Why Visit the Silver Dollar Bar & Grill in Jackson Wyoming

When fire broke out in the historic Wort Hotel and Silver Dollar Bar in Jackson, Wyoming in August 1980, the call went out: “Save the Bar!” In what might have otherwise appeared as an Animal House frat party effort, life and limb were risked to save the bar as flames engulfed the building.

But this wasn’t any ordinary bar.

The Wort Hotel, which opened in 1941, is in itself a magnificent boutique hotel, a part of the Preferred Hotel Group and Historic Hotels of America. Take a tour of this AAA Five Diamond Hotel if it is offered while you are there.

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What Makes the Silver Dollar Bar So Special

But it’s the bar that most people know and experience when visiting Jackson Hole. The top of the bar contains 2,032 silver dollars. Minted in 1921, these babies are pure silver and have never been in circulation.

The silver dollars themselves are worth enough to risk getting your eyebrows singed, but there’s so much more to the bar.

Look closely. There are yards and yards of stamped and hand-painted leather trim above the bar. Below, you’ll find inlaid wood delicately carved and branded.

There are bits of copper and crystal and so many other finely crafted details that are often overlooked by those mesmerized by the value of the silver.

But if you’re really attracted to shiny things, you’ll find almost another 1,000 silver dollar coins in furniture and woodwork around the hotel. Another good reason to take a tour of the place. If you spend the night in the Silver Dollar Suite, you have your own mini-bar with 250 silver coins embedded.

Don’t Even Think About It

However, no need to think about bringing a nail file or similar sharp instrument to pry these coins loose. Better people than you have tried and not only were they unsuccessful, those who were caught have been banned from the hotel and the bar.

And you wouldn’t want that to happen. It’s a great place to eat. They are famous for corn chowder and local game, such as pheasant, venison and wild boar.

Also, the Silver Dollar Bar is a great place for live music and entertainment in Jackson most every night of the week — no cover charge. The locals love the place as much as visitors to the community, who surely agreed that saving this bar was worth the risk that August day more than 35 years ago.