Located on the western side of the Teton Mountain range, a short winding drive up from Driggs, Idaho, and an hour's drive from downtown Jackson, Grand Targhee Resort is the perfect summer base camp for your adventures in Teton Valley, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park. A ski resort in the winter, Targhee spends its summer as a world-class mountain biking park and lodging base for adventures of all kinds.
The opening day for this summer is June 14th.
Mountain Biking
Throughout the summer, Grand Targhee turns into a mountain bike mecca for downhillers and cross-country riders. There are more than 70 miles of biking, including 17+ miles of lift-served downhill trails and 50+ miles of flowing cross-country trails. Even if you are not a savant on two wheels, there are trails built for riders of all levels. You can rent bikes and all the gear at Teton Mountain Outfitters, which is located at the base of Grand Targhee.
The Targhee bike park offers every style of riding for every level of mountain bike rider: gentle, banked cruisers; tight and twisty singletrack cross country; gnarly, rock strewn downhill; drop offs; and much more. The bike park was voted the No. 1 bike park in the Northwest by MtBParks.com.
Music Festival
The 34th Annual Targhee Bluegrass Festival from August 9th to 11th. This always-popular music fest will see Yonder Mountain String Band, the Infamous Stringdusters, Joe Craven, Lindsay Lou and Trampled By Turtles perform, plus many more artists.
Friday’s lineup includes Leftover Salmon, Yonder Mountain Stringband and Railroad Earth headlining. Saturday's performances feature Joe Craven, Growing Old Mule, Travelin' McCourys, Sierra Hall, the Infamous Stringdusters and Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway. The festival will close out on Sunday with Linsday Lou, Keller Williams, Grateful Grass featuring The Hillbenders, The Wood Brothers and Trampled By Turtles headlining.
For more information, visit grandtarghee.com.
Hiking and Trail Running
Grand Targhee is also a fantastic basecamp for beautiful day hikes and trail running with larger-than-life views of the Teton's "cathedral group" of peaks. Take advantage of the shops and food at Targhee's base for a bite or any last minute outdoor gear or clothing before you go and then grab a summer trail map to find the hiking trails that best suit you. If you aim to get to the top of Fred's Mountain (we love trail No. 28 on the map—Bannock), you'll be rewarded with stunning views of the Teton peaks from beyond the back rim of the Grand Targhee resort boundaries.
Disc Golf
Targhee's disc golf course has a bit more elevation change and you'll have a hard time finding a disc golf course with such superb views. Ask the shops at the base for disc equipment (and a map of the course)!
Bungee Trampoline and Climbing Wall
Test your skills at wall/rock climbing and perfect tricks and flips on the resort’s bungy trampoline hybrid. The climbing wall is ideal for first-time climbers, children and those with experience alike. Session includes instructor, harness and belay. The EuroBungy also includes instruction. The cost for the EuroBungy is $15 for 5 minutes of jumping; the climbing wall also costs $15 for a 15-minute session.
On-Mountain Wellness
It's easy to get some renewal and zen on the mountain at Targhee. Onward Body Therapies offers slopeside massage services. Book a 30-, 60-, 90- or 120-minute massage and enjoy some relaxation. The mountain resort also partners with The Yoga Source, a non-profit yoga studio in Teton Valley to offer summit yoga sessions on Saturday mornings at 10 p.m. on the observation deck at the top of Dreamcatcher. Classes are $40 and include a scenic lift ticket.
Other Activities and Special All Day Pass!
An action-packed day at Grand Targhee also includes a scenic chairlift ride, horseback riding and even gemstone mining at the Grand Targhee Mining Company.
The Ghee's outdoor pool is also something you can take advantage of to relax in the summer sunshine. Pool sessions are open to the public daily from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The cost for an adult day session is $25, and $15 for kids 12 and under.
The Grand Targhee Summer Activity Pass—(Cost $40) for those age 12 and under—includes one Climbing Wall session, one EuroBungy session, one all-day scenic chairlift ride ticket and one Prospector’s 2-pound bag of gemstone mining rough.
Targhee also holds Family Fridays for the Kids Fun Zone, which means it is open until 7 p.m.
The Last Word
If you find yourself on the Idaho side of Teton Pass for a day, make sure that you consider checking out all that Grand Targhee has to offer in the summertime. There are loads of things to do on "the other side" of the pass—under an hour from downtown Jackson—and a distinctly unique vibe as soon as you arrive in the gorgeous valley across the mountains. Grand Targhee is a centerpiece and is a fantastic inducement to make the trip. Consider spending two terrific days at Targhee to soak up every activity available.