Living on the West Side of Teton Valley: The Packsaddle Trade-Off

Drive west out of Driggs on Packsaddle Road and something happens about four miles in. The subdivisions thin out, the parcels get bigger, and the Tetons stop being a thing you glance at and start being the thing the whole house is pointed at.

Then you keep driving, and you realize the grocery store is now fifteen minutes behind you.

That’s the west side in one paragraph. Carl Struttmann at Compass Teton Valley said it better than I can: that 7-to-8-mile drive across the valley is a treasure to some people and a hindrance to others. There’s no third category. This post is about figuring out which one you are — before you buy a lot.

What the west side actually gives you

The view. This is the one everybody leads with, and they’re right. On the east side you’re under the Tetons. On the west side, backed up against the Big Hole Mountains, you’re looking straight across the valley at the full range — Grand, Middle, South — with nothing in front of you but hayfields. Sunrise hits the peaks before it hits you. If you’ve ever wondered why the old ranch houses on the west side all face east, that’s why.

Room. Lots run bigger out here. You can site a house for the view instead of for the setback, keep a shop out of sight, and not hear your neighbor’s garage door.

Dark and quiet. No streetlights, no highway hum. On a clear night the Milky Way is a real thing, not a camping memory.

The backyard. The Big Holes are right there — trailheads, hunting, snowmobile and side-by-side access from the house. In winter the road is the trail.

Pricing that hasn’t caught up. This is the quiet one. West-side lots are still priced for the drive. The homes aren’t. I covered the full math in Build vs. Buy in Teton Valley, 2026, but the short version: Compass comps for Driggs and Tetonia averaged $507 per square foot sold in October 2026, and new construction on the west side was priced in the $1.0M–$1.2M range. For the same money as an in-town resale you get new, acreage and the view.

What it costs you

I’d rather you hear this from your builder than find out the first February.

The drive, every time. Groceries, school pickup, the Friday night game, the dentist. It’s 12–15 minutes to Driggs each way, and you’ll do it more than you think. If you’re commuting over the pass to Jackson, add it to the front of an already long morning.

Grand Targhee is on the other side. The resort is up Ski Hill Road east of Driggs, past Alta. From the west side that’s a 30–35 minute drive on a good day. If skiing 80 days a year is the whole reason you’re moving here, the east side exists for you.

Winter is real out here. County plowing on the west-side roads is good but not instant. You will want a capable vehicle, a plan for your own driveway, and the patience to be the last road cleared after a big storm. Build the garage you actually need, not the one that looks right on the plan.

Services take longer. Internet options narrow (check before you buy — fiber reaches some of the west side and not others). Propane delivery, well and septic instead of city utilities, longer response for everything from the plumber to the power company.

Resale pool is smaller. Carl was straight about this: the west side can be a tougher sell to buyers who don’t want to be off the beaten path. The buyer who wants what you have will pay for it. There are just fewer of them. Build something that buyer wants.

Who this is for

Fifteen years of building out here, this is the pattern:

It works for:

• People who already spend their weekends outside and want the trailhead to be the driveway
• Remote and out-of-state owners who aren’t doing the Driggs commute daily — the drive matters less when you’re not making it five times a week
• Anyone whose non-negotiable is the view, not the proximity
• Buyers who’d rather have 2,000 square feet and acreage than 3,000 square feet and a neighbor

It doesn’t work for:

• Daily commuters to Jackson who are already at the edge of a tolerable morning
• Families whose life is built around in-town activities, three trips a day
• Buyers who want to flip in two years into a wide, fast market
• Anyone who’s never spent a February in Teton Valley (rent one first)

What we’re building out there

We’re building new homes in West Ridge Ranch, off Packsaddle Road, in the 2,000–2,200 square foot range — sized and finished for the $1.0M–$1.2M market Compass identified, and sited for the view.

Designed for how the west side actually lives: oversized garage, mudroom that can take a winter, mechanical sized for the cold, east-facing glass where it counts. Not a flatland plan dropped on a mountain lot.

If you’d rather bring your own lot and your own plan, that’s most of what we do. Either way the process is built for people who can’t be on site every week — here’s how that works.

Before you buy a west-side lot

Three things to check, in this order:

1. Drive it in winter, early. Not a bluebird Saturday. A Tuesday at 6:45 AM in January.
2. Confirm internet at the exact parcel. Not “the area.” The parcel.
3. Get a builder’s eyes on the site before you close. Slope, access, well depth, where the view actually is from the main floor. We do this as part of the design agreement — and the site plan is included, not billed separately.

Book a 15-minute planning call and tell me which category you think you’re in. I’ll tell you if I agree.

Frequently asked questions

Market data: Carl Struttmann, Compass Teton Valley, October 2026 CMA — Driggs/Tetonia sold comps. Carl on Instagram.