Grand Targhee Resort is located on the western slopes of the Teton Mountains in Alta, WY. Technically in Wyoming, the resort can only be accessed through the Idaho side via Driggs which is where we now have a home base.

A relatively small resort, Grand Targhee is known for its incredible powder during the winter, but also has plenty of activities to fill a summer vacation!

We recently were invited up for a 3 night stay to check out the summer activities and came away incredibly impressed.  If you are thinking about taking a trip to the Tetons, definitely bookmark this page as we’ll take you through the resort from a family perspective!

Directions:

Grand Targhee is located 12 miles from Driggs, ID right on the Idaho/Wyoming border (more lovingly called “Wydaho” by the locals). It takes about 20 minutes to drive up to the resort from downtown.

If you are flying in, the Jackson Hole Airport is 1.5 hours away and the Idaho Falls Airport is about 2 hours. Drive time, Targhee is also about 4-4.5 hours from both Bozeman, MT and Salt Lake City, UT.

Lodging:

There are a lot of options both at Targhee and in the general Driggs are for accommodations (we run an AirBnb listing ourselves when out traveling). However, we loved being right at the resort for a few days. The views were incredible, the vibe was perfect, and we had access to the swimming pool. Total plus for any kid or family on vacation.

We stayed in the Sioux Lodge, which has a loft and sleeps 6 which is great for bigger families. Cara and Andrew claimed the bunk beds, Sam and I took the queen bed upstairs and Rachel slept on the pull out bed in the main living space.

There’s not a full kitchen, but the room does have a mini fridge, microwave and coffee maker. We were able to buy groceries in town (cereal, frozen burritos, instant oatmeal, etc.) to balance eating out. With a larger family is just isn’t cost effective to eat out every meal so we appreciated the amenities.

The Sioux Lodge is next to the Shoshone lift which made mountain biking a breeze, and also across the parking lot from the swimming pool.

Camping

Another option is to camp in your RV! We’ve talked about making our AirBnb available for rent and spending a few nights in the Airstream up at Targhee next summer. There’s just something to be said for mountain biking straight from camp! #amIright?

Camping is $25/night and permits are sold at the front desk. Dry camping only and we did see an average of 5-6 trailers out in the parking lot while we were there.

Activities:

The temperatures tend to be about 10 degrees cooler than the valley which is great as Driggs usually stays about 85 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. The crisp, mountain air is perfect for outdoor activities.

Mountain Biking

I wrote an entire blog post about our experience mountain biking with kids at the resort, so make sure to check that out if you haven’t seen it! Targhee has both cross country trails (free) or you can pay to take the lift up and bike down. Plenty of options to keep everyone busy!

Sam and I were also able to grab some rental bikes (Thanks Targhee!!) and ride the trails down from the Dreamcatcher lift. They are definitely more technical but doable at an intermediate level. At one point we got ourselves onto a black trail and did okay but had to walk a few things (seriously – how does anyone ride those drops?!). I figure we aren’t pushing ourselves enough if we can ride everything so it felt great.

On our last ride my brother in law ended up putting a hole (or three) in his tube so we had a little siesta trail side. As we sat there, bike patrol caught up to us and since she was sweeping the trails to make sure everyone got off okay we all hung out for a bit. Nice to know there are patrols up there in case anything happens!

Summer Day Camp for Kids

Our kids had the opportunity to participate in summer camp for a day. Most of the participants are bused up from Driggs & Alta, but they had no problem including our kids right from the resort as well.

Camp is run Monday-Friday and includes activities like swimming lessons, horse education (Tue/Thur), mountain biking (M/W/F), disc golf, arts & crafts, bungee trampoline, climbing wall, hiking, nature instruction and more!  I dropped the kids off at 9am and then wandered back about an hour later to find them learning about raptors! They were enthralled.

When we picked them back up around 4:3opm we had mixed reactions. Cara thoroughly enjoyed herself, Andrew had fun but was exhausted (and maybe slightly sick? He totally passed out afterwards), and Rachel was maybe a little bored. Lol! At 12.5 years old she was definitely one of the oldest participating so maybe stick to slightly younger kids and they’ll do great!

Swimming

We loved having a pool practically out our front door. Targhee heats the pool in both summer and winter, so even when the weather is a bit chilly the water feels great! Due to the day camps, the daytime hours were a bit hectic but our first evening there we practically had the pool to ourselves from 6-8pm.

The hot tub also feels great after a day on the trails. Just sayin’.

Scenic Chair Lift, Hiking, & More

Riding up the lift to the top of the mountain is actually one of my favorite things! Sure you can hike up – but taking the lift up and hiking from there is also incredible. Once you get up to the top there’s a small nature center and then up past that is my favorite view of the Teton mountain range. I expected it to be cold at the top so we went with jackets and windbreakers but the temperature was actually quite pleasant. We totally lucked out! The trail up to Mary’s Saddle is also beautiful and fairly easy. For more hiking information check it out here on Grand Targhee’s website.

Grand Targhee also offers horseback riding and they have an 18 hole disc golf course. I kept thinking that we’d go out an play disc golf in the beautiful evening light after dinner but then we were so exhausted we never managed. I think having ONE more day up there would have been perfect and we could have fit it all in!

Dining

The dining options are more limited during the summer, but what they have is great!

Snorkels is a little bakery, breakfast, soup and sandwich spot. After dropping the kids off at day camp, I grabbed a $9 breakfast burrito to share with Sam. Super filling for the two of us and tasted fantastic!

There’s a General Store located across from the bike shop where I grabbed some muffins one afternoon to tied us over until dinner.

The Branding Iron is a more fine dining experience. They have options from Elk Burger to grilled New York Steak, but also have a kid’s menu (Pro tip: the burgers are the same as the regular menu). On the recommendation of a friend we tried the Fried Brussel Sprout appetizer, and then Sam ordered a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich while I got a burger. Both were delicious! We ate out on the patio and enjoyed the view of the mountain – which is something you don’t want to do in the winter!

There’s also the Trap Bar and Grill which is popular for adults, but as its a bar no one under 21 is allowed. Not a great family friendly option, so we didn’t try it out but I’ve heard good things.

If you are staying for an extended period of time, definitely take the time to drive down into Driggs for food. For a small town, it has quite a few dining options from Mexican, Thai, sushi, pizza, and burgers.

We are incredibly grateful to Grand Targhee Resort for hosting up on the mountain. We thoroughly enjoyed our time and activities and it was nice to have a bit of a “vacation” right as we transitioned out of the condo and into the Airstream this summer. We can’t wait to explore more of what they have to offer in the future!