If you stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park between May 5 and July 17, 2025, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) might want to hear from you. The hotel discovered a bat colony in a shared attic of one building. The agencies are now coordinating risk assessments for all exposed guests of the National Park Service–owned (NPS) hotel.

　　It is certainly possible that the bats could be infected with rabies. That does not mean that the people who stayed in there were exposed to rabies, National Park Service spokesperson Emily Davis told GearJunkie. So, public health professionals are contacting people who stayed in those rooms to discuss their possible exposure to the bats and to assess their risk.

　　Authorities want to speak with guests who stayed in rooms 516, 518, 520, 522, 524, 526, 528, and 530. According to Alexia Harrist, the state health director for the WDH, the lodge had roughly 250 reservations within those rooms from May 5 to July 17.

　　Assuming that usually multiple persons were staying in each room, we are estimating between 400-500 people were impacted, Harrist said.

　　If you stayed at the lodge during the specified timeframe and believe you may have been exposed to a bat, NPS wants you to contact Grand Teton Lodge Company [email protected] call them at 307-543-3044.

　　Jackson Lake Lodge Clears Cottage Block

　　The main common area of the lodge; (photo/hawthornephotos via Flickr Creative Commons) Jackson Lake Lodge is owned by NPS, but operated by the Vail Resorts-owned Grand Teton Lodge Company. GearJunkie spoke with a spokesperson from Vail Resorts on background for this article. They explained that the affected rooms are actually a group of cottages, in a separate building from the main lodge.

　　Guests started reporting bats on June 2. The lodge made some early mitigation efforts, Davis said. But as the reports continued, it became clear that the problem was bigger than they realized. According to Harrist, the lodge closed the block of rooms on July 27. NPS and WDH contacted the CDC shortly thereafter.

　　CDC has rabies subject matter experts who have experience with potentialbatexposures that involve large numbers of people, such as this one, Harrist said. They provided guidance on developing the risk assessment questionnaire that is being used to determine rabies risk.

　　NPS said there is no plan to exterminate the bats at this time. The WDH, CDC, NPS Office of Health and Safety, and Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) Wildlife Biologists are working together to develop a plan for removing them.

　　So far, all of the bats tested for rabies have been negative. Vail Resorts said the measures taken so far are out of an abundance of caution. Harrist explained why.

　　The overall risk of rabies frombatsis low. But given that rabies is nearly always fatal, it is important in this situation to assess each persons potential exposure, she said. Rabies is transmitted through saliva via a bite or a scratch. So of particular concern are individuals who might have had direct contact with abat.

　　Reduce the Risk of Rabies

　　(Photo/Bill Barham) Like many national parks, Grand Teton National Park has a healthy bat population. Of the 10 species that live in the park, six are common. Little brown bats, big brown bats, hoary bats, silver-haired bats, long-legged bats, and long-eared bats are frequently sighted.

　　According to NPS, bat bites and scratches can be so small that a person might not notice them. If you discover a bat in your room or tent, do not try to capture it and leave immediately. Contact an NPS ranger, campground host, or lodge representative at once, and try not to let the bat escape. A public health professional will then contact you to determine your exposure risk.

　　Rabies-infected bats might be active during the day. They might be crawling around on the ground, or acting confused, aggressive, or flying in a strange, erratic way. Harrist said there is currently no defined reopening date for the block of bat-affected cottages at Jackson Lake Lodge.

　　It will not reopen until it can be determined that the risk for continued bat exposures in the lodge rooms has been mitigated, she said.

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