My fam visited Grand Targhee resort as part of our summer vacation road trip this year and now Mountain Dad is ready to move there. We had so much fun!
We had a great visit back in January where we got to powder ski for days, so we wanted to come back in summer and try their mountain biking trails. It did not disappoint.
Big Mountain Fun
Grand Targhee Resort on the border of Idaho and Wyoming is a big mountain full of big terrain and big fun.
It’s nestled along side the Great Tetons with a top elevation of 9900 feet and boasts views like these from the summit.
I mean, how amazing can you get right?
Mountain Biking Grand Targhee
That big of mountain offers mountain biking terrain for everyone – technical downhill, so fun flow trails, cross-country treks through fields of wildflowers. You could spend a full week at Grand Targhee Resort and still not ride every trail they have available.
My fam loved riding the flow trails off of the Shoshone lift. Designed with just the right amount of bumps and berms to make it fun and exciting, these trails were SO. MUCH. FUN.
Our favorites trails? Bring It On Home and Chutes and Ladders. Try them. You’ll see.
Free Access to Cross Country Trails
Now, I tend to be a lazy mountain biker so I’m usually only interested lift-accessed biking but one thing that really impressed me about Grand Targhee Resort is their extensive cross-country trail system.
With 70 plus miles of singletrack hiking and biking trails you can find something for every ability level.
I even took Baby L out on the trails in our Burley bike trailer – although to be honest she did not like all the bumps and bouncy very much. No matter. The fields of wildflowers mixed with alpine forest offered great hiking too. Just don’t forget the bug spray.
While the trails themselves were top notch, one thing that most impressed me about them was that Grand Targhee resort maintains all the cross-country trails FOR FREE.
That’s right. You could easily spend days riding through the beautiful mountain meadows and forests and not pay a single dollar. Grand Targhee only charges for lift-access mountain biking.
I love that because I feel like the resort is really giving back to its local community!
Family Fun
So I think you can tell we loved their mountain biking terrain. But even if your fam isn’t into mountain biking, Grand Targhee still has you covered. Their Summer Activities include:
- Scenic Lift Rides
- Hiking
- Trail Running
- Naturalist led hikes
- Summit Nature Center
- Rock Climbing
- Bungee Trampoline
- 18 Hole Disc Golf
- Swimming
- Kids Camp
- Horseback Riding
- Grand Targhee Mining Co – my kids loved this the most
- Family Mountain Biking Fridays – Yes, technically this is still biking but it’s a program designed to include the WHOLE family, even 2-5 year olds thanks to its partnership with Buddy Pegs.
Grand Targhee’s summer camp offers daily activities for kids to get out and explore including mountain biking or horseback riding classes, swimming, and a daily naturalist-led hike. Thanks to that hike, my kids learned to identify the wildflower sticky geranium as part of our July 2018 Become a Backyard Naturalist challenge.
Music Festivals
Another awesome family-friendly activity that Grand Targhee hosts is their on site summer music festivals.
This is more than just a concert here or there. Their music festivals are a full weekend of bands playing out in the open air – friends, food, fun and music!
Targhee Fest
Started in 2005, this annual event features Americana bands – the kind of music that you’ll like to listen to surrounded by beautiful mountains. To see a full list of bands from 2018 click here.
Bluegrass Festival
If you love Bluegrass you won’t want to miss the annual Grand Targhee Bluegrass festival. Started in 1988 – yep, that’s 30 years ago people – this Bluegrass festival attracts the best bands to play in a perfect alpine setting.
Small Town Feel
The best part of a summer visit to Grand Targhee is that feeling that you can really get away from it all. It’s a retreat in the mountains surrounded by beautiful views. The on site lodging is limited (book early or visit midweek for special deals) so it doesn’t feel like you and your 500 closest neighbors are coming to visit (except maybe during one of the music festivals).
The staff are all friendly and genuinely happy to work there – from the ticket agents at the activity center, to the naturalist guide at the summit nature center.
Maybe that’s why after this trip Mountain Dad declared he’s ready to move to Alta, Wyoming. He couldn’t get enough of that Big Mountain experience with the Small Town feel.
Psst…I begged SkiIdaho and Grand Targhee Resort to host us on this trip and amazingly they said yes. Thank you! Also, there may be affiliate links in this post – FYI.
