Mike Hardaker Staying Toasty Warm Wearing the Baist Everyday Mittens | Photo Sue Bullock Mountain Weekly News 
JACKSON, WY – Snow King Mountain rises dramatically from the valley floor, forming an immensely beautiful backdrop to the town of Jackson, Wyoming. The resort’s main draws include its night skiing opportunities, gondola to the top of the mountain, new sunny side skiing terrain off the backside and it’s close location to town (only about a 30-second drive from the town square) along with it’s reasonably prices lift tickets and season passes.
Skiing at Snow King Mountain Resort is truly what skiing at the town hill is all about. Even on the deepest of powder days there are never any crowds, and the vibe is always super friendly.
Skiing Snow King Mountain
Located only a hop, skip, and a jump away from the ever popular Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Snow King Mountain is another great ski area that every skier and snowboarder traveling through the area needs to be sure to hit. Often over shadowed due to the proximity to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Grand Targhee Resort, the King as locals call it flies under most peoples radars.
What’s the Skiing at Snow King Like?
Snow King offers a ton of options for skiers of all levels. For those just starting out there are 3 magic carpets in total with 1 located at the base area and another 2 new magic carpets atop the Gondola that offer some of the most stunning views in the Jackson valley. The lift ride up the Gondola alone is worth the cost of the magic carpet ticket or beginner lessons.
Intermediate skiers will find lots of options at Snow King including new groomed terrain in the back bowls that are a great place to ski wide open groomed runs.
Expert skiers will have plenty of steep terrain to play with. Some of the steepest runs in North America are in fact located directly under the gondola. When it snows, the combination of steep terrain and deep powder make Snow King a hidden gem for steep and deep tree skiing.
Kids the grow up in the town of Jackson, WY cut their teeth so to speak at the King. This town hill teaches edge control, and confidence while skiing in steep terrain.
Terrain Park
Snow King at times has a terrain park and at times does not. I would recommend checking out the other larger resorts in the area if your interested in park laps. The resort would benefit from a terrain park and especially a half pipe, but staffing and finances seem to stop that from happening each season.
There are plenty of natural features to play around with and jib off cat tracks at Snow King but when it comes to rails and park jumps they are limited at best.
Uphill Policy
The town of Jackson, WY is packed full of athletes needing to get a workout or lap or two of skiing before work. Snow King Mountain Resort allows skiers to access the mountain for uphill travel throughout the day and night. Even while the ski resort is in operation during the day. The only time the King closes uphill access is when they are grooming in steep avalanche terrain with the winch cats.
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort does not allow for uphill access, so the King can actually be pretty busy around 6am full of headlamps of local skiers and tourist lugging themselves up the hill. The hike or tour to the top is a lung buster, so be prepared for a good workout.
Town Hill
At the end of the day, you just can’t beat Snow King’s location. It’s literally smack dab in the middle of town, giving visitors easy access to everything that Jackson has to offer. All of the town’s hotels and condos are very close, some within walking distance, and many offer free shuttles to the base of the mountain.
Plus our office is literally a few hundred yards away from the gondola, so were routinely doing ski test and snowboard test at our local town hill.
Dinning Options
On mountain dining at Snow King is currently limited to a snack shack at the top of the gondola. And casual dinning at Rafferty Base Area. So don’t plan to come to the King just yet to have a nice sit down meal. A full feature restaurant is in the works and looks to be opening in 2025 which will surely change the type of skier or riders that comes to Snow King.
One of our favorite places to have breakfast and early lunch when riding Snow King is actually across the street from the resort at a tiny hole in the wall place called FRX Jackson. Be sure to check it out, the place is a total trip and the owner does a great job at keeping skiers and riders happy.
Jackson has a number of great restaurants and bars that are sure to fill your belly after a day on the mountain. Snow King’s close proximity to Jackson Hole makes it easy to visit both ski resorts (and both towns) in a single trip. Adding to the overall Snow King experience are a number of other winter opportunities including Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, ice climbing, and snow tubing.
When to Ski Snow King?
Snow King is mostly a north facing mountain that gets very little sun until mid-winter. Because of this, the snow conditions are often quite fast, cold and icy during the early part of the year. This is why ski clubs from around the world love to train at Snow King. Once Feb hits the sun starts to engulf the front side of the mountain and this is when locals really start coming out in droves to to ski and ride the King. By March the mountain when it’s sunny and warm out is essentially like a spring skiing mecca. So be sure to bring your sunscreen.
Snow King Plans
There are rumors about Snow King expanding additional skiing in the sunny side back bowls area. This would allow for potentially another chairlift and the ability to spend the day skiing the back side of the mountain on a variety of runs.
Snow King recently started offering concerts in the summer months atop the gondola. Making Snow King one of the most stunning backdrops for a concert in the country, it will rival that of Red Rocks and The Gorge in the future. When the King Concerts series are announced be sure to grab tickets as these shows will all sell out.
Earlier we mentioned a new restaurant atop the gondola. But what has us even more excited is the construction of the Snow King Planetarium is nearly finished.
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