Grand Targhee Ski Resort Review

Grand Targhee Ski Resort in Wyoming is a powder hound’s paradise. Sometimes seen as the poor cousin to nearby Jackson Hole, Grand Targhee is by no means underprivileged. Sure the Grand Targhee ski terrain isn’t as extreme as its well known neighbour, but more importantly Grand Targhee has got more of the white stuff, with over 500 inches (12.7m) of snowfall annually. Targhee is on the opposite side of the Tetons from Jackson Hole, the western side, which traps the snow from the massive storms that travel eastward from the Pacific. More powder is dumped on the western side than the Jackson Hole side. Fantastic!

Not that long ago, there was barely anyone at the Grand Targhee Ski Resort and you only had to share the freshies with about 100 people. Now like anything that’s really good, the word has spread and Grand Targhee has become popular. Of course it’s all relative, and Grand Targhee remains pretty quiet compared to the insanely crazy Jackson Hole.

Pros and Cons of Grand Targhee

Pros

• Grand Targhee Ski Resort has amazing snow – deep, light, consistent powder.
• Relative to Jackson Hole, it’s not heavily trafficked
• Grand Targhee has fun advanced terrain and great backcountry access.
• The terrain for beginners and intermediates is very good.
• If you’re in search of a great powder skiing resort location in the US, then Grand Targhee is an absolute MUST DO.
• The resort has gorgeous scenery (when it’s not dumping with snow).
• It’s relatively inexpensive to ski and stay at Targhee.

Con

• At the Grand Targhee Resort, there’s not much to do besides the skiing or snowboarding.

Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective

• The steep expert terrain is short and limited.
• The village is pretty quiet in the evenings, once the day trippers have left the bar.
• Grand Targhee is not on the Ikon Pass or Epic Pass.

Grand Targhee Ski and Snowboard Terrain

You’ll love Grand Targhee Resort, because you can almost ski every inch of it. The Grand Targhee ski area is over two mountains – Fred’s Mountain and Peaked Mountain, totalling 2,602 acres of lift served skiing and boarding. The resort is basically powder bowls, light trees and gorgeous glades.

There is plenty of intermediate terrain consisting of beautiful cruisers and lovely corduroy (and powder when it snows). This is a great place to learn to ski powder because many of the areas aren’t too steep, and considering there are minimal crowds, there are stacks of opportunities for fresh lines.

Lift capacity is not an issue either with two of the lifts being high-speed detachable quads.

The Powderhounds have rated Grand Targhee pretty highly as a powder hound ski area, which is not something we do lightly in the US (this is usually reserved for the highly coveted Japanese and European ski resorts!). Factors that impressed the Powderhounds include the variety of backcountry and in-bounds terrain, the quality and quantity of powder, and general lack of crowds. See our US ski resort ratings to see how Grand Targhee compares.

See the Grand Targhee ski terrain page for our review, ratings and more information.

Where is Grand Targhee Wyoming?

Grand Targhee Ski Resort is right on the border of Wyoming and Idaho (officially it’s in Wyoming). The town of Driggs Idaho is only 12 miles (19km) away from Grand Targhee, and Jackson and Idaho Falls airports are both approximately 90 minutes driving time away from the resort. There are shuttle buses from the airports to Targhee, as well as to and from Jackson Hole.

See the travel to Grand Targhee Wyoming page for more information on location.

You could day trip to Grand Targhee from Jackson Hole, but it’s worth staying at Grand Targhee for a few days. When it dumps with snow, the Teton Pass between Targhee and Jackson often closes, which adds an extra hour or so onto the drive time.

Grand Targhee Lodging and Facilities

Grand Targhee lodging is limited to only a few hundred pillows across three lodges. The accommodations are conveniently located with super easy access to the slopes.

The village is not party-central (the exception being après at The Trap Bar with the poor sods not staying on the hill). Consequently this is a resort well suited to dedicated skiers/snowboarders and families. The village has enough dining facilities to fulfil your needs and very limited shopping facilities – who came here to shop anyway!?

Grand Targhee Accommodations Listings