Jackson Hole Ski Resort Review

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is a North American ski resort on steroids. Jackson Hole Wyoming is an exceptional ski resort due to the snow, the amazing steep and challenging terrain, the backcountry, the village, and the lift infrastructure. It’s so easy to see why so many people flock there to live and call themselves “a local”! Jackson Hole Ski Resort is so perfect that the Powderhounds would consider it to be the best US ski resort, however…and it’s a big however…. everyone knows how fabulous it is and it’s become completely over-run. On a powder day, the Jackson Hole Ski Resort can be feral, the lift lines ridiculously long, fresh powder gone in-bounds within half an hour (and gone within an hour in the sidecountry), and good luck if you need to drive or get a bus from the town of Jackson. Yet if it’s not a powder day mid-week, all the locals don’t bother turning up, and it’s a fairly peaceful ski resort. Weekends can be a different matter when lots of Ikon Pass holders arrive en masse.

Pros and Cons of Jackson Hole Wyoming

Pros

• The Jackson Hole Ski Resort has amazing terrain, especially the advanced on-piste, off-piste, steeps, chutes and other expert terrain.
• The snow is generally excellent, with respect to both quality and quantity.
• There are lots of fast lifts and the resort continues to invest in lift infrastructure.
• Teton Village at the base of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is lovely and it’s a far cry from those sterile cookie cutter US ski resorts.
• Whilst it’s rather touristy, the town of Jackson is a ski town with plenty of character, and lots of fabulous restaurants and shops.
• It’s close to Yellowstone National Park, so you can add a day of thermal feature and wildlife spotting to your agenda.

Cons

• Everyone knows how good the Jackson Hole Ski Resort is, so it’s no surprise that it’s heavily trafficked on a powder day which results in massive lift lines, negligible freshies, chaos on the roads and parking lots, and good luck getting a beer at the Mangy Moose.

Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective

• Jackson Hole is accessible via the Ikon Pass, yet the pass has probably contributed to the crowds being even greater.
• The sidecountry terrain is phenomenal but if you want fresh tracks you need to go in during or straight after a storm when the snow hasn’t had a chance to settle. Avalanche incidents are common.
• The region has amazing backcountry skiing options, but even zones such as Teton Pass are quite busy.
• If you’ve got plenty of cash, you can pay for the privilege of early tracks. If you don’t you can just get the left-over scraps.

Jackson Hole Ski and Snowboard Terrain

As the tram heads up the hill jammed full of early morning powder seekers, you notice one thing at the Jackson Hole Ski Resort– the consistent fall line, the steeps and the vertical. Jackson Hole has some the most challenging (read FUN) inbounds terrain in North America. There is also some genuinely frightening stuff for the uninitiated. When there are roped off areas and a sign that says ‘cliff’ it really means it’s a no-go zone.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has marketed the ski area as a playground for solely for Warren Miller type athletes. The mountain stats claim that 50% of the terrain is for experts and the trail map also doesn’t differentiate between single and double black diamond runs, which completely undersells how amazing Jackson Hole is for the average advanced skier or snowboarder. Despite there being a lot of blue traverses, there are also plenty of fabulous fall-line groomed runs (40% of the trails are rated as intermediate), although there is probably more on offer for the upper intermediate than tentative intermediates. And whilst there are lots of better US ski resorts for beginners, the beginner terrain is adequate.

The inbounds terrain is reasonably sizeable with 133 named trails, 2,500 acres (1,066 hectares) of slopes, and 4,139 feet (1,261 metres) of vertical. In addition to the inbound slopes, there is another 3,000 acres of gated backcountry terrain.

Jackson Hole Snow

Jackson Hole Resort is also renowned for the powder skiing. With around 459 inches (11.7m) of snowfall per season, there is an abundance of the white stuff that is typically light and fluffy.

Where is the Jackson Hole Ski Resort?

Jackson Hole is located in the cowboy state of Wyoming in the shadow of the Grand Teton. The base area of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (Teton Village) is 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the town of Jackson Wyoming. There is an airport at Jackson, with domestic flights from various major US cities. See the travel to Jackson Hole page for more information.

Jackson Hole Lodging

Teton Village

Jackson Hole’s base area is called Teton Village. Teton Village lodging mostly consists of deluxe hotels and condos that are ski-in ski-out or very close to it. Apart from the hostel, the Teton Village accommodations are pricy, and you pay for the quality as well as the convenience of staying on the hill. Teton Village is reasonably compact and it’s refreshingly unlike some of those cookie cutter US ski resorts you find down in Colorado. It doesn’t have the boring neat rows of condos and heated pedestrian walkways, and it’s delightfully a bit haphazard. There are various restaurants and upscale bars, or you can get into the ski bum culture at the very well known Mangy Moose.

Teton Village Lodging Listings

Jackson

Down in the town of Jackson, you’ll find an abundance of hotels and other lodgings for a range of budgets. Bonuses for Jackson lodging are that it’s cheaper than Teton Village, and the nightlife, shopping and restaurants are superior. Jackson is well connected to the ski resort by the START bus system, although a powder day can jam up the roads and add a lot of commute time. The town of Jackson Wyoming used to be a genuine western town. Nowadays it’s more of a touristy western ski town than the real deal (the cowboy outfits in the shops are just for the tourists to buy, not actual cowboys and cowgirls), but it’s still an incredibly lovely town. Near the town square, the streets have covered wooden board walks which adds to its appeal and there are lots of outdoor shops, souvenir shops, and quirky boutiques and galleries (many featuring the local wildlife).

Jackson Accommodations Listings

Activities

In addition to skiing and snowboarding at the resort, other ski activities include heli skiing, backcountry ski touring, and cross country skiing. Other Jackson Hole activities include wildlife spotting, ice skating, tubing, and shopping in the town of Jackson with its many quirky boutiques, galleries and outdoor shops. Or you can take a full day snowmobile or snowcoach tour to Yellowstone National Park to view the wildlife, geysers and other thermal features.