner ($25-45?) and one really nice buffet breakfast ($11 +?).
Split the cost of a cabin: (2011)
four people in a two bedroom, (four double beds), one bath cabin = $232.14 or $58.54 per night each,
eight people, in a two bedroom, (four double beds), one bath cabin = $274.54 per night or $34.32 each per night.
 FAQ: Why should I pay for a cabin when I can camp for much less?
Because even when people are behaving courteously towards others, campgrounds are noisy until late at night and again fairly early in the morning. If you share a cabin with others who agree to the same schedule you can get to sleep early, be up before sunrise, (or take mid-day naps if you stayed up late and got up early). That's the reason people on this trip have shared two bedroom, one bath cabins to some extent every year we have gone. (If you get a one bedroom, one bath cabin, you have a shared wall with others that is not thick enough to keep you from missing seemingly inevitable family arguments.)
Plus, interesting fall weather is easier to deal with in a cabin.
Colter Bay cabins, Grand Teton National Park
T-shirts, postcards, more film you need to buy, maybe a laundromat charge. Budget for ice to refill ice chests, unexpected emergencies, unexpected souvenir shopping. Bring your own bike and/or fishing gear.
I-can't-get-much-time-off-work trip
is the above The not-so cheap trip, but fly into Salt Lake (two hour flight plus one hour time change), rent a car and drive the last six hours.
If you could only get, for example, the weekend and three weekdays off of work, try this:
Fly out after work on the evening of Thursday, August 30. Get a rental car at the airport and drive through that night.
You'll be in the Tetons, ready to play, by Friday. Return home by car and plane on Tuesday or Wednesday.
When we looked online at various cheap ticket websites in March 2010, a September 2010 round trip from San Jose to Salt Lake was going for $230 to $286 and people spotted an occasional much lower price. But also check round trip to Jackson, Wyoming - it can sometimes not be much higher, we found $249 in July 2009.
In 2007 a guy who wanted to ride in a carpool one way and fly home at the end of the trip found that the round trip ticket was less than the one-way.
If you look online for tickets, the airport code for San Jose is SJC, for Salt Lake it's SLC and for Jackson, Wyoming it's JAC.
Grand Tetons trip transportation has flight info, driving distances and guesses at gas cost, previous trip examples, etc.
photo below courtesy of http://rickkonrad.com/
The Expensive Trip
also known as ...Grand Teton National Park on $2,000+ a day...
See trip cost paid to the Outdoor Club, (at the top, above), and add:
Fly into Jackson Hole (2010 Delta $1,676 first class) and rent a car.
Rent a Harley for $150 or a Mini Cooper for $100 for 24 hours.
Eat out most of the time, including at least one exceptional dinner ($100 - 400?) and at least one extra nice buffet breakfast ($25 +).
Split the cost of a two bedroom one bath cabin between two people (2010 $221.54 = $110.77 each per night), or get a great hotel room with a kitchen, TV, fireplace, (or a suite) for $559 - $850 per night. Grand Tetons hotels, cabins, lodging
Sign up late after twenty other people have first claim on the ten De Anza kayaks, so you get to pay for canoe rentals $248 + for a week.
'Executive' private one day tour to Yellowstone $700 for up to four passengers.
White water rafting (8 miles...$60 +/-, more with meals) and the poster of you rafting they would like to sell you, see info at: Grand Tetons whitewater rafting,
bike rental (Bike rentals in Moose: (2010) hour $12 to $15, half day $28 to 36, 24 hours $36 to 48, week $180 to 240 -- depending on the quality of the bike) (guided bike tours $ 60 - four hours to $150 - ten hours) see also Grand Tetons biking,
horseback riding $36-$54 (2010), Jackson Lake dinner cruise $57 (2009), dinner float trip $70 (2010) unexpected emergencies.
Head into Jackson and spend $1,000 to $10,000 or $100,000+ on a painting or sculpture. There are a dozen stores in Jackson ready to dress you to the part of the matriarch of a wealthy ranching family.
A ten mile private balloon ride can set you back $1,200.
Paragliding per session $225, or work towards a pilot rating, $950 to start.
A two day yoga / climbing lesson for $495.
A four day private Grand Teton ascent, no experience necessary $1780.
Do you think you can get by without guided fly fishing ($495 for a day)?
or a 4-5 hour evening boat ride with a 'five star dinner and wine' for two people starting at $700?
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If you fly or stuff a lot of people in a car, you will be limited in what you can bring. If we can transport the kayaks we will also bring your lifejacket, paddle and dry bag(s). We might also have room on the trailer for a tent or small duffle bag (or more gear, depending on how may people sign up). The club and/or the drivers will not be responsible for the safety of items we transport for you.
It can be difficult to coordinate timing of activities if we don't all stay in the same area, so we've all stayed at Colter Bay (cabins or campground) for at least part of the time on previous trips.
If you will be staying in a Colter bay cabin, go directly to Grand Tetons trip equipment for details about the cabins and the logistics of sharing one.
If you want a better room, Grand Tetons hotels, cabins, lodging has details about all the properties in the park, including a description of which rooms on the grounds of Jackson Lake Lodge have the best/worst views.
Grand Tetons trip transportation has flight info, driving distances and guesses at gas cost, previous trip examples, AND trip notes with where to find some mega-cheaper gas stations and ways to keep from driving the slow route through towns we need to go through by not taking the obvious freeway exit.
Also budget for club equipment rental deposits (which take a while to get returned) and film developing and printing.
Budget for hotel rooms on the way if your vehicle doesn't drive straight through, or if you have an emergency on the way.
Park entrance fees as of April, 2010 are $12 per person on foot or bike for a week, $25 per car for one week, valid at both GT and Yellowstone. The National Parks annual pass is $80, good at all National Parks for a year. If you go on our usual Yosemite trips, want to visit more parks on your road trip and/or plan to spend more than a week in Grand Tetons/Yellowstone, the $80 pass could be a good deal.
The trip is open only to De Anza students/staff. Answers to most questions about how the club works are at: Outdoor Club Basic Info The main rules common to most of our trips, including who is eligible to go, are at: Outdoor Club trip rules.
For details about club events and on how to find us to pay for a membership, sign up for events or volunteer, go to:
Outdoor Club Coming Attractions
We can expect sunny days and rain/thunderstorms, or possibly even a little overnight snow. Interesting weather does not cancel club events. Club activity areas, and all park restrooms or other buildings are non-smoking. Even though there is smoking allowed in Wyoming restaurants, all National Park restaurants, etc. are non-smoking. No alcohol or drug use is allowed during club activities. This is not just a rule written to make the College happy, it is a trip rule.
The trip will only be an official club event while we are kayaking (or canoeing), and possibly a hike or some other sightseeing or a group meal at a restaurant or an overnight canoe trip.
How you get to Grand Teton National Park, where you stay overnight, most meals, most sightseeing, any bike riding, whitewater rafting or horseback riding, going to a movie in town, etc. will not be official club business.
The faculty advisor must be along for all kayak/canoe use, and all safety recommendations by the advisor, park and De Anza
rules must be followed.
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Grand Tetons trip pages index has brief descriptions of most of the pages about this trip.
Back to:
The cheap trip,
The not-so cheap trip
The slightly more costly trip, but less driving time also known as the I-can't-get-much-time-off-work trip
and The Expensive Trip.
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