The Teton County Recreation Center

A recent addition makes the Rec Center even more amazing.

// BY Molly Absolon
// photography BY erin burk

Thirty years after the Teton County/Jackson Recreation Center first opened its doors, it just got a 38,000-square-foot, $33 million addition. Paid for by a special purpose excise tax passed by voters in 2019, the new space, which opened last summer, includes a 200-yard indoor walking/jogging track, free-weights and cardio machines, spin bikes, a yoga studio, an indoor climbing gym, basketball courts lined for volleyball and indoor soccer, childcare facilities, a food pantry, meeting space, and more. 

This expansion has been a long time coming. As early as 2004, surveys showed the community supported adding onto the facility to better serve residents, but it took 20 years, three special purpose excise tax votes, two construction document packages, four master plans, and some creative budgeting to cover increased costs before those dreams were realized. Now the place is booming, and people are excited to use the new facility, especially on gray, gloomy days when exercising outside is uninspiring or impossible.

For nearly 30 years, St. John’s Health sponsored community health fairs, which provided residents with access to reduced-cost blood tests and screenings. In early 2024, the hospital phased out this service, saying patients should have doctor supervision to interpret test results accurately, and, therefore, it would no longer offer walk-in screenings. To help fill that void, the rec center has partnered with Wyoming Health Fairs to offer health screenings, perform blood draws, and deliver flu shots to the general public in a new wellness suite. 

At just under 10,000-square feet, the new climbing gym features 50 routes of varying difficulty, including three with auto-belays; as well as two bouldering walls and a 40-degree Moonboard that uses lights controlled through a phone app to identify different training routes. “I like to say that I climb indoors to train for climbing outside,” says international mountain guide Christian Santelices. “That’s true enough, but really, it’s just fun. What I am enjoying almost as much as the climbing is being around my community. I’ve been able to hang out with people I haven’t seen in years! As well as spend quality time with my partner and kids. We push each other, laugh, and do something that we love together. This social aspect is really important to me.”

One22 Resource Center, Jackson’s primary social services support organization, has established a serve-yourself satellite food pantry in the new lobby. Here people can pick up healthy staples like eggs, milk, fresh vegetables, fruit, and dry goods whenever the rec center is open. The pantry has no sign-up requirements, and clients can take whatever they need, making it a convenient resource for those seeking immediate food assistance. Plus it’s tucked in an out-of-the way corner, so those in need can pick up supplies in private without the fear of incurring judgment from others. 

Getting in a good workout when you have young children at home can be challenging. To help parents out so they can attend to their own wellness, as well as the wellness of their children, the rec center offers drop-in day care for children two to six years old, Mondays through Fridays (hours vary, so check online at tetoncountywy.gov/2765/drop-in-daycare). A trained childcare professional provides supervision and enrichment for up to two hours for as many as eight children in a space in the new addition. Drop-in rates are $10 for nonresidents, $7 for residents, or you can buy a 10-punch card for $75 for nonresidents, $60 for residents. 

Memberships at the gym cost $85 a month for nonresidents and $51 for residents. For the first time, residents include people who live as far away as 70 miles from downtown Jackson, a range that stretches south to Thayne and Daniel in Wyoming, and west over Teton Pass to Victor, Driggs, and Tetonia in Idaho. Prices were set to make the rec center accessible to all segments of the local population and are as much as 20 percent below the standard market rate for private gyms in the area. Steve Ashworth, the director of Teton County Parks and Recreation, says the goal with the fees is not to compete with private gyms, but rather to provide services that aren’t economical on a smaller, more boutique scale, such as indoor climbing and basketball courts. Including outlying communities in the new pricing was, according to Ashworth, “a recommendation by staff to recognize the greater regional community that is vital to the workforce of Jackson.” JH