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Jackson Hole Reviews
3 reviews of Jackson Hole in USA.
Voted 3rd out of 4 reviewed ski resorts in USA
- Superb(2)
- Good(1)
- O.K.(0)
- Poor(0)
- Awful(0)
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Good for all
Reviewed 14 Apr 2016
Jackson Hole has a broad spectrum and would be good for everyone, singles, couples, groups as long as you like powder – I’d definitely snowboard here again.
You’ve got to be a good skier or snowboarder to enjoy Jackson Hole; it’s not a beginner resort. If you’re not very good you’d probably be only to ski about a quarter of the area. The slopes are all pretty steep and they don’t piste half the mountain so if you like powder you’ll love it. You can easily access the area by all the lifts and the trails are a good standard.
We chose Jackson Hole because there’s normally lots of powder but the snow wasn’t that great when we were there. Ended up going over to Grand Targhee for a couple of days where there was tons of powder. I’d definitely recommend booking the bus to Grand Targhee at least once, it’s only small and it’s a bit in the middle of nowhere but the area is quiet and you’ll probably have the runs to yourself.
Eating out in Jackson Hole is cheap – there are some lovely steak places and 3 or 4 Thai restaurants in the town which are really good. They’re not so much into après and seem to go home and then go out later in the evening. If you like a bit of country and western and line dancing the nightlife is great!
Snowboarding in Jackson Hole
Reviewed 1 Sep 2015
Here World no.1 Snowboarder Travis Rice has set up camp, and according to him, it has “the best freeriding in North America”, thanks to the feature-some terrain of the Rockies, and the unlimited backcountry. Jackson is also where a whole host of famous boarders hang their helmets, including the legendary Bryan Iguchi aka “The Guch”. Split into two mountains, half the pistes are marked for experts, Après Vous (the smaller of the two) home to softer slopes, and the closer to Rendezvous you shoosh, the harder it becomes. There is more insane freeriding here than you could ever conquer; after 17 seasons Travis Rice is still finding new stashes. Mt. Rendezvous has the biggest vertical in USA at 1,261m, home to a playground of jumps and drop offs. The reputation of Corbet’s Couloir precedes it, and there truly is no other drop like this chute, although you can take your pick from the masses, and test out this theory. Cody Bowl, over the back, is exceptional and leads the way out to Four Shadows, or back around the front side through Bridger Teton National Forest. You don’t need parks to freestyle here, just ride down Paint Brush or in the Toilet Bowl for hours of natural hits and pipes. But, if you do want something more structured, there are 4 Burton Stash Parks, a half pipe and 2 terrain parks: 1 by Après Vous Chair, and the mini Eagle’s Rest for beginners. The insane mix of chutes, rollers and jumps in Dick’s Ditch make this natural half pipe one of the toughest snowboard slaloms going.
Int/Adv. skiers' paradise!
Reviewed 18 Mar 2014
Skied America a lot but hadn’t been to Jackson Hole in the winter before I decided to book this last minute holiday.
Getting there, I went via Dallas which then took 20-30 minutes – you get off the plane and onto the tarmac and have to walk under an arch made of elk antlers!
You can stay in Jackson and use the bus station to get to the resort or stay in the village on the slopes.
The town is really Wild West, like you see in the movies in Westerns. There are cowboy shops selling guns and it’s not a party town but there are a couple of cool bars that had saddles for seats. You can walk around the whole town in half an hour or so as it’s in a standard American grid format - there are some really nice things including fantastic photographic shops where you can get a feel for the type of place this is.
The resort itself has shops and equipment stores, lots of coffee places. On the right hand side of the resort, you can ski past 4 or 5 million dollar properties. There are some boutique restaurants if you want a more refined meal as well as burger restaurants. There are little cafes dotted around up on the mountain, if you go up to rendezvous peak, there’s a very old cabin that does amazing hot chocolate and waffles (but you have to be a good skier to get back down).
It’s very picturesque, literally a hole between two ranges of mountains. When you go up the mountain, you can see the valley floor. It’s part of a national park so closes earlier than other ski resorts in America because the elks get preference, when you walk around town you will see moose in the road (so watch out for them if you’re driving!).
When I first arrived here (in March), the temperature was 52F which is like being in Dubai – unheard of at this time of year! The snow conditions in Jackson Hole are generally fantastic and after 3 days here there were 2 or 3 storms and loads of powder. In March, they also have a big Jamborree where the whole area is taken over by snowmobiles which race up the hill.
Jackson Hole’s ski area is very uncrowded compared to European standards. The locals all ski here when there’s been a big dump, but even then it’s so big you don’t have to queue. Even when there’s fresh powder, the queues are so small by European standards.
The ski patrol are top notch, much stricter with safety than anywhere else in the world – if you ski in an area that’s closed you will be arrested.
It’s more orientated for intermediate and advanced skiers. For experts, it’s paradise when the snow is good. There are so many backcountry areas and you can hire a guide to show you around which I did a couple of times, it wasn’t too expensive from what I remember. The actual ski resort has the steepest verticals in North America. You can go all the way up the gondola and ski all the 4000 feet down. You can also go heli-skiing.
If you’re a beginner, there are designated learning areas and great ski school. Make sure you spend a day over at Grande Targhee (often known as grand foggy). It’s on the other side of the Tetons but still in Wyoming, you take the Teton pass to Idaho. It’s about 30% the size of Jackson Hole and a great area for families as it has lots of blues as well as being empty on a powder day. The area also has a far more spectacular view of the Tetons than you get from Jackson Hole.
On the west side of America, regular storms drop lots of powder and you can access the powder without having to hire guides. In the US, you can get straight to the powder from the lifts, you don’t have to hike like you would in Europe, so while in Europe it would be 2 hours hiking, 15 minutes skiing, here it’s the full 2h15 skiing. The locals are very helpful with showing you the best places to ski – talk to the lift operators about where the best stashes are.
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