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Hike-to  High Points These four summits don’t require any technical climbing and do offer expansive views. // Story and photography By Dina Mishev There are about 134 named peaks in Grand Teton National Park—and the Tetons are only one of six mountain ranges easily accessible from Jackson Hole. You could spend a lifetime hiking and climbing to summits here and never do the same one twice. Here are four summits, presented in order from least to most challenging, that are among our favorites because they do not require rock climbing skills and do offer amazing views. (And for anyone unable…

Flowy, Fun and Free The system of cross-country mountain biking trails at Grand Targhee is free to ride and also priceless. //By Molly Absolon It’s hard to reach consensus when you ask bikers to identify their favorite cross-country mountain bike trail at Grand Targhee Resort in Alta, Wyoming. With roughly 30 miles of rolling intermediate trails from which to choose, what’s best depends largely on what you want.  Scenic vistas? Buffalo Soldier takes you to an overlook with unparalleled views of Teton Canyon and the Grand. Wildflowers? They’re everywhere at Targhee, but some of the best trails for riding through fields…

Chasing Waterfalls What kind of waterfall experience are you looking for? // By Rachel Walker The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem was forged by powerful forces of nature, especially water. From frothing, raging rivers to winter snow that can be measured in feet—and then melts come spring and fills the drainages—water carves its way through cliffs and forests as it flows into rivers, lakes, and, eventually, the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean. Combine that hydrologic phenomenon with the area’s dramatic geologic uplift, and you have prime conditions to create waterfalls. The GYE’s 15-plus million acres are home to several hundred.  Like snowflakes, every waterfall…

Tread Lightly Let Leave No Trace principles guide you to recreating responsibly in and around Jackson Hole.  // By Bevin Wallace Leave No Trace and its principles are not new. “The organization has been around for 30 years, and the notion of ‘leave no trace’ even predates that,” says Mark Eller, foundation director of Leave No Trace. “It was an education program that the Forest Service and the National Park Service started together with partners like NOLS advising on what the principles might look like.” But what many hikers, skiers, and tourists might not realize is that the principles are…

JH Public Art Take an urban public art walk, and please sit on the swings and benches along the way—they’re the ultimate in functional art.  // By Sam Simma A brightly painted chairlift in downtown Jackson might seem random, but in this mountain town, there’s nothing nonsensical about turning retired chairlifts from Snow King Ski Area into public art. Each chair is fun to look at and also functions as either a bench or a swing. Largescale murals in downtown alleyways aren’t as obviously functional, but they share conservation themes while encouraging viewers to pause for a photo op.  Jackson’s…

To Selfie or not to Selfie? // By Tim Sandlin   // Illustration by Birgitta sif My granddaughter, Julie Anne Klapshaw, has been giving lessons at the Center for the Arts this month in preparation for the Winter Selfie Season. Her mother told me the classes are packed with micro-influencers, nano influencers, bloggers, thought leaders, a few celebrities, content creators, and skiers who couldn’t afford the GoPro class. Since I had no clue why anyone would find selfies cool or want to know the difference between doing it well or not well, I asked Julie Anne to meet me at…

The Season for Sliding Jackson Hole is known as an alpine skier’s winter wonderland, but we’ve also got hundreds of miles of trails for cross-country skiing. // By Brigid Mander Pine boughs laden with snow glint as the sun just touches the treetops above me. The only sounds are the schussing of my Nordic skis in the freshly groomed classic track, cheerful birdsong, and my red heeler’s paws crunching packed snow. I’m barely a few miles up Cache Creek, in the Bridger-Teton National Forest just east of downtown Jackson, and I have the world to myself this crisp winter morning.…

Wearable Art A local woman-owned hattery makes contemporary Western hats that look good in Jackson Hole and beyond.   // By Dina Mishev // photography By KATHRYN ZIESIG  I’ve got a small head, at least in the literal sense. So says Sarah Kjorstad, the founder of and hat-maker at the custom hattery JW Bennett. After more than 25 years of living in Jackson Hole and fruitlessly searching for a Western hat that didn’t make me feel like I was playing dress-up as a cowgirl—I’m more comfortable on mountain summits than in a saddle—and that I did look okay in, I’ve…

Winter in the Wild People make reservations a year in advance to spend a week of their summer at the remote Darwin Ranch, but it’s even more magical in winter.  //By Dina Mishev //photography By Derek Stal After we ski across a wooden bridge spanning the Gros Ventre River and pick our way through willowy wetlands, but before we disappear into thick pine forest in search of Ouzel Falls, my husband, Derek, and I take off our backcountry skis to hike up to the base of one of the many red cliff bands that help make the Gros Ventre Mountains…