By Joan Melcher

During summer you’ll be charmed by the many shades of green at Grand Targhee Resort in northwestern Wyoming. The fluttering chartreuse of the aspens. The dusky olive of the pines. The velvet jade of the meadows. And the green practices of this alpine getaway on the less visited back side of the Teton Range, where purchased wind energy helps power the ski lift that sweeps you to within yodeling distance of imposing peaks—the same ones you’ve seen in a thousand photos snapped in Jackson Hole, just 15 miles east over the mountains.

Perhaps most of all you’ll like the crisp green left in your wallet after a several-day stay here. Renowned for world-class skiing from November to April, Grand Targhee offers a range of surprisingly affordable off-season enticements. Don’t expect to find Grand Teton National Park’s classic Snake River vistas. But when the snow clears from Targhee’s slopes and daytime temperatures hit the comfortable 70s and low 80s, you can grab the chairlift to the 10,200-foot summit of Fred’s Mountain and gaze east over the Jedediah Smith Wilderness.The dizzying span of Teton peaks includes the big daddy of them all, Grand Teton, a glacier-hewn granite pyramid 13,770 feet high.

Ride the chairlift down or take a trail to the base area at 8,000 feet and you’ll find horseback riding, mountain biking, and even more day hiking. One trail—five miles total, out and back—climbs to Mary’s Saddle, a ridgetop sweet spot with sweeping mountain views. Easy loop trails to flower-speckled meadows in Rick’s Basin let you take short or long outings without retracing your steps.

At the resort’s central village, a clutch of wood-clad buildings, you can stop at the nature center to find out what species of penstemon you saw blooming on Fred’s Mountain or to describe the furry figure that scurried by. (Targhee’s runs its own C.S.I.—Critter Seen Investigation—as part of a kid-oriented nature program.) You can also sign up for a round of disc golf, a stirring zip-line ride, or a GPS-guided navigation game. Or slip off to the spa for a massage and facial. Around sundown, you may spot visitors settling in for a game of bingo or gathering at a campfire to hear a naturalist discuss the controversial reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone.

All these options tend to take a backseat during two rollicking music festivals held every July and August in an adjacent natural amphitheater. This summer, guitar-slinging songsters Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, and Taj Mahal star at the Targhee Fest, July 18 to 20. At the Bluegrass Festival, August 8 to 10, standout players include monster mandolinist Sam Bush and banjo wizards Bela Fleck and Tony Trischka with their bands.

The Targhee resort works hard enough to keep its label Grand in summer, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t escape to float the Snake River or to angle for trout on the Teton. You can book a flight in a balloon or sailplane and peer down on the bold terrain. Or drive to one of the popular national parks. Yellowstone is less than two hours away, Grand Teton one. Back at the resort you’ll feel that much happier when you hear yet another visitor sigh, "It’s not crowded."