Jackson Hole Ski Resort

Airports:

The Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) is unique among the country's airports. It's the only airport located entirely inside a national park. Yup, Grand Teton National Park isn't home to just moose, bears, elk, bison, eagles, and wolves, but also American Airlines, Delta, Northwest, Skywest, United, United Express and, seasonally, Frontier.

Most flights from JAC go to (and come from) Denver (United) and Salt Lake City (Delta/Skywest). Depending on the time of the year, there are also direct flights from Los Angeles (United), Chicago (United), Dallas/Fort Worth (American), and Atlanta (Delta).

The drive from the Jackson Hole Airport to JHMR is 30 minutes. There’s never any traffic.

Some people fly into Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), which is a five-hour drive away. The Idaho Falls Airport, Fanning Field (IDA), is about two hours away.

Airport Transfers:

AllTrans [800-443-6133] operates a shuttle to Jackson and Teton Village from the Airport. Taxi fares to Jackson and Teton Village are fixed. The AllTrans shuttles are about half the price of a cab.

Salt Lake Express [800-356-9796] runs once-daily shuttle to/from Jackson from/to the SLC airport and several times daily from/to the Idaho Falls Airport.

Getting Around:

START (Southern Teton Area Rapid Transit) buses run routes within the town of Jackson as well as between Jackson and Teton Village. The buses within the town of Jackson are free and generally run from around 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. It’s a $3 one-way fare from Jackson to Teton Village (or vice versa). START drivers can’t make change and plan accordingly. Most hotels around the valley have bus schedules.

JHMR runs free shuttles from its free satellite parking lot at the intersection of Highway 22 and Teton Village Road. Parking at the resort itself is between $5 and $10.

High End:

The 124 rooms and suites at Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole, the first slopeside Four Seasons in the world, are among the largest in the valley. They’re also among the most expensive. One visit to the ski concierge or an afternoon spent in the heated outdoor pool – where fur-clad Snow Angels deliver S’mores and Icicles, a cocktail/dessert served in a freshly-made waffle cone -- and you’ll be sold, though. The 11,600-square foot spa is a worthy reason to go for a half-day lift ticket. Each of the 16 treatment rooms has its own fireplace. The resort’s art collection includes over 2,000 pieces spanning 18th and 19th century European to late 20th century surrealism; the hour-long iPod art tour is a great antidote for aching quads.

CONTACT:
7680 Granite Loop Road
307-732-5000

Several years ago Travel & Leisure readers ranked the 31-room Rusty Parrot Inn, hidden on a side street just a few blocks from the Town Square in downtown Jackson, the #1 hotel in North America (and 28th best in the world). It could have been because of the overstuffed beds, down comforters and Italian-made Anichini linens, the afternoon tea service (complete with fresh cookies or scones) or the intimate Wild Sage restaurant, which Mountain Living Magazine selected as a “Top Mountain Restaurant” in 2008.

CONTACT:
175 North Jackson Street
307-733-2000

Mid-Level

Teton Mountain Lodge's 145 rooms all have 310 thread-count sheets, goose down comforters, goose down pillows, chenille throws, and bathrobes you'll never want to take off. Because this is a condo hotel, many rooms also have kitchens. The hotel also has a rooftop hot tub (it has five hot tubs in total). Soak your tired muscles while reaching out and touching the Tetons. When you're hungry, there's Cascade Restaurant, which serves upscale breakfasts, lunches and dinners. (Ski boots and clothing are still entirely appropriate though.) Solitude Spa – named a "Hot Spa 2008" by Conde Nast Traveler – is smaller than the Four Seasons Spa, but the Four Seasons Spa doesn’t have a rooftop yoga and Pilates motion studio.

CONTACT:
3385 Cody Lane
307-734-7111 

Just a few blocks from Jackson’s Town Square on a quiet side street, The Alpine House is often overlooked. Uber-hospitable, run by former Olympians, and serving one of the best breakfasts around, it’s hard to say why. Each of the 22 rooms has a gas-lit fireplace, deep soaking tub, private balcony, Egyptian linens and European down comforters. The inn has even gone so far as to develop its own line of bath amenities, Alpine House Botanicals. Of course they are all-natural and hand-crafted, and they are used in the property’s intimate spa, appropriately named The Little Spa, which offers massage and spa treatments. (In case you’re wondering, owner Nancy Johnstone is a six-year veteran of the U.S. Biathlon team and competed at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France; husband Hans was a member of the U. S. Ski Team for five years and skied for the 1988 Olympic team in Nordic combined events in Calgary.)

CONTACT:
285 N. Glenwood St.
(307) 739-1570

Economy

You could stay at Jackson’s Motel 6, which is a couple of miles south of downtown Jackson next to Kmart. Or you could stay one block from the Town Square at the Ranch Inn, which is usually cheaper than Motel 6. Ranch Inn rooms aren’t anything fancy, but they are clean and comfortable and a fair number face Snow King Mountain Resort and have private decks.

Surprising for the price, Ranch Inn rooms come with a complimentary continental breakfast, wireless Internet access, access to an indoor hot tub, 24-hour front desk service, and on-site parking. Some rooms have extras like wood burning fireplaces and kitchens or kitchenettes.

CONTACT:
45 E. Pearl Ave.
307-733-6363

Condo/House Rental Options: From one-bedroom and loft condos built immediately adjacent to the tram dock in the late 1970s to a four-bedroom luxury lodge at Shooting Star, an exclusive development adjacent to Teton Village that includes a five-star clubhouse and intimate spa, Jackson Hole Resort Lodging offers the largest number of condo and house rentals in Teton Village. They also have properties to rent at The Aspens and Teton Pines, both about five miles towards Jackson from Teton Village. They sometimes offer some pretty sweet deals that often include airfare and lift tickets too.

CONTACT:
800-443-8613

Top-Rated Breakfast Spots

If you’re staying in Jackson and driving out to the Village, a short detour to Nora’s Fish Creek Innin Wilson at the base of Teton Pass is eminently worthwhile. In a cozy log cabin with a Tulikivi wood-burning stove, Nora’s has everything from Banana Bread French Toast to a number of egg concoctions on the menu. There’s usually a wait for a table - and everyone who walks in the door is subject to the same wait, even the occasional celebrity (David Letterman, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Harrison Ford) - but seats at the U-shaped bar turn over fairly quickly. 5600 Highway 22, Wilson, WY 83014

Best Lunch Restaurants

• JHMR’s on-mountain dining scene was one of the last things at the resort to go fancy. One look at the cupcakes, the sky-high sandwiches and Salt-baked Idaho Potato bar at Rendezvous Lodge at the top of the gondola, and you’ll agree it was worth the wait. 3395 Cody Lane, Teton Village, WY 83025
• If your legs are aching to take a break from the mountain, Teton Thai is, without a doubt, the valley’s best Thai food.From the base area, it’s a five-minute walk, or you can hitch a ride on one of JHMR’s big red buses constantly shuttling between the base area and the lot. You can’t really go wrong with anything here, although expect prices to be a couple of dollars more than you’d pay at a Thai place back home. 7342 Granite Loop Road, Teton Village, WY 83025

Top Dinner Spots

• Il Villaggio Osteria (or just Osteria) inside Hotel Terra has a hip vibe. The pizzas, cooked to order in a wood-fired oven, are pretty close to perfect. 3335 West Village Drive, Teton Village, WY 83025
• Located between Teton Village and Jackson on the Moose Wilson Road, Q Roadhouse has the most sophisticated menu of any roadhouse we’ve ever seen - and a great beer menu as well. 1224 Gregory Lane, Jackson, WY 83001
• In Jackson, locals love the casual option Snake River Brewery (aka “the Brew Pub”). The Brew Pub has at least seven of its award-winning beers on tap at all times and the portions of everything – but especially the pastas – are huge. 265 South Millward Street, Jackson, WY 83001

Apres/NightLife

• Around since 1967, the Mangy Moose is the classic Teton Village apres ski scene. It qualifies as a Village institution at this point. While the 20-something ski bums like the Moose’s cheap pitchers, vacationers appreciate the extensive top-shelf liquors, the skilled bartenders and the quality live music. 3295 Village Drive, Teton Village, WY 83025
• Families and those who prefer something more low-key might want to head to the Four Seasons Lounge instead. The soothing space can’t help but relax.7680 Granite Loop Road, Teton Village, WY 83025
• In Wilson, the Stagecoach Bar has been a staple in the area since 1942. It has a great happy hour and is the place to go on a Sunday night. 5755 W, WY-22, Wilson, WY 83014
• Smack in the Town Square in Jackson under bright neon lights, you’d never call The Million Dollar Cowboy Saloon a ski bar, but it is a classic valley watering hole and has live music a couple of times a week. It’s also got some of the best people watching around: real and wanna-be cowboys mingle with co-eds, the occasionally Hollywood star and the valley’s best western swing dancers. 25 North Cache Street, Jackson, WY 83001

Jackson Hole Ski Conditions & Terrain

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) tram stretches 4,139-feet from the base area to the 10,450-foot summit of Rendezvous Mountain. The Aerial Tram can hold 100 passengers and takes about 9 minutes to reach the top. There are plenty of signs that warn you to be careful when taking on these slopes. Even the most skilled skiers can find themselves in trouble around JHMR’s 2,500 acres. The named runs are well marked though, so most often you have to go looking for trouble.

Terrain

Featuring two mountains, Apres Vous and Rendezvous, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is known for steep skiing and gorgeous scenery, and is home to 2,500 acres of skiable terrain, 3,000 backcountry acres, 133 names trails on the ski map and 4,139 feet of vertical drop. The ski resort receives an average of 459 inches of snowfall each year and boasts a summit elevation of 10,450 feet. The Wyoming ski area may be notorious for extreme terrain like Corbet’s Couloir, but Jackson Hole also caters to intermediate and beginner skiers with groomed terrain, which is accessed off the Teton Lift. Jackson Hole skiing difficulty ranges from beginner to advanced. In fact, 10% are green, 40% blue and 50% black runs.

Powder Day

People joke that a “powder day” at JHMR is more a “powder hour.” Locals here are hard-charging and can track out the area fast. In 1999, when JHMR opened the gates to lift-accessed backcountry, it was one of only a very few resorts to allow skiers and snowboarders to exit inbounds terrain. The Headwall and Casper Bowl are inbounds, but still require a 20-minute hike from the top of the Bridger Gondola. If hiking isn't your thing, Saratoga Bowl and Moran Woods, off Apres Vous and Casper, respectively, aren’t as steep or as long as the Hobacks (off the Sublette Quad), but, because of that, do usually offer fresh tracks for longer. The trees to either side of Pepi’s Ridge (Sublette Quad) can hold powder for a while, too. If you have the necessary backcountry gear - transceiver, shovel, probe - and skills, go ahead and aim for some true backcountry. Rock Springs and Cody Bowl, both just south of the resort boundaries and accessed through marked gates, are good starters, albeit fairly easy to get to, so fresh powder doesn’t last long there. Backcountry runs in Granite Canyon, to the north of the resort in Grand Teton National Park and accessed from the top of the tram or the Apres Vous lift, are more committing. They require route finding skills or, better yet, someone who knows the area and is willing to let you follow them. Know that even though you don’t need climbing skins to get out of Granite Canyon, they’re never a bad thing to have in your backcountry pack in case you do get lost. The way back to the resort from Granite Canyon is a traverse, but not completely downhill. Expect to expend some serious energy before popping out near the bottom of the Apres Vous lift.

Groomers & Family

Consider this fair warning: The ski area's only beginner terrain is off the Eagle’s Rest double chair and the high-speed quad Teewinot lift next to the gondola in the base area. Together, the two lifts make for a nice learner’s area. Once you’re an intermediate skier, you have quite a few choices at JHMR. If you don’t want to worry about having to pay particular attention to a ski trail map (and perhaps ending up above a cliff), Apres Vous Mountain is your best bet. The smaller and less cliffy of the resort’s two mountains is serviced by a high-speed quad from the top of the Teewinot lift and, heading skier’s right from the top of the lift, has an array of groomed intermediate runs stretching its entire face. The easiest intermediate runs on the mountain, which are still a big jump in difficulty for those coming from skiing the resort’s green runs, are off the Casper Bowl Triple Chair. Easy Does It, Lift Line and Camp Ground are the most mellow runs off this lift. Horn’s Hole Traverse to Amphitheater from the top of the high-speed quad Thunder Chair is another of the resort’s more mellow intermediate runs. The Bridger Gondola accesses a lot of intermediate groomers, but they are substantially steeper than the runs mentioned off Casper and Thunder. Gondola intermediates are generally moderately steeper than the intermediate runs off the Apres Vous lift.

Corbet’s Couloir might be the resort’s most famous run, but the fresh waffles topped with everything from Nutella to strawberries served up at Corbet’s Cabin are worthy of some serious contemplation, too. Have one before heading over to Corbett’s. The mandatory air to get into the famous Couloir is less intimidating on a full stomach.

If the ski weather report has said that there’s more snow at the top, it’s best to stick to the higher runs than the lower elevations. You can access this terrain from the top of the tram. With lessons for all ages and abilities, JHMR Mountain Sports School is awesome. Adults signing up for group lessons at intermediate levels and higher often end up with a semi-private lesson.

If you can tear yourself away from the mountain for a day off, Grand Teton National Park is literally right next to JHMR. Yellowstone National Park is about an hour away, and numerous outfitters in Jackson offer day-long snowmobile trips to Old Faithful, which is a much less touristy in winter.

Few resorts in the country can compete with JHMR. Twelve miles away, Snow King Resort is smart enough not to try. Jackson’s “town hill,” Snow King is still a local’s favorite. It offers ½ day passes, 400 skiable acres, 32 named runs night skiing, a tubing park and, from both mid-mountain and the summit, fantastic views of the Tetons. It is north facing so usually pretty chilly. Back at JHMR, the best views of Corbet’s Couloir - other than those heart-pounding looks you get standing at its lip - are from the southern deck at Couloir atop the Bridger Gondola.