Featured Article
[Sponsored by: Grand Targhee Resort, WY]
The “cool side” of the Tetons sets beautiful stage for wild summer thanks, in part, to the Bike Park at Grand Targhee Resort. The location’s stellar reputation for fat snowpack, thin crowds, and solid value-for-dollar has landed the Wyoming locale on ‘must-hit’ lists of recreation enthusiasts worldwide. Bike Park expands the resort’s already famous zeal for adventure to the next logical step (and season) by transitioning TargheeVibe from snow trail to flow trail.
To swap seasonally from piste to pedal power recreation is a rising trend in snow industry circles as it extends slope access beyond ski months. Grand Targhee recognizes that popularity and welcomes gear-and-sprocket traffic upon otherwise ski-purposed downhill terrain. In doing so, the resort utilizes on-mountain infrastructure already in place (i.e. trails, lifts, and the like) and the shift feeds successfully Targhee’s classic flare for a fast growing segment of summer adventurers; downhill bikers.
Grand Targhee has proved a happy home for the GTR Bike Park, having been recognized No.2 among the Top 5 Best Bike Parks in the Northwest United States, for three years straight. The resort is home to cross country trails that offer up an IMBA Epic loop. That top tier environment is further boosted by the resorts dedication to family recreation. Whether dipping downhill and pedalling cross-country, Targhee offers all-ages enjoyment.
Not only is it the precedent mountain bike development to color the Tetons’, but the GTR Bike Park proudly offers over 2,000 vertical feet of technical downhill, chairlift service, and nearly 80 miles of scenic, multi-purpose trails. What’s more, orientation upon the mountains, themselves, graces the GTR Bike Park with refreshingly cool temperatures, a pleasantry adding to park popularity. Targhee emphasizes accommodation for riders of all abilities levels, offering what the resort describes as, ‘gentle cruisers; tight, twisty single-track; gnarly, rock strewn downhill; drops, and much more.’
The grandeur of Targhee’s environment combines with its awesome amenities to produce one of the most magnetic mountain bike cultures in the United States.
All told, twelve Targhee trails are designated for downhill riding with five purposed for Bike Skills. Riders ascend to the GTR Bike Park trails via resort chairlifts pulling double-duty throughout summer. Targhee spins lifts, Dreamcatcher and Shoshone so its powder-hounds turned gear-jockeys still get their kicks in the same great terrain. Shoshone lift, in particular, offers excellent access to beginner level terrain and flow trails that transform a first-time rider to a lifetime trails biker.
Pedal-powered action at the GTR Bike Park is joined over summer by equally notable camp, festival, and live music scenes. Dates may be found at the Grand Targhee home page which also provides notice of a mid-June GTR Bike Park opening date, an occasion which has grown quick notoriety.
Last year’s Park opening celebrations included discounted tickets, safety briefs, all-ages skill clinics, demos, raffles, and private parties. Combine all that, with a dash of TargheeVibe, and the GTR Bike Park faithful can expect a thrilling 2019.
Grand Targhee, and the beautiful Teton Mountains are well known as a Mecca for skiing, but growing quickly beside that snow reputation is an unparalleled mountain bike culture. Proof of that lies in the GTR Bike Park’s crafty design and frequent visitation by riders from around the world. Its scenery is stunning, terrain challenging, and the location hard to beat.
Summer is a guaranteed good time at Grand Targhee Resort and, with season programming about to kick-in, visitors are advised join a GTR Bike Park party as epic as only Targhee could deliver.
