Big Sky vs. Jackson Hole: Which Should You Choose?
Let’s say you’re looking to plan another Rockies ski vacation, but you’ve been there and done that with the Colorado and Utah destination circuit. Enter Jackson Hole and Big Sky, two resorts in much more remote areas much further north in Wyoming and Montana, respectively.
Both of these resorts offer excellent snow and considerable footprints, but are either of them right for you? In this piece, we’ll go through the differences between these two mountains, what they both do well, what they both fall short in, and who each is for.
Both Jackson Hole (pictured) and Big Sky enjoy high-quality snow, but Jackson Hole typically sees more of it.
Snow
Advantage: Jackson Hole
If you’re looking for excellent snow, you won’t go wrong with either resort. Both mountains have well above average conditions as far as North American ski resorts go, with some of the best snow quality on the continent.
But if we had to give the upper hand to one mountain, it would be Jackson Hole, which sees higher annual average snowfall. Powder days are reasonably frequent at both resorts, but if you book a weeklong trip to either resort, there’s a better chance you’ll have one at Jackson than Big Sky.
However, neither mountain is perfectly reliable. Both can see dry spells, and since Jackson Hole primarily faces east, its off-piste terrain tends to get crusty after a few sunny days with no new snow. Big Sky’s terrain aspects are better for snow preservation, but since only about 40% of its terrain faces north, it’s susceptible to this same phenomenon.
Skiable Footprint
Advantage: Big Sky
Big Sky has a huge advantage over Jackson Hole in one category—and that’s in sheer size. Big Sky is more than twice the size of Jackson Hole, with considerably more terrain to explore, especially for beginners and intermediates. But Jackson Hole is not lacking for terrain diversity, and the resort has more than enough to keep the right guests busy. Big Sky is a chiefly tree-defined resort with a clear treeline and high-alpine terrain above that point, while Jackson Hole is a bit more nuanced, with very few thickly forested areas and plenty of glades and wide-open bowl terrain across the mountain.
Big Sky’s 5,850-acre skiable footprint is more than twice the size of Jackson Hole’s 2,130-acre footprint.
Beginner Terrain
Advantage: Big Sky
If you have less experienced skiers and riders in your group, Big Sky makes a lot more sense. The resort stands out with some of the best green terrain of any big mountain destination resort, with beginner runs across several distinct peaks and a few pods that are essentially dedicated to green trails. In addition, for the 2023-24 season, the resort has recalibrated its trail ratings to better inform guests which runs are truly appropriate for beginners. In stark contrast, Jackson Hole only has 5 beginner trails across the entire resort, and they tend to get congested due to the lack of accessible alternatives.
Intermediate Terrain
Advantage: Big Sky
Big Sky also handily beats Jackson Hole for intermediate terrain. The resort offers a substantial variety of blue trails, including some outstanding glades and high-alpine bowls that are hard to beat anywhere else. Jackson Hole isn’t truly lacking in intermediate trails, but in most mountain areas, blue runs are either traverses, bumped up, or fairly steep for their rating.
Big Sky has more than enough beginner and intermediate terrain across to satisfy any lower-level visitor.
Terrain Parks
Advantage: Big Sky
When it comes to terrain parks, Big Sky has the upper hand, with numerous parks boasting a variety of features ranging from small to large.
Jackson Hole’s freestyle experience isn’t bad, and it does include small-to-medium features and a handful of Stash parks with unique natural elements, but it pales in comparison to what Big Sky has to offer.
Advanced and Expert Terrain
Advantage: Jackson Hole
The tables begin to turn once one reaches advanced proficiency. While Big Sky offers a strong array of steep, ungroomed trails across its extensive footprint, Jackson Hole truly specializes in it, boasting a significant variety of tenuous runs across essentially every mountain area, complete with long pitches that put a significant strain on one’s endurance.
Big Sky’s advanced and expert terrain technically makes up a higher percentage of the resort’s footprint than Jackson Hole’s—60% at the former, vs. 50% at the latter—but Jackson Hole’s terrain ratings are much harder than Big Sky’s. While a typical Big Sky black might have a fairly steep pitch and some moguls, blacks at Jackson Hole maintain perilous challenges such as bare rock, cliffs, and pitches that would be considered expert-level essentially anywhere else. Needless to say, Big Sky’s double-blacks are about equivalent in difficulty to Jackson Hole’s blacks, and Big Sky’s blacks are about equivalent to Jackson Hole’s double blues—even with Big Sky’s recent rating recalibration.
Big Sky’s tough pitches are also more concentrated in certain mountain areas, but Jackson Hole’s extend across what’s basically the entire footprint, meaning guests have the unique opportunity to ski or ride from top to bottom on continuous black-diamond terrain.
Jackson Hole is home to some of the most famous steeps in the world, such as Corbet’s Couloir and the even crazier S&S Couloir.
Extreme Terrain
Advantage: Jackson Hole
If you want to push yourself to the limit, Big Sky and Jackson Hole feature some of the most extreme in-bounds ski terrain in North America. Big Sky’s unprecedented triple-blacks (the resort is the only one in the Rockies to use such a rating) and Jackson Hole’s double-blacks are truly dangerous, with these ratings only being awarded to trails in which perfect execution is necessary—one wrong move means risking serious injury or worse. A journey down one of these lines involves mandatory cliffs or straightlining, extraordinary pitches, or significant avalanche danger.
Both mountains have instated extra requirements to access a select few of the truly toughest lines. Jackson Hole requires a patrol signout to access its daunting S&S Couloir, and Big Sky requires the same for its Big Couloir and North Summit Snowfields. Big Sky also requires guests to bring an avalanche beacon and shovel on those runs, but Jackson Hole has no such requirement.
Aerial Trams
Advantage (without incorporating pricing): Tie
Advantage (incorporating pricing): Jackson Hole
Neither Big Sky nor Jackson Hole offer easy physical access to any of their extremes. The hardest trails at both resorts are concentrated in upper-mountain areas, and lift-serviced access to the summits at both mountains only comes from a low-capacity aerial tram. Both mountains are home to world-class continuous vertical drops of over 4,000 feet, but the tram setups make this full rise impractical to lap at both resorts. This is especially the case at Big Sky, where the full 4,000 foot drop from Lone Peak to the Six Shooter base takes three indirect lifts, including the tram, to return from.
Jackson Hole’s tram carries 100 people per ride and extends the full vertical of the resort. Big Sky’s tram has been completely replaced for 2023, and now carries 75 people per ride, up from 15 in the previous cabins. The new tram also sits in a completely different alignment than the old one, making for more convenient access from the base.
Big Sky’s Lone Peak Tram, from which one can access some of the steepest terrain in North America, is being replaced for the 2023-24 season. It is still not included on a normal lift ticket, season pass, or Ikon pass.
In recent years, lines at the Big Sky tram have been better than those for the Jackson Hole tram—and we expect that trend to continue with the new lift as well. However, this circumstance is in large part due to a huge catch: the tram is not included on a normal Big Sky lift ticket, season pass, or Ikon pass, and access must be purchased as an extra-cost add on. And these add-ons aren’t exactly cheap either—they must be purchased at the time of use, and for the 2023-24 season, they’re only available on a per-ride basis. During the core season, expect to pay at least $30 per ride. It’s common for Jackson Hole’s tram lines to be over an hour, but at least it’s included with the lift ticket.
Historically, Big Sky’s tram operated less reliably than Jackson Hole’s, but it’s unclear if this trend will continue for the upcoming season. That said, the tenuous, highly exposed terrain off both trams means conditions have to be in good shape for the craziest trails from both summits to open.
Hike-To Terrain
Advantage: Big Sky
For those who don’t want to deal with the quirks of the trams, both Big Sky and Jackson Hole offer hike-to terrain options across some of their most demanding mountain faces. These areas hold snow much better than other resort areas and can often boast untouched, pristine lines for days.
Jackson Hole’s hikes aren’t quite as tough as some of the terrain off its tram, but Big Sky’s Headwaters hike hosts triple-blacks that are easily as extreme—or even moreso—than the tram runs. For most guests who don’t pay for the tram add-on, hiking the Headwaters is the only practical way to hit a Big Sky triple black (although the hike is arguably more difficult than the runs themselves, requiring navigating rock and hanging onto a rope in some places).
Big Sky does offer a bootpack up to Lone Peak that’s included with the regular lift ticket—meaning there’s a way to access the terrain off the summit without paying for the Lone Peak Tram ride—but with a trek of more than an hour-and-a-half required, very few guests will spend their time doing that.
The hike to Big Sky’s Headwaters zone involves navigating precipitous rock patches.
Lift and Trail Network Design
Advantage: Jackson Hole
When it comes to the rest of their lifts, Big Sky and Jackson Hole should impress most guests. Both resorts have multiple high-speed lifts, and both mountains stand out with flagship uphill lifts: Jackson Hole with two ruby red gondolas, and Big Sky with four deep blue bubble chairs, one of which—the Swift Current 6—is one of the fastest lifts in North America.
But as a comprehensive lift and trail network, we’d give Jackson Hole a significant edge over Big Sky. Jackson Hole’s system is fairly direct, with lift and trail placements that never make it too difficult—at least from a navigational standpoint—to get from one mountain area to another. The resort also features key lift redundancies, including four out-of-base lifts that diminish chokepoints—and with the recent Thunder lift upgrade, there are high-speed lifts in nearly every mountain area.
To give Big Sky some credit, the areas immediately surrounding its Mountain Village base are simple enough to navigate. However, getting to more remote mountain areas is a complete mess, requiring several out-of-the-way lifts—some of which are slow—to complete the journey to and from major areas. And Big Sky’s lift system is severely lacking in redundancies, creating significant chokepoints across the resort and resulting in significant consequences for those who miss certain intersections. Some of Big Sky’s problems can be attributed to the fact that the resort recently acquired the previously independent Moonlight Basin and Spanish Peaks areas, which have not received any meaningful lift upgrades since the mergers were finalized.
Crowd Flow
Advantage: Jackson Hole
Big Sky may not typically see as many guests per acre as Jackson Hole, but the chokepoints across its footprint result in significant lines on busy days. There are no convenient alternatives to the heavily-traveled Swift Current 6 lift—and no alternatives at all to the Ramcharger 8 and Six Shooter chairs—making 20-30 minute waits at all of them not out of the ordinary on peak days. Jackson Hole’s redundant lift network helps spread out crowds a lot better than Big Sky’s, and we’d argue it’s just an overall easier mountain to avoid lines at—although it can still get quite crowded as well, especially during holiday periods. It is worth noting that Big Sky does have a significant gondola project in the pipeline for 2025, which should provide some relief in this respect when it’s complete.
Redundancies in Jackson Hole’s lift network help spread out the crowds.
Facilities
Advantage: Jackson Hole
Another problem that compounds Big Sky’s flow issues is its lack of convenient on-mountain facilities. Outside the Mountain Village base, large facilities are inconveniently placed, difficult to find, or impractically fancy for a day of skiing. On the other hand, Jackson Hole offers convenient access to high-capacity lodges from several mid-mountain areas, making it much easier to go in for a break without skiing or riding all the way to the bottom. Like with its lift network, Big Sky is scheduled to see serious facilities investments in the coming years, so the gap in this category could also narrow in the near future.
Getting There
Advantage: Jackson Hole
Let’s start with getting to the resorts, where Big Sky and Jackson Hole both stand out in that they have no real large cities nearby. The areas surrounding both resorts are incredibly rural, with the nearest major city being Salt Lake City, which is more than 5 hours away from both mountains. As a result, those looking to fly into Jackson Hole or Big Sky will want to check out the close-by Jackson and Bozeman regional airports. The drive from the Jackson airport to Jackson Hole is easy, taking only 40 minutes along a flat access highway. The Big Sky drive from Bozeman is a bit longer, but at 75 minutes, it’s still not bad.
Jackson Hole is closer to a regional airport than Big Sky, but the only unconditional free parking is 7 miles away from the mountain.
Parking
Advantage: Big Sky
However, Big Sky has a significant leg up over Jackson Hole in parking. The Montana resort offers plenty of free parking on premise, and it operates a free shuttle service to the lots that aren’t an easy walk from the main base. On the other hand, Jackson Hole’s only unconditional free parking is about 7 miles from the resort—and the shuttles to and from that lot only come about every 10-15 minutes, making the experience a pain. Jackson Hole does offer more convenient free parking for carpools of 4 or more people, but you still have to take a short shuttle to the resort, and all truly slopeside parking costs at least $35 per day. Conversely, Big Sky also offers carpool benefits, but they apply to groups of just 3 or more, and they guarantee specially reserved slots within easy walking distance of the slopes.
Lodging
Advantage: Big Sky
When it comes to on-site lodging, we’d give Big Sky the slight edge. The resort has an elephantine network of condos within the footprint, some of which are directly on the slopes, and others of which are a short ride away on an extensive network of condo-access chairlifts. Jackson Hole has several on-site accommodations, but they generally can’t match the ski-in/ski-out convenience of Big Sky’s offerings. Big Sky’s lodging options book up really quickly, and for the prime slopeside condos, you’ll want to book by October at the latest.
Big Sky has a massive network of slopeside lodges, but they tend to book up quickly.
Aprés Ski
Advantage: Jackson Hole
But Jackson Hole has the upper hand on the aprés ski experience. Teton Village has an array of lively bars—and downtown Jackson, which is 20 minutes away, hosts plenty to do with a unique western tinge. Big Sky does have a fairly lively base and downtown, and you won’t be lacking for a good time, but neither the base village nor town is quite as bustling or character-laden as those at Jackson Hole.
Pricing
Advantage: Tie
Another thing that stands out about both Jackson Hole and Big Sky are their lift ticket prices. The average 1-day lift ticket for both mountains is over $200, making both of them among the most expensive in all of North America.
If you make the visit to Big Sky and ride the tram a few times, you might pay over $300 for a single day of skiing—a shocking rate for an unguided ski resort.
Adult 15-69: $161-$250
Senior 70+: $133-$210
Junior 7-14: $102-$165
Child 0-6: $1
Tram Extra-Cost Add-On: $10-”$40+” Per Ride
Adult 19-64: $203-$255
Senior 65+: $162-$204
Teen 13-18: $183-$230
Youth 5-12: $122-$153
Child 0-4: Free
*Slight discounts for multi-day tickets. Excludes early and late season rates.
Pass Access
Slight Advantage: Big Sky
That said, access to both Big Sky and Jackson Hole is available with an Ikon Pass. Access to Big Sky is available on the Base Pass, but skiers and riders will have to splurge for a Base Plus Pass for access to Jackson Hole. The Ikon Pass suite comes with five-to-seven days of access at both resorts depending on the tier; the pass will typically pay itself off at both resorts with a full weeklong trip, but it goes off sale in early December. Jackson Hole and Big Sky are also included on the cheaper Mountain Collective Pass, with two days apiece at both resorts. It is worth noting that for Big Sky, Lone Peak Tram access is not included in either of these product suites, so you’ll still have to pay the same per-ride price as everyone else. Jackson Hole and Big Sky are only a few hours away from each other, and these passes are a great option for those who want to do a road trip between the two resorts. However, there is a slight catch; holders of both passes must be sure to make in-advance reservations to visit both resorts, and slots for the most in-demand dates often fill up weeks in advance.
Both Jackson Hole and Big Sky can be accessed with an Ikon or Mountain Collective Pass, but Jackson Hole is not included on the Ikon Base or Session Passes.
Verdict
So when it comes to choosing between Jackson Hole and Big Sky for your next ski vacation, both resorts have a lot to offer. Big Sky is the bigger mountain with significantly better terrain diversity for lower abilities—and as a result, is the much better choice for beginners and intermediates. But Jackson Hole lacks many of the downsides that make a vacation to Big Sky frustrating, with a much better-designed navigational network and more convenient on-mountain lodges. Jackson Hole also offers better expert and extreme terrain and boasts a slightly more reliable footprint than Big Sky.
Jackson Hole beats Big Sky in our overall rankings, with Big Sky beating Jackson Hole in the size and terrain diversity category, but Jackson Hole putting up significantly better scores in facilities, navigation, and challenge, as well as slightly better scores in lifts, crowd flow, and resiliency. But Big Sky is set for serious investments over the next few years that hit right at the heart of their biggest issues, and it’s entirely possible they’ll catch up experience-wise a couple of years from now.
We do also want to note that these scores are based on the experience you get with a regular lift ticket or pass product, meaning that they exclude the benefits brought by Big Sky’s Lone Peak Tram, which costs extra. If we do include Big Sky’s Lone Peak Tram in our evaluation, the Resiliency Score drops from an 8 to a 7, the Challenge Score increases from an 8 to a 9, and the Terrain Diversity and Mountain Aesthetic Scores increase from 9 to 10.
In our Rockies rankings, Jackson Hole puts up an outstanding 2nd place, while Big Sky comes in at 13th, which is very competitive but below some other upper-tier destination offerings. But either way, most guests won’t be disappointed with either resort.
For more information on these resorts, check out our comprehensive Jackson Hole and Big Sky mountain reviews. If you’re interested in seeing how they compare to other similar mountains, check out our Rockies, Northern Rockies, and full North American rankings.
