Corbet's Couloir, Jackson Hole

Photo credit: JHMR

57 miles S of Yellowstone National Park; 432 miles NW of Cheyenne; 275 miles NE of Salt Lake City; 177 miles SW of Cody

Of the few communities in the Rockies that have successfully toed the line between promoting themselves as resort towns and retaining some semblance of indigenous character, Jackson is a standout. The million-dollar homes are sprouting all over the valley, but there is still open space, a memory of the cowboy past, and some resistance to letting in too much commercial glitz.

The remaining open spaces allow visitors to imagine what it was like early in the 19th century, when fur trappers first camped here. They were followed by ranchers, who soon became dude ranchers. Today, the community holds an interesting mixture of ski bums, blue bloods, nouveau riche, avid outdoor types, and even a few old-time cowboys. The cosmopolitans of this motley crew came not just with a hunger for scenery, but also with a taste for music, art, and good restaurants, too, and the selection here is unrivaled in Wyoming. The big ski hill lures a younger crowd, with the final ingredient for resort status -- celebrities -- supplied by transplants like Harrison Ford.

• Aspen
• Big Sky
• Breckenridge
• Copper Mountain
• Crested Butte
• Jackson Hole
• Killington
• Lake Tahoe
• Park City
• Steamboat
• Sun Valley
• Telluride
• Vail
• Whistler
• Winter Park