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Whether it's summer or winter, Jackson, Wyoming is the place to be for wannabe' cow folk and extreme sports enthusiasts.

Jackson, Wyoming is a half-tamed frontier valley surrounded by an enormous variety of adventures, extreme and less extreme, within the National Elk Refuge, Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. With more than 97% of the county devoted to protected public lands, families tend to congregate near the remarkable skiing and snowboarding, children's programs and extreme snowsports at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (the area's largest concentration of housing for visitors) or out on one of the area farms or ranches.

Depending on when you visit, there's wilderness snowmobiling (Flagg Ranch), horse-drawn sleigh rides past coyote and elk herds (National Elk Refuge), dog sledding (Moon Mountain Ranch), stunning hiking (Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks), outrageous whitewater rafting (Snake River), horseback riding (Goosewing Ranch), exhibits on bears and wolves (Idaho's Yellowstone Bear World), fly fishing, and other pastimes within an hour's drive. 

Winter Magic

There's something for every active member in your family.  Infants and toddlers will love the program just for them at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, winner of FTF's 1998 Top 10 Getaways for Tiny Travelers award. School-age children are welcomed into the scheduled snowsports programs and will enjoy just strolling the main street of town, winter or summer.

If your teens are stellar skiers who might get bored in a typical teen program, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort's Team Extreme program might be just the ticket.  Launched from December to March during the 2003-2004 season, this program is a unique, advanced skiing and riding school for young snowsports athletes ages 12 to 17.  Explains program director Mike Jansen, "We try to have kids on four days straight so the experience is more like a Steep and Deep Camp for juniors.  We teach mountain and personal safety, terrain assessment techniques, and the rudiments of backcountry equipment, travel, and route finding." As part of the fun and positive mentoring, Team Extreme has had chances to show their stuff to major JHMR-sponsored athletes like Tommy Moe, Micah Black, Travis Rice, and Jamie Sundberg. For lesson information or reservations at JHMR, call 307/739 2691 or 800/450 0477.

Year-round, after a long-day on the slopes of skiing or hiking, families of all ages can get into the action by saddling up for a Goosewing Ranch (888/733 5251) trail ride, take in the excitement of the Jackson Hole Rodeo's calf scramble, and join the cowboy camaraderie and cooking at the Bar J Chuckwagon (800/ 905 2275) before heading down to the the nightly Town Square "Shootout."