Fresh snow, groomed tracks, blue skies, and the Tetons make it hard to resist a workout in Grand Teton National Park/David Swift

Imagine this: you step outside your car and the freezing cold air immediately takes your breath away. You grab your cross-country skis and slowly walk toward the fresh corduroy. The snow crunches beneath your boots. As the bitter cold of January in the Tetons runs through your body, you question why you woke up at the crack of dawn for this.

You step on the groomed track, click into your bindings, and take your first stride just as the sun hits the top of the Grand Teton. You look across the landscape and see the snow glittering in the early morning light. The chills instantly wash away as you speed down the track beneath one of the nation’s most iconic mountain ranges in one of our greatest national parks.

If you have not had the opportunity to experience the extraordinary beauty of Grand Teton during winter, this season is your chance. Grand Teton National Park Foundation is supporting bi-weekly grooming of the Teton Park Road for the fifth consecutive year. In partnership with Grand Teton National Park, the stretch of road between the Bradley-Taggart trailhead and Signal Mountain will be groomed two times per week—weather depending—from mid-December through mid-March.

With 14 miles of groomed track, the region between Bradley-Taggart and Signal Mountain is one of the most scenic ski tours in the West. Winter enthusiasts can travel by foot, snowshoe, or cross-country ski to enjoy the magnificence of winter in the Tetons. From the Lucas Fabian Homestead to Jenny Lake to the summit of Signal Mountain, the area offers a variety of terrain choices and scenic destinations for all to enjoy.

Fox, snowshoe hare, moose, ermine, and a variety of bird species are commonly found in the area. If you don’t see them, you will likely find an abundance of tracks in the snow and can discover Grand Teton’s wildlife first-hand.

Winter in Grand Teton National Park is not for the faint of heart. However, with the right layers and appropriate equipment, visiting this untouched landscape during the winter months is an experience you will never forget.

Ski grooming is slated to begin in mid- December, depending on early season snowfall.

Visit the Grand Teton National Park Foundation website for the most up-to-date conditions; the webpage is updated each day the road is groomed throughout the season. To support this community effort, visit www.gtnpf.org/donate or call 307-732-0629.