Grand Targhee, Wyoming

Grand Targhee is one of 3 ski areas near Jackson, WY. People often hit Targhee for one day on their trips to ski Jackson Hole. It is known mostly as a less-steep area than Jackson Hole and for the great consistent snow.  This review is based on 3 visits under really good conditions the first 2 times and early season conditions the 3rd.

Stats

Real Vertical ?	2,270′, Rank: 57
Size	2,602 Acres, Rank: 30
Annual Snowfall ?	500″ claimed / 466″ actual, Rank: 6
Lift Pods ?	5, Rank: 59
Distinct Trails ?	80, Rank: 47
Review Date	March 2011, December 2013 and December 2024
Number of visits	3
Our Rating	★★★★
Resort website	https://www.grandtarghee.com

Grand Targhee Review

We had been hearing about Grand Targhee for years. So when we finally made it to Jackson Hole, we took a day to ski Targhee. This is a classic type of ski resort with only about 2,200 ft of vertical aligned along a single ridge. It has 4 major ski pods on 2 peaks plus a nice beginner pod at the bottom. Each run will be top-bottom. The vertical is decent on the 3 high speed quads. That allows you to rack up a lot of vertical in a day.  In fact our record of almost 32,000 vertical in one day was made here in December 2024.  It wasn’t even that hard!

The Mountain

There is actually a LOT of acreage to keep you entertained. With 2,600 acres, it is bigger than Jackson Hole. There are few trees on the Fred’s Mountain terrain, so most of the acreage is ungroomed and skiable on a powder day.

The crowd, or lack there of

Oddly, the ski area does not get lots of traffic, and it is almost always possible to find untouched powder off the groomed terrain. Targhee is not on a major pass product which probably explains why that is.  The day ticket is not cheap either so you really have to want to ski there to pony up.  Mountain Collective pass holders can ski 2 or 3 days during a season.

On a powder day it is one of the few areas on our list that you will be skiing powder all day, instead of just a couple of runs first thing in the morning. Thankfully, there are lots of powder days and frequent snowfalls. The area only has 5% of the terrain covered with snowmaking, which is one of the least amounts of snowmaking for any of the resorts on our list, but the snowfall is so consistent there that they don’t really need it.  This is a very rare feature.

Blackfoot

Starting on the left, the Blackfoot chair skis larger than the trail map suggests. This area gets less traffic and is our favorite spot in the afternoon because the groomers can still be fresh. It’s also slightly less foggy up top than Dreamcatcher on one of the frequent foggy days.  The ancient double chair was replaced with a new quad in 2016.  It’s a long, slow ride compared to the other major chairs on the mountain.

Dreamcatcher

Dreamcatcher is the main lift and it’s a great one with 2,000 ft of vertical. Lots of groomed intermediate and advanced trails. The lift also provide access to hike-only terrain to skiers left. The hike to the top of “Mary’s Nipple” is short with a nice payoff of about 1,000 vertical of powder skiing.

Sacajawea

The Sacajawea lift is more typical of most Western resorts, with some mostly heavily wooded terrain and runs cut through the trees. The only problem with this lift is that Dreamweaver is the only way to get back to the Dreamcatcher side. It’s a narrow blue on a ridge top that get pretty scraped up and rocky. The rest of the terrain is great with some varied winding runs.

Peaked Mountain and the new Colter lift

I’ve hiked all the way over to the top of Peaked Mountain, which is above the top of the Sacajawea lift and was also the top of the snowcat skiing operation until 2021. Before the Colter lift went in they had signs up there that you were not supposed to ski down the Sacajawea side unless you’ve paid for snowcat privileges. The open double-blacks right down from the peak are steep and scary. These also face due north and have fantastic snow conditions. This is the steepest terrain on the mountain. The lower chutes on this steep ridge are accessible from the Sacajawea lift.

In summer 2021 construction began on the Colter lift that goes almost to the top of Peaked mountain.  This was completed in 2022 which is when snowcat skiing ended.  But having lift-served access to the top of Peaked Mountain really expands the skiable terrain.  More lifts are planned in the master plan for the future, but it remains to be seen if this actually happens.  There has been a lot of local opposition and also concerns about bighorn sheep habitat being impacted.

Colter serves more of that ideal pitched ski terrain Targhee is famous for.  There is nothing really intimidating there.  The real prize is the Rolling Thunder run.  This is one of the best intermediate runs in North America in our book.  We took it several times.  The rolling terrain offers an incredible view — especially at the top where the best view of the namesake Grand Targhee peak in Teton National park is available.

Food and base lodge

In 2013 we felt that the food was pretty limited and average. In 2024 we felt like things had improved dramatically.  The main restaurant is Wild Bill’s grill, which we found to be a notch above average as the cheaper mainstream option most people will take.  There were plenty of options on the menu at reasonable prices.  We previously ate at the Trapp bar which was just OK in 2011 and 2013.  In 2024 we also ate at the table service Powder Cache restaurant.  This was surprisingly good and we will definitely do that at least once a trip when we go back.

The Vibe

The vibe at Targhee is very friendly and way less competitive than at Jackson Hole. We’ve had some great chairlift conversations and had a great time skiing with a couple of the old timers that were giving tours. There are lots of local families there with race programs and a dedicated beginner chair and “Kid Fun Zone” that will keep the kids entertained.

Targhee had a snowcat operation as mentioned above. Friends of ours spent a day doing that and said it was a lot of fun and fairly inexpensive, although the terrain is a little flat for powder skiing. This was replaced with lift-served skiing which added much-needed terrain and made Targhee much more of a complete package.  Now you can spend 2 consecutive days there and not get bored repeating the same trails off Dreamcatcher and Sac.

Beginner terrain

Ironically, we observed that the most popular chair in 2024 on a Saturday was the beginner chair “Shoshone”.  Although we never took it, we did ski through there a couple of times.  It looks like pretty ideal terrain for a beginner to progress.  It’s definitely not flat and there are lots of runs/options to keep people just learning engaged and challenged.

The good

• Consistent deep and light snowfall
• Less crowded than nearby Jackson Hole
• 70% Intermediate terrain is great for average skiers
• Most of the ungroomed acreage is skiable most days
• Great groomed runs on each chair
• 3 high-speed quads serve most of the mountain
• Nice beginner zone
• Snowcat operation is great for inexperienced powder skiers

The bad

• Top of the mountain is frequently fogged-in and windy
• Very limited village at the bottom with few options
• You need to drive over Teton Pass to get there if you are staying in Jackson

The bottom line

Targhee is powder paradise with some of the most consistent snowfall in North America.  We are definitely planning to go back. With the consistent deep snow I’m sure we will end up there someday soon when snow is hard to find at most other western ski resorts.