Until the mid-80s, few people had heard of the cult ski area of Jackson Hole. Tucked into the top left-hand corner of Wyoming, with a Teton mountain range backdrop, it mainly drew in skiers who wanted to take on its tough terrain.
These days, 60 years since it opened, Jackson Hole is one of North America’s foremost resorts, with plenty of facilities, lifts and terrain aimed at intermediates, families and beginners too.
Stay on track with the essential facts from the resort below, and scroll down for our insider guide to a day on the pistes, expert ratings and advice. For further Jackson Hole inspiration, see our guides to the resort’s best restaurants and après ski.
In this guide:
Resort guide
The resort’s valley, named after the Virginian trapper David Edward Jackson, runs from Hoback Junction in the south to Jackson Lake and Togwotee Pass in the north. It’s remote and wild, with a rich variety of wildlife (including elk, moose, coyotes, the odd wolf and even bald eagles).
When Paul McCollister opened the ski area in 1965, he named it Jackson Hole – now Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Confusingly, there’s also a cowboy town named Jackson, 12 miles to the south-east.
The ski area’s resort, known as Teton Village, is a horseshoe-shaped community of shops, lodgings and resort admin offices planted snugly at the base of the ski area, alongside the resort’s iconic red Aerial Tram (the American name for a cable car) – where you might occasionally see a wandering moose – and the Bridger Gondola. The USA has very few cable cars, and the original tram was installed by resort founder Paul McCollister to help produce a European atmosphere.
You can get to pretty much everywhere on foot in Teton Village and there are enough restaurants to enable you to try a different one each night. Other activities available around Jackson Hole Mountain Resort include snowmobiling, cross-country trails, heli-skiing, tubing and dog sledding. Nearby, the town of Jackson has an authentic cowboy feel, is more lively and boasts some fine dining choices too.
The resort will celebrate its 60th anniversary on December 19, 2025 with a full day of special events planned and reduced-price passes on offer.
Piste guide
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s ski area is made up of two mountains. Rendezvous provides most of the powderkeg runs, while Apres Vous has more accessible slopes. Altogether (but not counting the extensive backcountry) the two mountains share 2,500 acres of in-bounds terrain, with a vertical drop of 1,260m – one of the biggest in the USA.
Jackson Hole’s trail map has 133 marked runs – 50 per cent are expert, 40 per cent intermediate and 10 per cent beginner. A good rule of thumb is that skiers and snowboarders who want the most challenging runs (including the legendary Corbet’s Couloir, even to just take a look over the edge) should concentrate on the tram to access Rendezvous mountain. In 2024/25, the 37-year-old four-seater Sublette quad chair which starts by the south pass traverse piste on Rendezvous, was replaced for a faster and more powerful detachable quad, reducing journey time from eight to four minutes.
Beginners
Although the resort has a reputation for challenging slopes, there are plenty of easy options too, and the resort is determined to give the slopes a more intermediate appeal. Beginner and intermediate trails make up half of the terrain, and the resort claims its non-advanced/expert terrain acreage – 1,250 acres – is larger than many ski resorts’ total coverage.
The four-person Eagles Rest chairlift provides access to the dedicated area for beginners. It’s also accessible from the Solitude Station learning centre at the mid-station of the Sweetwater gondola, which houses a ski school, rental shop and restaurants.
Intermediates
Intermediates should consider using the Sweetwater gondola to enjoy the exhilarating runs on Apres Vous mountain, or accessing the blue runs from the Teton and Casper chairlifts.
Experts
Experts will enjoy plenty of challenging terrain on Apres Vous, and Rendezvous has options for confident intermediates. Some may be tempted – if not by Corbet’s itself – by Jackson’s signature chutes, which are very doable in good snow conditions. The Cirque, on the shoulder between Rendezvous and Apres Vous and reached via the Tensleep Bowl, is a good place to start, with fairly steep descents like Snagtree, Downhill and Broadway. Nearby are Paint Brush, Tower Three Chute and the Expert Chutes, which will put experts to the test.
Off piste
Rendezvous Mountain is the gateway to the Hobacks, a long and extensive area devoted to ungroomed terrain. Apart from magnificent hike-to terrain at the foot of Cody Peak, outside the ski area, the Hobacks used to be the pièce de résistance – until in 1999 the resort took the impressive decision to open up vast amounts of backcountry through gated entrances spread along the resort’s boundary.
The open backcountry gate system accesses more than 3,500 acres, mainly in Bridger-Teton National Forest (accessed through Rendezvous Bowl) and also in Grand Teton National Park. Although Jackson Hole has just 13 lifts in-bounds, they serve a huge variety of terrain. The resort’s guiding service is a good option for advanced skiers and riders who wish to discover untracked slopes, secret runs, and the best snow conditions Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has to offer.
Snowboarders
There are four Burton Stash terrain parks for beginners through to advanced, plus two other terrain parks. These are spread across Apres Vous mountain.
Who should go?
While there are options for beginners and intermediates, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort does a great job of projecting a bravado image, enhanced by pictures of daredevils jumping into the resort’s signature run, Corbet’s Couloir. For the slightly less derring-do, there are a huge amount of easier-to-access steep and challenging slopes too. Those in search of a ski holiday with a real Wild West feel will also find it here – the streets in the nearby town of Jackson are lined with wooden sidewalks, cowboy saloons and pool halls.
Where to stay
Teton Village, 12 miles from the town of Jackson, is a horseshoe-shaped community of shops, lodgings and resort admin offices planted snugly at the base of the ski area. Although quieter than Jackson, the village (which is rather dwarfed by the huge, slopeside Four Seasons’ Hotel) has several bars and restaurants and hosts concerts and après events during winter. Jackson town has more in the way of atmospheric nightlife, and some characterful hotels too, but staying here means a journey of 30 minutes by bus or rental car to the slopes.
How to get there
Transatlantic ski specialists offering Jackson Hole include Holiday World Ski Classics (holidayworldskiclassics.com), Frontier Ski (frontier-ski.co.uk) and Ski Safari (skisafari.com). More general operators, including Trailfinders (trailfinders.com) and Travelbag (travelbag.co.uk), also feature the resort, while top-end hotels are included in the portfolio of Oxford Ski (oxfordski.com). There are no direct flights from the UK to Jackson Hole Airport; Virgin Atlantic (virginatlantic.com) offers flights via Salt Lake City and United Airlines (united.com) operates to Jackson via Denver. Hotel shuttles, taxis and taxi-pools can make the 20-mile transfer from the airport to the resort.
When to go
Annual events in Jackson Hole include the Winterfest from December 19 to 31, 2025, with family events, parades and fireworks. From February 8 to 15, 2026, daredevils will descend down one of the toughest couloirs in North America for the Kings and Queens of Corbet’s competition. And towards the end of the season, the Rendezvous Music Festival is a two-day event (April 3 and 4, 2026) with music in downtown Jackson and in the Mountain Resort. Admission is free, but there is the option to pay for a VIP upgrade.
Essential information
Know before you go
- Important: International travellers going to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) are now subject to enhanced security requirements. Online completion and approval of ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation), along with payment of the fee, is mandatory ahead of travel for all Visa Waiver Programme travellers. For full details, be sure to go to the official website at esta.cbp.dhs.gov.
- British Consulate General in San Francisco: +1 415 617 1300; 1 Sansome St Suite 850, San Francisco, CA 94104
- Emergency services: dial 911
- Tourist office: See jacksonhole.com, the website for the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Tourist Board, or use the JH Insider app for weather reports, lift status, webcams, traffic details and local event listings. Pick up maps, leaflets and other information from the office in the centre of Teton Village at the base station of the tram.
The basics
- Currency: US dollar ($)
- Telephone code: To phone the UK, dial 011 44 and then the number - but drop the ‘0’
- Time difference: -7 hours
Local laws & etiquette
- Taxis expect a 10-15 per cent tip; restaurants expect 15-20 per cent on the total before local tax (6.25 per cent). A few restaurants build in a 20 per cent gratuity; always check your bill.