If you’ve ever stood at the bottom of a real lift-served bike park and thought “I want to try that someday” — Grand Targhee is the place to actually do it. The bike park sits in our backyard, twelve miles from The Barn in Driggs, and it opens for the 2026 season on Friday, June 12. Forty-plus miles of lift-served downhill trails. Roughly 2,200 vertical feet of descent. Beginner-friendly green runs alongside genuinely gnarly black-diamond chutes, all served by the same chairlift. And almost no one outside the mountain bike world knows it’s there.
This guide is for the rider who’s curious, fit, and has some bike background but has never done a true bike park. If that’s you, here’s how to plan a first trip to Grand Targhee that doesn’t end in a hospital photo or a refund email.
What “Bike Park” Actually Means
Mountain biking comes in two flavors: cross-country (pedaling up, riding down on natural trails) and downhill/lift-served (taking a chairlift up, riding purpose-built trails down). Grand Targhee does both — there are 70+ miles of cross-country trails — but the bike park is specifically the lift-served downhill experience.
The Shoshone chairlift runs from June 12 through September 13, 2026 (weekend-only early and late, daily in peak summer). You and your bike load on, you unload near the top of Fred’s Mountain, and you ride a 2,200-vertical-foot descent on flow trails, jump lines, technical chutes, or rooty natural trails — whatever your skill level allows. Then you lap it.
Can a Beginner Actually Ride Here?
Yes, with two caveats: you need real bike park brakes (more on rentals below) and you should take the green-trail-only mindset seriously on day one. Targhee has true beginner downhill flow trails — wide, well-bermed, with rollers instead of jumps. Holey Roller is the classic intro descent: roughly five miles of mostly green-rated downhill flow from the top of the lift to the base.
That said, “beginner downhill” is still downhill. If your only bike experience is paved bike paths or the occasional gravel ride, plan to take a lesson on your first morning. The Targhee Bike School offers half-day and full-day clinics that will save you weeks of trial-and-error and one or two embarrassing crashes.
Renting the Right Bike
Do not show up with your XC hardtail or your gravel bike. Even on green trails, you want a real downhill or enduro mountain bike with:
- Front and rear suspension (150mm+ travel)
- Four-piston hydraulic brakes
- A dropper post
- Wide bars and grippy tires
The Targhee rental shop at the base has the right gear, plus full-face helmets and pads, which you absolutely should rent on day one. A typical full rental package (bike, pads, helmet) runs in the $100-150 per day range, depending on bike level. You can also rent in town at Habitat in Driggs or Fitzgerald’s in Victor if you want to keep the bike for multi-day rides on the surrounding cross-country trails.
Trail Picks by Skill Level
First-Day Beginner
- Holey Roller (Green) — The big, wide flow trail. Long, mellow, confidence-building. Lap this 4-5 times before going anywhere else.
- Forty-Niner (Green) — Slightly more technical green with a few small features you can roll instead of jump.
Intermediate (Comfortable on Greens)
- Andesite Spine (Blue) — Faster flow trail with proper berms and tabletops.
- Quakies (Blue) — More natural, rootier trail through aspen groves. A good introduction to “real” mountain biking on the mountain.
Advanced
- Crater (Black) — Steep, rocky, technical. Pre-ride and decide if you want to send it.
- Mosquito Drainage (Black) — Old-school natural enduro line with rocks, drops, and committing chutes.
What to Wear and Bring
- Full-face helmet (rent at the base, do not skip this)
- Knee and elbow pads (also at the base)
- Eye protection — clear or amber lenses in shade, dark lenses for open trail
- Gloves with palm padding
- Padded shorts or chamois under riding shorts
- Hydration pack — the top of the lift is at nearly 10,000 feet and the air is dry
- Sunscreen and SPF lip balm — high-elevation sun is no joke
- A wind layer for the chairlift ride up; the top is often 15-20°F colder than the base
A Sample First-Timer’s Day at Targhee Bike Park
- 7:30 a.m. Coffee and a breakfast burrito at Provisions or Big Hole Bagels in Driggs.
- 8:30 a.m. Drive twelve miles up to the resort. Park, gear up.
- 9:30 a.m. Two-hour beginner clinic with a Targhee Bike School instructor. They’ll cover braking, body position, and cornering — the three things that matter most.
- Noon Lunch at the base, refill water.
- 12:30 p.m. Lap Holey Roller 4-5 times until you’re comfortable.
- 3 p.m. Try one blue (Andesite Spine or Quakies) if you’re feeling it.
- 4:30 p.m. Apres beer on the patio at the Trap Bar.
- 6 p.m. Drive back to Driggs. Dinner at Tatanka Tavern or Citizen 33 Brewery. Stretch. Sleep.
Best Time to Go in the Season
- June 12-30: Trails are at their freshest. Some upper sections may still be muddy or have late-melt snow patches in early June. Weekend-only operations early in the month.
- July: Peak conditions. Daily operations. Best weather, longest daylight, most crowded.
- August: Hot and sometimes dusty, but trails are dialed. August also brings the Targhee Bluegrass Festival mid-month — combine a bike weekend with the festival.
- September 1-13: Cooler, quieter, and fall colors start in the second week. Some of the best riding of the year.
Multi-Day Planning: How Many Days to Plan
One day at the bike park is a taste. Two days is where the skill curve starts to bend — by the afternoon of day two, most riders are noticeably more confident, smoother through corners, and looking at trails they avoided the day before. Three to five days is the sweet spot for a real trip: you’ll plateau a couple of times, recover, and then jump levels. Six days and you’ll need legs of steel and a serious recovery plan.
If you’re traveling with a group of mixed riders and non-riders, four days lets you mix two full bike park days with two off-mountain days for Yellowstone, Grand Teton, river time, or just town walking. That’s the trip we host most often at The Barn in summer.
If You’re Not a Rider But Your Family Is
Plenty of Barn guests come up with one or two riders in the group and a few non-riders. The non-rider plan at Targhee is great: scenic chairlift rides (yes, the same lift, $15 single ride, no bike required), hiking from the top of Fred’s Mountain, easy disc golf at the base, music on the patio most weekends, and live concerts at the Trap throughout summer. There’s almost always something happening on weekends.
Why The Barn Is a Better Base Than On-Mountain Lodging
On-mountain lodging at Targhee fills up fast in summer and prices reflect it. The Barn is twelve miles down the road in Driggs — fifteen minutes by car — and gives a group of 4-14 riders a real home for the week. You can wash bikes in the side yard, dry kit on the deck, drink coffee on a porch with the Tetons in your face, and walk to dinner in town when nobody wants to drive after a long day on the mountain. We’ve hosted plenty of bike-trip groups and it’s almost always the same feedback: more space, more flexibility, way better food in town than at the resort.
Check availability at The Barn for your June, July, or August bike park trip. Eight bedrooms, four baths, sleeps 14, dog-friendly, and walking distance to enough restaurants that you can rotate through them for a full week. The mountain isn’t going anywhere. Come ride it.
